Dog Dad Devotions on Leadership, Loyalty and Love

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God Gives Good Gifts to Everyone

When God Says No!

The Last Half Hour: When Waiting Becomes Glory

Acts Reading Plan

A Brighter Future: A 5-Day Devotional

See God’s Peace: 3 Days of Visio Divina

The Journey of Yes

Living With a Strong-Willed Child

New International Version

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEST">
      <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="EST.2.19+EST.2.20+EST.2.21+EST.2.22+EST.2.23">
         <div class="p"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="EST.2.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king&#8217;s gate. </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="EST.2.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai&#8217;s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="EST.2.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="EST.2.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king&#8217;s gate, Bigthana</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">2:21 </span><span class="ft">Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">Bigthan, </span><span class="ft">a variant of </span><span class="fq">Bigthana</span></span></span><span class="content"> and Teresh, two of the king&#8217;s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="EST.2.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="EST.2.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.</span></span></div>
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The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEST">
      <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="EST.3">
         <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Haman&#8217;s Plot to Destroy the Jews</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EST.3.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">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. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.3.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">All the royal officials at the king&#8217;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.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.3.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.3.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Then the royal officials at the king&#8217;s gate asked Mordecai, &#8220;Why do you disobey the king&#8217;s command?&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.3.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai&#8217;s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.3.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.3.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.3.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Yet having learned who Mordecai&#8217;s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai&#8217;s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.3.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EST.3.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the </span><span class="tl"><span class="content">pur</span></span><span class="content"> (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">3:7 </span><span class="ft">Septuagint; Hebrew does not have </span><span class="fq">And the lot fell on</span><span class="fqa">.</span></span></span><span class="content"> the twelfth month, the month of Adar.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EST.3.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.3.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Then Haman said to King Xerxes, &#8220;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&#8217;s laws; it is not in the king&#8217;s best interest to tolerate them. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.3.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">3:9 </span><span class="ft">That is, about 375 tons or about 340 metric tons</span></span></span><span class="content"> of silver to the king&#8217;s administrators for the royal treasury.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.3.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.3.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">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. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EST.3.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">&#8220;Keep the money,&#8221; the king said to Haman, &#8220;and do with the people as you please.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EST.3.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EST.3.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">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&#8217;s orders to the king&#8217;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. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EST.3.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king&#8217;s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews&#8212;young and old, women and children&#8212;on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EST.3.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">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.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EST.3.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="EST.3.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">The couriers went out, spurred on by the king&#8217;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.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEST">
      <div class="chapter ch5" data-usfm="EST.5">
         <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Esther&#8217;s Request to the King</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EST.5.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king&#8217;s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.5.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">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.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.5.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.5.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Then the king asked, &#8220;What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.5.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.5.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">&#8220;If it pleases the king,&#8221; replied Esther, &#8220;let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.5.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.5.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">&#8220;Bring Haman at once,&#8221; the king said, &#8220;so that we may do what Esther asks.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.5.5"><span class="content">So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.5.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, &#8220;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.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.5.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EST.5.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Esther replied, &#8220;My petition and my request is this: </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.5.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">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&#8217;s question.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Haman&#8217;s Rage Against Mordecai</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.5.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.5.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king&#8217;s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.5.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.5.10"><span class="content">Calling together his friends and Zeresh, his wife, </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EST.5.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">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. </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EST.5.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">&#8220;And that&#8217;s not all,&#8221; Haman added. &#8220;I&#8217;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. </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EST.5.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king&#8217;s gate.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EST.5.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EST.5.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, &#8220;Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits,</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">5:14 </span><span class="ft">That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters</span></span></span><span class="content"> and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.&#8221; This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.</span></span></div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEST">
      <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="EST.6">
         <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Mordecai Honored</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EST.6.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">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. </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.6.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king&#8217;s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.6.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.6.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">&#8220;What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?&#8221; the king asked.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.6.3"><span class="content">&#8220;Nothing has been done for him,&#8221; his attendants answered.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.6.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.6.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">The king said, &#8220;Who is in the court?&#8221; 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.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.6.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.6.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">His attendants answered, &#8220;Haman is standing in the court.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.6.5"><span class="content">&#8220;Bring him in,&#8221; the king ordered.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.6.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.6.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">When Haman entered, the king asked him, &#8220;What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.6.6"><span class="content">Now Haman thought to himself, &#8220;Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EST.6.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">So he answered the king, &#8220;For the man the king delights to honor, </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.6.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">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. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.6.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king&#8217;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, &#8216;This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.6.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.6.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">&#8220;Go at once,&#8221; the king commanded Haman. &#8220;Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king&#8217;s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.6.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EST.6.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, &#8220;This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="EST.6.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="EST.6.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Afterward Mordecai returned to the king&#8217;s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EST.6.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="EST.6.13"><span class="content">His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, &#8220;Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him&#8212;you will surely come to ruin!&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="EST.6.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">While they were still talking with him, the king&#8217;s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.</span></span></div>
      </div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkEST">
      <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="EST.7">
         <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Haman Impaled</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="EST.7.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther&#8217;s banquet, </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.7.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, &#8220;Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="EST.7.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="EST.7.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Then Queen Esther answered, &#8220;If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life&#8212;this is my petition. And spare my people&#8212;this is my request. </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.7.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">7:4 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">quiet, but the compensation our adversary offers cannot be compared with the loss the king would suffer</span></span></span><span class="content">&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="EST.7.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.7.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, &#8220;Who is he? Where is he&#8212;the man who has dared to do such a thing?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="EST.7.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.7.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Esther said, &#8220;An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="EST.7.6"><span class="content">Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EST.7.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="EST.7.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.7.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.7.8"><span class="content">The king exclaimed, &#8220;Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="EST.7.8"><span class="content">As soon as the word left the king&#8217;s mouth, they covered Haman&#8217;s face. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.7.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, &#8220;A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">7:9 </span><span class="ft">That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters</span></span></span><span class="content"> stands by Haman&#8217;s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.&#8221;</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="EST.7.9"><span class="content">The king said, &#8220;Impale him on it!&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="EST.7.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king&#8217;s fury subsided.</span></span></div>
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Be an Unsung Hero of FaithSample

Be an Unsung Hero of Faith: The Brave

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