Luke 20:9–19; Philemon 1–11; Proverbs 17:1–14; Esther 7–8

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Luke 20:9–19

The Parable of the Wicked Tenants

oAnd he began to tell the people this parable: A man planted pa vineyard and qlet it out to tenants and rwent into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant1 to the tenants, so that qthey would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. sBut the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 tAnd she sent another servant. But they also beat and utreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 sAnd he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my vbeloved son; perhaps they will respect him. 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, wThis is the heir. xLet us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours. 15 And they ythrew him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 zHe will acome and destroy those tenants and bgive the vineyard to others. When they heard this, they said, Surely not! 17 But he clooked directly at them and said, What then is this that is written:

dThe stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone?2

18 eEveryone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls fon anyone, it will crush him.

Paying Taxes to Caesar

19 hThe scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.


Philemon 1–11

Greeting

Paul, aa prisoner for Christ Jesus, and bTimothy our brother,

To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and cArchippus our dfellow soldier, and ethe church in your house:

fGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

gI thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hhear of your love and iof the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full jknowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.1 For I have derived much joy and kcomfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints lhave been refreshed through you.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

Accordingly, mthough I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do nwhat is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to youI, Paul, an old man and now oa prisoner also for Christ Jesus 10 I appeal to you for pmy child, qOnesimus,2 rwhose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)


Proverbs 17:1–14

mBetter is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting1 with strife.

A servant who deals wisely will rule over na son who acts shamefully

and owill share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

pThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

qand the Lord tests hearts.

An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

Whoever mocks the poor rinsults his Maker;

he who is sglad at calamity will not go tunpunished.

uGrandchildren are vthe crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

Fine speech is not wbecoming to a fool;

still less is xfalse speech to a prince.

yA bribe is like a magic2 stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

Whoever zcovers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter aseparates close friends.

10  A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool.

11  An evil man seeks only rebellion,

and ba cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12  Let a man meet ca she-bear robbed of her cubs

drather than a fool in his folly.

13  If anyone ereturns evil for good,

fevil will not depart from his house.

14  The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so gquit before the quarrel breaks out.


Esther 7–8

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, cWhat is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? dEven to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled. Then Queen Esther answered, eIf I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. fFor we have been sold, I and my people, gto be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king. Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, Who is he, and where is he, who has dared1 to do this? And Esther said, hA foe and enemy! This wicked Haman! Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

Haman Is Hanged

And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into ithe palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. And the king returned from ithe palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on jthe couch where Esther was. And the king said, Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house? As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. Then kHarbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, Moreover, lthe gallows2 that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, mwhose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits3 high. And the king said, Hang him on that. 10 nSo they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. oThen the wrath of the king abated.

Esther Saves the Jews

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, hthe enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told pwhat he was to her. qAnd the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman rthe Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. sWhen the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, If it please the king, tand if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke uthe letters devised by Haman rthe Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear vto see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred? Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, wI have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows,4 because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, xand seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring ycannot be revoked.

zThe king’s scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to athe satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces bfrom India to Ethiopia, b127 provinces, cto each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. 10 dAnd he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus eand sealed it with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on fswift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud, 11 saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city gto gather and defend their lives, hto destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, iand to plunder their goods, 12 jon one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 13 kA copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. 14 So the couriers, mounted on their fswift horses that were used in the king’s service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.

15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king lin royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown5 and ma robe of fine linen and purple, nand the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. 16 The Jews had olight and gladness and joy and honor. 17 And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and pa holiday. qAnd many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, rfor fear of the Jews had fallen on them.