Esther 8:1-8, 8:15-17
On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. Then the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with him to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. The king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king. She said, "If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favor, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?" Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, "See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on the Jews. You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked." Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honor. In every province and in every city, wherever the king's command and his edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a festival and a holiday. Furthermore, many of the peoples of the country professed to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.
Acts 19:21-41
Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to Jerusalem. He said, "After I have gone there, I must also see Rome." So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia. About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, "Men, you know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her." When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's travel companions. Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him; even some officials of the province of Asia, who were friendly to him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theater. Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and tried to make a defense before the people. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" But when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, "Citizens of Ephesus, who is there that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven? Since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. You have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against one another. If there is anything further you want to know, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion." When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Luke 4:31-37
He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, "Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, "What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!" And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.
Morning Psalms
Psalm 88 Domine, Deus
1 O LORD, my God, my Savior, by day and night I cry to you.
2 Let my prayer enter into your presence; incline your ear to my lamentation.
3 For I am full of trouble; my life is at the brink of the grave.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I have become like one who has no strength;
5 Lost among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave,
6 Whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.
7 You have laid me in the depths of the Pit, in dark places, and in the abyss.
8 Your anger weighs upon me heavily, and all your great waves overwhelm me.
9 You have put my friends far from me; you have made me to be abhorred by them; I am in prison and cannot get free.
10 My sight has failed me because of trouble; LORD, I have called upon you daily; I have stretched out my hands to you.
11 Do you work wonders for the dead? will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
12 Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave? your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
13 Will your wonders be known in the dark? or your righteousness in the country where all is forgotten?
14 But as for me, O LORD, I cry to you for help; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
15 LORD, why have you rejected me? why have you hidden your face from me?
16 Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the point of death; I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
17 Your blazing anger has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me;
18 They surround me all day long like a flood; they encompass me on every side.
19 My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me, and darkness is my only companion.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 91 Qui habitat
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, abides under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 He shall say to the LORD, "You are my refuge and my stronghold, my God in whom I put my trust."
3 He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with his pinions, and you shall find refuge under his wings; his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the plague that stalks in the darkness, nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.
7 A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
8 Your eyes have only to behold to see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the LORD your refuge, and the Most High your habitation,
10 There shall no evil happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
12 They shall bear you in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the adder; you shall trample the young lion and the serpent under your feet.
14 Because he is bound to me in love, therefore will I deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.
Psalm 92 Bonum est confiteri
1 It is a good thing to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
2 To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning and of your faithfulness in the night season;
3 On the psaltery, and on the lyre, and to the melody of the harp.
4 For you have made me glad by your acts, O LORD; and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.
5 LORD, how great are your works! your thoughts are very deep.
6 The dullard does not know, nor does the fool understand, that though the wicked grow like weeds, and all the workers of iniquity flourish,
7 They flourish only to be destroyed for ever; but you, O LORD, are exalted for evermore.
8 For lo, your enemies, O LORD, lo, your enemies shall perish, and all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
9 But my horn you have exalted like the horns of wild bulls; I am anointed with fresh oil.
10 My eyes also gloat over my enemies, and my ears rejoice to hear the doom of the wicked who rise up against me.
11 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.
12 Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God;
13 They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be green and succulent;
14 That they may show how upright the LORD is, my Rock, in whom there is no fault.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
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