Wednesday in Easter

1Verse 1. On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them. 2Verse 2. In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples. 3Verse 3. And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them. 4Verse 4. For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful. 5Verse 5. The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them. 18Verse 18. The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy. 19Verse 19. This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another. 20Verse 20. Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far, 21Verse 21. to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar 22Verse 22. as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor. 23Verse 23. So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them.

4Verse 4. I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5Verse 5. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6Verse 6. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Verse 7. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 8Verse 8. I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. 9Verse 9. But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10Verse 10. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11Verse 11. When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say. 12Verse 12. For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”