• Esther 5-7
    Jun 20 2026
    “1 ¶ On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance.2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.3 ¶ Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”4 ¶ “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”5 ¶ “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.” ¶ So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”7 ¶ Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this:8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”9 ¶ Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai.10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. ¶ Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife,11 Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials.12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow.13 But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”14 ¶ His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.1 ¶ That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him.2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.3 ¶ “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked. ¶ “Nothing has been done for him,” his attendants answered.4 ¶ The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.5 ¶ His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.” ¶ “Bring him in,” the king ordered.6 ¶ When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?” ¶ Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?”7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor,8 have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head.9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!’ ”10 ¶ “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”11 ¶ So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”12 ¶ Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief,13 and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. ¶ His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!”14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.1 ¶ So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet,2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the ...
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    7 mins
  • Esther 3-4
    Jun 13 2026
    “1 ¶ After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles.2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.3 ¶ Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.5 ¶ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.6 Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.7 ¶ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.8 ¶ Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”10 ¶ So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.11 “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”12 ¶ Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring.13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.15 ¶ The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.1 ¶ When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.2 But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.4 ¶ When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.5 Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.6 ¶ So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate.7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.9 ¶ Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said.10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai,11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”12 ¶ When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai,13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your...
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    6 mins
  • Esther 1-2
    Jun 6 2026
    “1 ¶ This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush:2 At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa,3 and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.4 ¶ For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.5 When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa.6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones.7 Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality.8 By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.9 ¶ Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.10 ¶ On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas—11 to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at.12 But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.13 ¶ Since it was customary for the king to consult experts in matters of law and justice, he spoke with the wise men who understood the times14 and were closest to the king—Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan, the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.15 ¶ “According to law, what must be done to Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes that the eunuchs have taken to her.”16 ¶ Then Memukan replied in the presence of the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the nobles and the peoples of all the provinces of King Xerxes.17 For the queen’s conduct will become known to all the women, and so they will despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she would not come.’18 This very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have heard about the queen’s conduct will respond to all the king’s nobles in the same way. There will be no end of disrespect and discord.19 ¶ “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed, that Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her royal position to someone else who is better than she.20 Then when the king’s edict is proclaimed throughout all his vast realm, all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest.”21 ¶ The king and his nobles were pleased with this advice, so the king did as Memukan proposed.22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue.1 ¶ Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her.2 Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king.3 Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them.4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.5 ¶ Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish,6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah.7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.8 ¶ When the king’s order and edict had been...
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    9 mins
  • Acts 21:1-14
    May 30 2026

    1 ¶ After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara.


    2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail.


    3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo.


    4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.


    5 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray.


    6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.


    7 ¶ We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day.


    8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven.


    9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.


    10 ¶ After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.


    11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”


    12 ¶ When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.


    13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”


    14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”” (Acts 21:1-14)

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    2 mins
  • Acts 20:25-38
    May 23 2026

    25 ¶ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.


    26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.


    27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.


    28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.


    29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.


    30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.


    31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.


    32 ¶ “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.


    33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.


    34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.


    35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”


    36 ¶ When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.


    37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.


    38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.” (Acts 20:25-38)

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    2 mins
  • Acts 20:13-24
    May 16 2026

    13 ¶ We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.


    14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.


    15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.


    16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.


    17 ¶ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.


    18 When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia.


    19 I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.


    20 You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.


    21 I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.


    22 ¶ “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.


    23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.


    24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:13-24)

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    2 mins
  • Acts 20:1-12
    May 9 2026

    1 ¶ When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia.


    2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece,


    3 where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.


    4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.


    5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas.


    6 But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.


    7 ¶ On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.


    8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.


    9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.


    10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!”


    11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.


    12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.” (Acts 20:1-12)

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    2 mins
  • Acts 19:23-41
    May 2 2026

    “About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.” (Acts 19:23-41)

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    3 mins