Queen Esther, seized with mortal anguish, had recourse to the Lord.

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the Lord’s bidding.

Thus says the Lord:/ Just as from the heavens/ the rain and snow come down/ And do not return there/ till they have watered the earth,/ making it fertile and fruitful,/ Giving seed to the one who sows/ and bread to the one who eats,/ So shall my word be/ that goes forth from my mouth;/ It shall not return to me void,/ but shall do my will,/ achieving the end for which I sent it.

The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.

Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin ­entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned [—for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world, though sin is not accounted when there is no law.

The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath/ from following your own pursuits on my holy day;/ If you call the sabbath a delight,/ and the Lord’s holy day honorable;/ If you honor it by not following your ways,/ seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice—/ Then you shall delight in the Lord,/ and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;/ I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,/ for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,/ and drive all your laborers./ Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,/ striking with wicked claw./ Would that today you might fast/ so as to make your voice heard on high!/ Is this the manner of fasting I wish,/ of keeping a day of penance:/ That a man bow his head like a reed/ and lie in sackcloth and ashes?/ Do you call this a fast,/ a day acceptable to the Lord?/ This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:/ releasing those bound unjustly,/ untying the thongs of the yoke;/ Setting free the oppressed,/ breaking every yoke;/ Sharing your bread with the hungry,/ sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;/ Clothing the naked when you see them,/ and not turning your back on your own./ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,/ and your wound shall quickly be healed;/ Your vindication shall go before you,/ and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard./ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,/ you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.

Brothers and sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us.