Day 276: Haman's Plan (2026)

Fr. Mike Schmitz (0:04)

Hi, my name is Fr. 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, we'll 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 276 We're reading from Nehemiah, Chapter 8, Esther, Chapter 3, and Chapter 13 Remember, Esther is kind of wonky with the translations of Hebrew and Greek and the Septuagint. And so it'll be fun for us. And as well as Proverbs, Chapter 21, Verses 5 through 8 As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using The Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com/bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast, Little Known Fact. If you will click on Subscribe, you receive daily episodes and daily updates. Don't have to hunt and peck and search for the episodes. They find you wherever you are, wherever you are. On Day 276, we're reading Nehemiah Chapter 8, Esther Chapter 3 and Chapter 13, Proverbs Chapter 21 Verses 5 through 8

The Book of Nehemiah Chapter 8

And when the seventh month had come, the children of Israel were in their towns. And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the water gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it, facing the square before the water gate, from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit, which they had made for the purpose, and beside him stood Matathiah, Shema, Aniah, Uriah, Hilkiah, Maasiah on his right hand, and Fadiah, Mishael, Makaijah, Hashum, Hashbadahna, Zechariah, and Meshulam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people. And when he opened it, all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also, Jeshua, Bani, Shirabaiah, Jamin, Akub, Shabbatai, Hodiah, Maasaiah, Kalita, Azariah, Josabad, Hanan, Piliah, the Levites helped the people to understand the law while the people remained in their places. And they read from the book, from the law of God clearly, and they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Be quiet, for this day is holy, do not be grieved. And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

The Feast of Booths Celebrated On the second day, the heads of the fathers' houses of all the people with the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law. And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the sons of Israel should dwell in booths during the Feast of the seventh month, and that they should publish and proclaim in all their towns and in Jerusalem, go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm and other leafy trees to make booths as it is written. So the people went out and brought them, and made booths for themselves each on his roof and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the water gate, and in the square at the gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and dwelt in the booths. For from the days of Jeshua, the son of Nun, to that day the sons of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day, there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.