The King’s Banquets

1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned ^afrom India to Ethiopia over ^b127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus ^csat on his royal throne in ^dSusa, the citadel, 3 in the third year of his reign ^ehe gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. 5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of ^fthe garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods¹ and marble pillars, and also ^gcouches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8 And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Queen Vashti’s Refusal

10 On the seventh day, ^hwhen the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, ⁱHarbona, ^jBigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with ^kher royal crown,² in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.

13 Then the king said to ^lthe wise men ^mwho knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and ⁿMemucan, ^othe seven princes of Persia and Media, ^pwho saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom): 15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt,³ since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ 18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. 19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so ^qthat it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, ^rall women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, ^sto every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.

Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever

Paul and the False Apostles

1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since ⁿI betrothed you to one husband, ^oto present you ^pas a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that ^qas the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts ^rwill be led astray from a ^ssincere and ^tpure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and ^uproclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept ^va different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. 5 Indeed, I consider that ^wI am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 ^xEven if I am unskilled in speaking, ^yI am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way ^zwe have made this plain to you in all things.

7 Or ^adid I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because ^bI preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was ^cin need, ^dI did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia ^esupplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain ^ffrom burdening you in any way. 10 ^gAs the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine ^hwill not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? ⁱBecause I do not love you? ^jGod knows I do!

12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, ^kin order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are ^lfalse apostles, ^mdeceitful workmen, ⁿdisguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as ^oan angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as ^pservants of righteousness. ^qTheir end will correspond to their deeds.

Paul’s Sufferings as an Apostle

16 I repeat, ^rlet no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying ^swith this boastful confidence, ^tI say not as the Lord would¹ but as a fool. 18 Since ^umany boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with fools, ^vbeing wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone ^wmakes slaves of you, or ^xdevours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or ^ystrikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, ^zwe were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? ^aSo am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ^bservants of Christ? ^cI am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, ^dfar more imprisonments, ^ewith countless beatings, and ^foften near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the ^gforty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was ^hbeaten with rods. ⁱOnce I was stoned. Three times I ^jwas shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, ^kdanger from my own people, ^ldanger from Gentiles, ^mdanger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 ⁿin toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, ^oin hunger and thirst, often without food,² in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for ^pall the churches. 29 ^qWho is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

30 ^rIf I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 ^sThe God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^the who is blessed forever, ^uknows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas ^vwas guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 ^wbut I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

Paul’s Visions and His Thorn

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and ^xrevelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man ^yin Christ who fourteen years ago was ^zcaught up to ^athe third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^bGod knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into ^cparadise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, ^bGod knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, ^dexcept of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, ^eI would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 So ^fto keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,^{3 g}a thorn was given me in the flesh, ^ha messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 ⁱThree times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, ^j“My grace is sufficient for you, for ^kmy power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that ^lthe power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 ^mFor the sake of Christ, then, ⁿI am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For ^owhen I am weak, then I am strong.

Concern for the Corinthian Church

11 ^pI have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was ^qnot at all inferior to these super-apostles, ^reven though I am nothing. 12 ^sThe signs of a true apostle were performed among you ^twith utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that ^uI myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

14 Here ^vfor the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for ^wI seek not what is yours but you. For ^xchildren are not obligated to save up for their parents, but ^yparents for their children. 15 ^zI will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If ^aI love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that ^bI myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you ^cthrough any of those whom I sent to you? 18 ^dI urged Titus to go, and sent ^ethe brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?

19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is ^fin the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and ^gall for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps ^hwhen I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those ⁱwho sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, ^jsexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

Final Warnings

1 ^kThis is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established ^lby the evidence of two or three witnesses. 2 ^mI warned ⁿthose who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that ^oif I come again I will not spare them— 3 since you seek proof that Christ ^pis speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but ^qis powerful among you. 4 For ^rhe was crucified in weakness, but ^slives by the power of God. For ^twe also are weak in him, but in dealing with you ^uwe will live with him by the power of God.

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. ^vTest yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that ^wJesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when ^xwe are weak and you are strong. Your ^yrestoration is what we pray for. 10 For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come ^zI may not have to be ^asevere in my use of ^bthe authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

Final Greetings

11 Finally, brothers,⁴ rejoice. ^cAim for restoration, comfort one another,^{5 d}agree with one another, ^elive in peace; and the God of love and ^fpeace will be with you. 12 ^gGreet one another with a holy kiss. 13 ^hAll the saints greet you.

14 ⁱThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and ^jthe love of God and ^kthe fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.