The Triumphal Entry
28 And when he had said these things, bhe went on ahead, cgoing up to Jerusalem. 29 dWhen he drew near to Bethphage and eBethany, at fthe mount that is called Olivet, he sent gtwo of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, hon which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it ijust as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they jspread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—kthe whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice lfor all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, m“Blessed is nthe King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and oglory in the highest!”
11 For hthe grace of God ihas appeared, bringing salvation jfor all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and kworldly passions, and lto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in mthe present age, 13 nwaiting for our blessed ohope, the pappearing of the glory of our great qGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 rwho gave himself for us to sredeem us from all lawlessness and tto purify for himself ta people for his own possession who are uzealous for good works.
15 Declare these things; exhort and vrebuke with all authority. wLet no one disregard you.
18 eA hot-tempered man fstirs up strife,
but he who is gslow to anger quiets contention.
19 The way of ha sluggard is like a hedge of ithorns,
but the path of the upright is ja level highway.
20 kA wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish man despises his mother.
21 lFolly is a joy to him who lacks sense,
but a man of understanding mwalks straight ahead.
22 nWithout counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.
23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,
and oa word in season, how good it is!
24 The path of life leads upward pfor the prudent,
that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
25 The Lord tears down the house of qthe proud
but rmaintains sthe widow’s boundaries.
26 tThe thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,
but ugracious words are pure.
27 Whoever is vgreedy for unjust gain wtroubles his own household,
but he who hates xbribes will live.
28 The heart of the righteous yponders how to answer,
but zthe mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
29 The Lord is afar from the wicked,
but he bhears the prayer of the righteous.
30 cThe light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
and dgood news refreshes1 the bones.
31 eThe ear that listens to flife-giving reproof
will dwell among the wise.
32 Whoever gignores instruction hdespises himself,
but he who listens to reproof igains intelligence.
33 jThe fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
and khumility comes before honor.
Esther Chosen Queen
1 After these things, twhen the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti uand what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of vHegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. wLet their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king1 be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.
5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was xMordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 ywho had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, zthe daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and awhen many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of bHegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her cwith her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king’s palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 10 dEsther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. 11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.
12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women— 13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.
15 When the turn came for Esther ethe daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what fHegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set gthe royal crown2 on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king hgave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther’s feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.
Mordecai Discovers a Plot
19 Now when the virgins were gathered together ithe second time, Mordecai was sitting jat the king’s gate. 20 kEsther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just las when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, mBigthan and nTeresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, oand he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows.3 And it was recorded in pthe book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
