Esther 9 - 10, 1 John 1 - 2, Proverbs 27

The Jews Strike Down Their Enemies

9Now ^ain the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar), on ^bthe thirteenth ¹day ^cwhen the king’s word and law had reached the point for them to be done, on the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over them, it was turned around so that the Jews themselves gained power over those who hated them. ²^aThe Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to send forth their hand against those who sought their calamity; and no one could stand before them, ^bfor the dread of them had fallen on all the peoples. ³Even all the princes of the provinces, ^athe satraps, the governors, and those who were doing the king’s work ¹advanced the Jews, because the dread of Mordecai had fallen on them. ⁴Indeed, Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and the report about him went throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai ^abecame greater and greater. ⁵Thus ^athe Jews struck all their enemies with ¹the sword, killing and causing them to perish; and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. ⁶And at the citadel in Susa the Jews killed and caused to perish 500 men, ⁷and Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, ⁸Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, ⁹Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, ¹⁰^athe 10 sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ adversary; but ^bthey did not send forth their hand for the plunder.

¹¹On that day the number of those who were killed at the citadel in Susa came to the king. ¹²So the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and caused to perish 500 men and the 10 sons of Haman at the citadel in Susa. Now in the rest of the king’s provinces, what have they done? ^aSo what is ¹your petition? It shall even be given to you. And what is ²your further request? It shall also be done.” ¹³Then Esther said, “If it is good to the king, ^alet tomorrow also be given to the Jews who are in Susa to do according to the law for today; and let Haman’s 10 sons be hanged on the gallows.” ¹⁴So the king said that it should be done so; and a law was given in Susa, and Haman’s 10 sons were hanged. ¹⁵And the Jews who were in Susa assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month Adar and killed ^a300 men in Susa, but ^bthey did not send forth their hand for the plunder.

¹⁶Now ^athe rest of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces ^bassembled, to make a stand for their lives and obtain rest for themselves from their enemies, and to kill 75,000 of those who hated them; but they did not send forth their hand for the plunder. ¹⁷This was done on ^athe thirteenth day of the month Adar, and ^bon the fourteenth ¹day they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

¹⁸But the Jews who were in Susa ^aassembled on the thirteenth and ^bthe fourteenth ¹of the same month, and they rested on the fifteenth ²day and made it a day of feasting and gladness. ¹⁹Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in ^athe rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a ¹^,^bholiday for gladness and feasting and ^csending portions of food to one another.

The Feast of Purim Is Established

²⁰Then Mordecai wrote down these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, ²¹to establish among them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day ¹of the same month, annually, ²²because on those days the Jews obtained rest for themselves from their enemies, and it was a month which was ^aturned around for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a ¹holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness and ^bsending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

²³Thus the Jews fully accepted what they had started to do and what Mordecai had written to them. ²⁴For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the adversary of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to cause them to perish and ^ahad cast Pur, that is the lot, to throw them into confusion and cause them to perish. ²⁵But ^awhen it came before the king, he said by letter ^bthat his evil scheme, which he had ¹devised against the Jews, ^cshould return on his own head and that he and his sons should be hanged on the ²gallows. ²⁶Therefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore, ^abecause of the words in this letter, both what they had seen in this regard and what had reached them, ²⁷the Jews established and accepted a custom for themselves and for their seed and for ^aall those who joined themselves to them, so that ¹^,^bcelebrating these two days according to what was written down and according to their fixed time from year to year would not pass away. ²⁸So these days were to be remembered and celebrated throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; thus these days of Purim were not to pass away from among the Jews, nor their memory come to an end from their seed.

²⁹Then Queen Esther, ^adaughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to establish ^bthis second letter about Purim. ³⁰And he sent letters to all the Jews, ^ato the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, namely, words of peace and truth, ³¹to establish these days of Purim at their appointed times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established for them, and just as they had established for themselves and for their seed with words concerning ^atheir times of fasting and their crying out. ³²And the declaration of Esther established these words concerning ^aPurim, and it was written in the book.

Mordecai’s Greatness

10Then King Ahasuerus set forced labor upon the land and the ^acoastlands of the sea. ²And the entire work of his authority and his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, ^awhom the king had made so great, are they not written in ^bthe book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? ³For Mordecai the Jew was ^asecond only to King Ahasuerus and was great among the Jews and pleasing to his many fellow brothers, ^bone who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the peace of all his seed.

The Word of Life

1What was ^afrom the beginning, what we have ^bheard, what we have ^cseen with our eyes, what we ^dbeheld and ^etouched with our hands, concerning the ^fWord of Life— ²and ^athe life was manifested, and we have ^bseen and ^cbear witness and proclaim to you ^dthe eternal life, which was ^ewith the Father and was ^fmanifested to us— ³what we have ^aseen and ^bheard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our ^cfellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴^aAnd these things we are writing, so that our ^bjoy may be made complete.

God Is Light

⁵^aAnd this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that ^bGod is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶^aIf we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^blie and ^cdo not do the truth; ⁷but if we ^awalk in the Light as ^bHe Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^cthe blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸^aIf we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the ^btruth is not in us. ⁹^aIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and ^bto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰^aIf we say that we have not sinned, we ^bmake Him a liar and ^cHis word is not in us.

Jesus Christ Our Advocate

2^aMy little children, I am ^bwriting these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^cwe have an ¹^,^dAdvocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and He Himself is ^athe ¹propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also ^bfor those of the whole world.

³^aAnd by this we know that we have come to ^bknow Him, if we ^ckeep His commandments. ⁴The one who says, “^aI have come to ^bknow Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^cliar, and ^dthe truth is not in him; ⁵but whoever ^akeeps His word, truly in him the ^blove of God has been perfected. ^cBy this we know that we are in Him: ⁶the one who says he ^aabides in Him ^bought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

⁷^aBeloved, I am ^bnot writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^cfrom the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ⁸¹On the other hand, I am writing ^aa new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because ^bthe darkness is passing away and ^cthe true Light is already shining. ⁹The one who says he is in the Light and yet ^ahates his ^bbrother is in the darkness until now. ¹⁰^aThe one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But the one who ^ahates his brother is in the darkness and ^bwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness ^cblinded his eyes.

¹²I am writing to you, ^alittle children, because ^byour sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. ¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Him ^awho has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because ^byou have overcome ^cthe evil one. I have written to you, children, because ¹^,^dyou have known the Father. ¹⁴I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him ^awho has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are ^bstrong, and the ^cword of God abides in you, and ^dyou have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵Do not love ^athe world nor the things in the world. ^bIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world, ^athe lust of the flesh and ^bthe lust of the eyes and ^cthe boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷^aAnd the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who ^bdoes the will of God abides forever.

¹⁸Children, ^ait is the last hour; and just as you heard that ^bantichrist is coming, ^ceven now many antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹^aThey went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they were of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, ^bso that ¹it would be manifested that they all are not of us. ²⁰¹But you have an ^aanointing from ^bthe Holy One, and ^cyou all know. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but ^abecause you do know it, and ¹because no lie is ^bof the truth. ²²Who is the liar but ^athe one who denies that Jesus is the ¹Christ? This is ^bthe ²antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³^aEveryone who denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴As for you, let that which you heard ^afrom the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also ^bwill abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵^aAnd this is the promise which He Himself ¹made to us: eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you about those who are trying to ^adeceive you. ²⁷And as for you, the ^aanointing whom you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as His anointing ^bteaches you about all things, and is ^ctrue and is not a lie, and just as He has taught you, ¹abide in Him.

²⁸And now, ^alittle children, abide in Him, so that when He ^bis manifested, we may have ^cconfidence and ^dnot ¹shrink away from Him in shame ²at His ^ecoming. ²⁹If you know that ^aHe is righteous, you know that everyone also who does righteousness ^bhas been ¹born of Him.

Instructions and Warnings

27^aDo not boast about tomorrow,For you ^bdo not know what a day may bring forth.²Let a ^astranger praise you, and not your own mouth;A foreigner, and not your own lips.³A stone is heavy and the sand weighty,But the provocation of an ignorant fool is heavier than both of them.⁴Wrath is cruelty and anger is a flood,But ^awho can stand before jealousy?⁵Better is reproof that is ^arevealedThan love that is hidden.⁶Faithful are the ^awounds of a friend,But ¹deceitful are the ^bkisses of an enemy.⁷A satisfied soul tramples the honeycomb,But to a hungry soul any bitter thing is sweet.⁸Like a ^abird that wanders from her nest,So is a man who ^bwanders from his place.⁹^aOil and incense make the heart glad,So counsel from the ¹soul is sweet to his friend.¹⁰Do not forsake your ^afriend or ^byour father’s friend,And do not come to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;Better is one who dwells near than a brother far away.¹¹^aBe wise, my son, and make my heart glad,That I may ^brespond with a word to him who reproaches me.¹²A prudent man sees evil and hides,The simple pass on and are punished.¹³^aTake his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;And for ¹a foreign woman seize it as a pledge.¹⁴^aHe who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,It will be counted as a curse to him.¹⁵A ^aconstant dripping on a day of steady rainAnd a contentious woman are alike;¹⁶He who would ¹restrain her ²restrains the wind,And ³grasps oil with his right hand.¹⁷Iron sharpens iron,So one man sharpens another.¹⁸He who guards the ^afig tree will eat its fruit,And he who ^bkeeps watch for his master will be honored.¹⁹As in water face reflects face,So the heart of man reflects man.²⁰^aSheol and Abaddon are ^bnever satisfied,So the ^ceyes of man are never satisfied.²¹The ^arefining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,And each ^bis tested by the mouth that praises him.²²Though you ^apound an ignorant fool in a mortar with a pestle in the midst of crushed grain,His ¹folly will not turn aside from him.²³^aKnow well the ¹condition of your flocks,And pay attention to your herds;²⁴For wealth is not forever,Neither is a ^acrown from generation to generation.²⁵When the grass disappears and the vegetation appears,And the herbs of the mountains are ^agathered in,²⁶The lambs will be for your clothing,And the goats will bring the price of a field,²⁷And there will be enough goats’ milk for your food,For the food of your household,And sustenance for your maidens.