Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Bible in a year podcast where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture.

The Bible in a year podcast is brought to you by Ascension using the great Adventure Bible timeline will read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today.

It is day 274, we are deep in Nehemiah. We are reading Nehemiah chapters 4 and 5. Also we're beginning the book of Esther. And we begin the book of Esther here in the Revised Standard Version.

I'll get to that in just a second. So we're also reading Esther 11 and 12, shock, plot twist. And we're also reading Proverbs chapter 20 verses 27 through 30.

As always, as I said, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the great Adventure Bible from Ascension.

And why does that matter? It matters because the book of Esther is complicated. There's the story of Esther that is widely accepted by all Christians essentially.

And there are a number of chapters in Esther that are not necessarily accepted by all Christians. In fact, just like when Martin Luther in 1521, was it 1521, 1519 took out the seven books, the Deuteronical Books.

He also took out some chapters in Esther. And there's a precedent for having some hesitation, of course, because even someone like St. Jerome had hesitation over some of the Deuteronical Books and some of the chapters of Esther and some of the other chapters like in Daniel, we read the story of Susanna and Bell and the Dragon way back there.

If you can remember all the way back then, but the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches have discerned that these chapters are part of the canon, so the part of the Deuteronical Books. And so in order to understand the story fully, chapters 11 and 12 are actually the first two chapters that we're going to be reading so we can get the chronological story of the book of Esther.

So hopefully that helps a little bit when you're reading your Bible to say, oh, this makes more sense than not. Hopefully it makes more sense. If you want to download your own Bible in a reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can also see that weight.

We're starting with Esther 11 and 12. Yes, you are. We're also going to subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and receiving daily episodes and daily updates.

As I said, this day is day 274. We're reading Nehemiah chapter 4 and 5 Esther, chapter 11 and 12, that are the first two chapters of Esther, and Proverbs chapter 20 verses 27 through 30.

The Book of Nehemiah chapter 4. Hostile plots frustrated. Now, when San Belat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged and he ridiculed the Jews.

And he said in the presence of his brethren and of the army of Samaria, what are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore things? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and the burned ones at that?

To buy out the ammonite was by him and he said, yes, what they are building. If a fox goes upon it, he will break down their stone wall.

Here, O our God, for we are despised, turn back their taunt upon their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives.

Do not cover their guilt and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight for they have provoked you to anger before the builders.

So we built the wall and all the wall was joined together to have its height for the people had a mind to work.

But when Sandalat and Tobaya and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashtadites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry.

And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

But Judah said, the strength of the burden bearers is failing and there is much rubbish. We are not able to work on the wall and our enemies said they will not know or see till we come into the midst of them and kill them and stop the work.

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