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Psalm 136

1  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever.
2  Give thanks to the God of gods, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever.
3  Give thanks to the Lord of lords, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
4  Who alone does great wonders, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
5  Who by wisdom made the heavens, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
6  Who laid out the earth upon the waters, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
7  Who made the great lights, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
8  The sun to rule the day, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
9  The moon and the stars to govern the night, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
10  Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
11  And brought out Israel from among them, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
12  With a mighty hand and outstretched arm, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
13  Who divided the Red Sea in two, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
14  And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
15  But Pharaoh and his host he overthrew in the Red Sea, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
16  Who led his people through the wilderness, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
17  Who smote great kings, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
18  And slew mighty kings, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
19  Sihon, king of the Amorites, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
20  And Og, the king of Bashan, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
21  And gave away their land for a heritage, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
22  A heritage for Israel his servant, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
23  Who remembered us when we were in trouble, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
24  And delivered us from our enemies, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever;
25  Who gives food to all creatures, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever.
26  Give thanks to the God of heaven, ♦︎
   for his mercy endures for ever.

The King Honours Mordecai

6That night the king could not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of records, the annals, and they were read to the king. ²It was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had conspired to assassinate^* King Ahasuerus. ³Then the king said, ‘What honour or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?’ The king’s servants who attended him said, ‘Nothing has been done for him.’ ⁴The king said, ‘Who is in the court?’ Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. ⁵So the king’s servants told him, ‘Haman is there, standing in the court.’ The king said, ‘Let him come in.’ ⁶So Haman came in, and the king said to him, ‘What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honour?’ Haman said to himself, ‘Whom would the king wish to honour more than me?’ ⁷So Haman said to the king, ‘For the man whom the king wishes to honour, ⁸let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and a horse that the king has ridden, with a royal crown on its head. ⁹Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials; let him^* robe the man whom the king wishes to honour, and let him^* conduct the man on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him: “Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honour.” ’ ¹⁰Then the king said to Haman, ‘Quickly, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to the Jew Mordecai who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.’ ¹¹So Haman took the robes and the horse and robed Mordecai and led him riding through the open square of the city, proclaiming, ‘Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honour.’

12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. ¹³When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, ‘If Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is of the Jewish people, you will not prevail against him, but will surely fall before him.’

Encouragement to Be Generous

8We want you to know, brothers and sisters,^* about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; ²for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, ⁴begging us earnestly for the privilege^* of sharing in this ministry to the saints— ⁵and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, ⁶so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking^* among you. ⁷Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you^*—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.^*

8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. ⁹For you know the generous act^* of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— ¹¹now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. ¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. ¹³I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between ¹⁴your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. ¹⁵As it is written,
‘The one who had much did not have too much,
   and the one who had little did not have too little.’