Daily Readings for November 30
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Esther 7

 

1.So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. 2.The king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, "What is your petition, queen Esther? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed."

3.Then Esther the queen answered, "If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4.For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondservants and bondmaids, I would have held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's loss."

5.Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, "Who is he, and where is he who dared presume in his heart to do so?"

6.Esther said, "An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman!"

Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. 7.The king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden. Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 8.Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, "Will he even assault the queen in front of me in the house?" As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face.

9.Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were with the king said, "Behold, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, is standing at Haman's house."

The king said, "Hang him on it!"

10.So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.

 

Esther 8

 

1.On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews' enemy, to Esther the queen. Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her. 2.The king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. 3.Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and begged him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. 4.Then the king held out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose, and stood before the king. 5.She said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right to the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces. 6.For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my people? How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?"

7.Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, "See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged on the gallows, because he laid his hand on the Jews. 8.Write also to the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's ring; for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may not be reversed by any man."

9.Then the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month Sivan, on the twenty-third day of the month; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing, and in their language. 10.He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal horses that were bread from swift steeds. 11.In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together, and to defend their life, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions, 12.on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 13.A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14.So the couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. The decree was given out in the citadel of Susa.

15.Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad. 16.The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor. 17.In every province, and in every city, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness, joy, a feast, and a good day. Many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen on them.

 

Obadiah 1

 

1.The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord¹ Yahweh² says about Edom. We have heard news from Yahweh, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, saying, "Arise, and let's rise up against her in battle. 2.Behold, I have made you small among the nations. You are greatly despised. 3.The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?' 4.Though you mount on high as the eagle, and though your nest is set among the stars, I will bring you down from there," says Yahweh. 5."If thieves came to you, if robbers by night--oh, what disaster awaits you--wouldn't they only steal until they had enough? If grape pickers came to you, wouldn't they leave some gleaning grapes? 6.How Esau will be ransacked! How his hidden treasures are sought out! 7.All the men of your alliance have brought you on your way, even to the border. The men who were at peace with you have deceived you, and prevailed against you. Friends who eat your bread lay a snare under you. There is no understanding in him."

8."Won't I in that day," says Yahweh, "destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mountain of Esau? 9.Your mighty men, Teman, will be dismayed, to the end that everyone may be cut off from the mountain of Esau by slaughter. 10.For the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever. 11.In the day that you stood on the other side, in the day that strangers carried away his substance, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots for Jerusalem, even you were like one of them. 12.But don't look down on your brother in the day of his disaster, and don't rejoice over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction. Don't speak proudly in the day of distress. 13.Don't enter into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity. Don't look down on their affliction in the day of their calamity, neither seize their wealth on the day of their calamity. 14.Don't stand in the crossroads to cut off those of his who escape. Don't deliver up those of his who remain in the day of distress. 15.For the day of Yahweh is near all the nations! As you have done, it will be done to you. Your deeds will return upon your own head. 16.For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so will all the nations drink continually. Yes, they will drink, swallow down, and will be as though they had not been. 17.But in Mount Zion, there will be those who escape, and it will be holy. The house of Jacob will possess their possessions. 18.The house of Jacob will be a fire, the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble. They will burn among them, and devour them. There will not be any remaining to the house of Esau." Indeed, Yahweh has spoken.

19.Those of the South will possess the mountain of Esau, and those of the lowland, the Philistines. They will possess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria. Benjamin will possess Gilead. 20.The captives of this army of the children of Israel, who are among the Canaanites, will possess even to Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad, will possess the cities of the Negev. 21.Saviors will go up on Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom will be Yahweh's.

 

Hebrews 3

 

1.Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus; 2.who was faithful to him who appointed him, as also was Moses in all his house. 3.For he has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house. 4.For every house is built by someone; but he who built all things is God. 5.Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were afterward to be spoken, 6.but Christ is faithful as a Son over his house; whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the glorying of our hope firm to the end. 7.Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you will hear his voice, 8.don't harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, 9.where your fathers tested me by proving me, and saw my works for forty years. 10.Therefore I was displeased with that generation, and said, 'They always err in their heart, but they didn't know my ways;' 11.as I swore in my wrath, 'They will not enter into my rest.'"¹³

12.Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God; 13.but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called "today;" lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14.For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end: 15.while it is said, "Today if you will hear his voice, don't harden your hearts, as in the rebellion."¹⁴

16.For who, when they heard, rebelled? No, didn't all those who came out of Egypt by Moses? 17.With whom was he displeased forty years? Wasn't it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18.To whom did he swear that they wouldn't enter into his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19.We see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.

 

Hebrews 4

 

1.Let us fear therefore, lest perhaps anyone of you should seem to have come short of a promise of entering into his rest. 2.For indeed we have had good news preached to us, even as they also did, but the word they heard didn't profit them, because it wasn't mixed with faith by those who heard. 3.For we who have believed do enter into that rest, even as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest;"¹⁵ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4.For he has said this somewhere about the seventh day, "God rested on the seventh day from all his works;"¹⁶ 5.and in this place again, "They will not enter into my rest."¹⁷

6.Seeing therefore it remains that some should enter therein, and they to whom the good news was before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, 7.he again defines a certain day, today, saying through David so long a time afterward (just as has been said), "Today if you will hear his voice, don't harden your hearts."¹⁸

8.For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. 9.There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10.For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. 11.Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience. 12.For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

13.There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14.Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold tightly to our confession. 15.For we don't have a high priest who can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. 16.Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.

 

Hebrews 5

 

1.For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2.The high priest can deal gently with those who are ignorant and going astray, because he himself is also surrounded with weakness. 3.Because of this, he must offer sacrifices for sins for the people, as well as for himself. 4.Nobody takes this honor on himself, but he is called by God, just like Aaron was. 5.So also Christ didn't glorify himself to be made a high priest, but it was he who said to him, "You are my Son. Today I have become your father."¹⁹

6.As he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek."²⁰

7.He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear, 8.though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. 9.Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation, 10.named by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. 11.About him we have many words to say, and hard to interpret, seeing you have become dull of hearing. 12.For although by this time you should be teachers, you again need to have someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God. You have come to need milk, and not solid food. 13.For everyone who lives on milk is not experienced in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby. 14.But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.

 

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