Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting, ¹ 

So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to ¹  your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”

He has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisers, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

But I see the prophets of Jerusalem ¹  doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. ²  So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. ³  I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah. ⁴ 

to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year

What is my strength, that I should wait? ¹  and what is my end, ²  that I should prolong my life?

Turn your angry gaze away from me, so I can be happy before I pass away. ¹ 

The oppressed look on – let them rejoice! You who seek God, ¹  may you be encouraged! ² 

I collapse ¹  from grief. Sustain me by your word! ² 

If I had not found encouragement in your law, ¹  I would have died in my sorrow. ² 

When ¹  I cried out for help, you answered me. You made me bold and energized me. ² 

When ¹  a sentence ²  is not executed ³  at once against a crime, ⁴  the human heart ⁵  is encouraged to do evil. ⁶ 

They help one another; ¹  one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’

And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I ¹  stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.)

So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for building up one another.

so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

For they refreshed my spirit and yours. So then, recognize people like this.

For this reason I ask you ¹  not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, ²  which ³  is your glory. ⁴ 

Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture, ¹  to exhortation, to teaching.