The Bowls of God's Anger

Revelation 16 Then I heard a loud voice speaking from the temple to the seven angels: "Go and pour out the seven bowls of God's anger on the earth!"
²The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Terrible and painful sores appeared on those who had the mark of the beast and on those who had worshiped its image.
³Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. The water became like the blood of a dead person, and every living creature in the sea died.
⁴Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. ⁵I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, "The judgments you have made are just, O Holy One, you who are and who were! ⁶They poured out the blood of God's people and of the prophets, and so you have given them blood to drink. They are getting what they deserve!" ⁷Then I heard a voice from the altar saying, "Lord God Almighty! True and just indeed are your judgments!"
⁸Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to burn people with its fiery heat. ⁹They were burned by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God, who has authority over these plagues. But they would not turn from their sins and praise his greatness.
¹⁰Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. Darkness fell over the beast's kingdom, and people bit their tongues because of their pain, ¹¹and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not turn from their evil ways.
¹²Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River. The river dried up, to provide a way for the kings who come from the east. ¹³Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs. They were coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴They are the spirits of demons that perform miracles. These three spirits go out to all the kings of the world, to bring them together for the battle on the great Day of Almighty God.
¹⁵"Listen! I am coming like a thief ! Happy is he who stays awake and guards his clothes, so that he will not walk around naked and be ashamed in public!"
¹⁶Then the spirits brought the kings together in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.
¹⁷Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl in the air. A loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, "It is done!" ¹⁸There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, and a terrible earthquake. There has never been such an earthquake since the creation of human beings; this was the worst earthquake of all! ¹⁹The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of all countries were destroyed. God remembered great Babylon and made her drink the wine from his cup--the wine of his furious anger. ²⁰All the islands disappeared, all the mountains vanished. ²¹Huge hailstones, each weighing as much as a hundred pounds, fell from the sky on people, who cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because it was such a terrible plague.

The Jews Destroy Their Enemies

Esther 9 The thirteenth day of Adar came, the day on which the royal proclamation was to take effect, the day when the enemies of the Jews were hoping to get them in their power. But instead, the Jews triumphed over them. ²In the Jewish quarter of every city in the empire the Jews organized to attack anyone who tried to harm them. People everywhere were afraid of them, and no one could stand against them. ³In fact, all the provincial officials--governors, administrators, and royal representatives--helped the Jews because they were all afraid of Mordecai. ⁴It was well-known throughout the empire that Mordecai was now a powerful man in the palace and was growing more powerful. ⁵So the Jews could do what they wanted with their enemies. They attacked them with swords and slaughtered them.
⁶In Susa, the capital city itself, the Jews killed five hundred people. ^7-10Among them were the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews: Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha. However, there was no looting.
¹¹That same day the number of people killed in Susa was reported to the king. ¹²He then said to Queen Esther, "In Susa alone the Jews have killed five hundred people, including Haman's ten sons. What must they have done out in the provinces! What do you want now? You shall have it. Tell me what else you want, and you shall have it."
¹³Esther answered, "If it please Your Majesty, let the Jews in Susa do again tomorrow what they were allowed to do today. And have the bodies of Haman's ten sons hung from the gallows." ¹⁴The king ordered this to be done, and the proclamation was issued in Susa. The bodies of Haman's ten sons were publicly displayed. ¹⁵On the fourteenth day of Adar the Jews of Susa got together again and killed three hundred more people in the city. But again, they did no looting.
¹⁶The Jews in the provinces also organized and defended themselves. They rid themselves of their enemies by killing seventy-five thousand people who hated them. But they did no looting. ¹⁷This was on the thirteenth day of Adar. On the next day, the fourteenth, there was no more killing, and they made it a joyful day of feasting. ¹⁸The Jews of Susa, however, made the fifteenth a holiday, since they had slaughtered their enemies on the thirteenth and fourteenth and then stopped on the fifteenth. ¹⁹This is why Jews who live in small towns observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a joyous holiday, a time for feasting and giving gifts of food to one another.

The Festival of Purim

²⁰Mordecai had these events written down and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, throughout the Persian Empire, ²¹telling them to observe the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar as holidays every year. ²²These were the days on which the Jews had rid themselves of their enemies; this was a month that had been turned from a time of grief and despair into a time of joy and happiness. They were told to observe these days with feasts and parties, giving gifts of food to one another and to the poor. ²³So the Jews followed Mordecai's instructions, and the celebration became an annual custom.
²⁴Haman son of Hammedatha--the descendant of Agag and the enemy of the Jewish people--had cast lots ("purim," they were called) to determine the day for destroying the Jews; he had planned to wipe them out. ²⁵But Esther went to the king, and the king issued written orders with the result that Haman suffered the fate he had planned for the Jews--he and his sons were hanged from the gallows. ²⁶That is why the holidays are called Purim. Because of Mordecai's letter and because of all that had happened to them, ²⁷the Jews made it a rule for themselves, their descendants, and anyone who might become a Jew, that at the proper time each year these two days would be regularly observed according to Mordecai's instructions. ²⁸It was resolved that every Jewish family of every future generation in every province and every city should remember and observe the days of Purim for all time to come.
²⁹Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai, also wrote a letter, putting her full authority behind the letter about Purim, which Mordecai had written earlier. ³⁰The letter was addressed to all the Jews, and copies were sent to all the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire. It wished the Jews peace and security ³¹and directed them and their descendants to observe the days of Purim at the proper time, just as they had adopted rules for the observance of fasts and times of mourning. This was commanded by both Mordecai and Queen Esther. ³²Esther's command, confirming the rules for Purim, was written down on a scroll.

The Greatness of Xerxes and Mordecai

Esther 10 King Xerxes imposed forced labor on the people of the coastal regions of his empire as well as on those of the interior. ²All the great and wonderful things he did, as well as the whole story of how he promoted Mordecai to high office, are recorded in the official records of the kings of Persia and Media. ³Mordecai the Jew was second in rank only to King Xerxes himself. He was honored and well-liked by his fellow Jews. He worked for the good of his people and for the security of all their descendants.

Psalm 107²³Some sailed over the ocean in ships,
earning their living on the seas.
²⁴They saw what the LORD can do,
his wonderful acts on the seas.
²⁵He commanded, and a mighty wind began to blow
and stirred up the waves.
²⁶The ships were lifted high in the air
and plunged down into the depths.
In such danger the sailors lost their courage;
²⁷they stumbled and staggered like drunks--
all their skill was useless.
²⁸Then in their trouble they called to the LORD,
and he saved them from their distress.
²⁹He calmed the raging storm,
and the waves became quiet.
³⁰They were glad because of the calm,
and he brought them safe to the port they wanted.
³¹They must thank the LORD for his constant love,
for the wonderful things he did for them.
³²They must proclaim his greatness in the assembly of the people
and praise him before the council of the leaders.

³³The LORD made rivers dry up completely
and stopped springs from flowing.
³⁴He made rich soil become a salty wasteland
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
³⁵He changed deserts into pools of water
and dry land into flowing springs.
³⁶He let hungry people settle there,
and they built a city to live in.
³⁷They sowed the fields and planted grapevines
and reaped an abundant harvest.
³⁸He blessed his people, and they had many children;
he kept their herds of cattle from decreasing.

³⁹When God's people were defeated and humiliated
by cruel oppression and suffering,
⁴⁰he showed contempt for their oppressors
and made them wander in trackless deserts.
⁴¹But he rescued the needy from their misery
and made their families increase like flocks.
⁴²The righteous see this and are glad,
but all the wicked are put to silence.

⁴³May those who are wise think about these things;
may they consider the LORD's constant love.