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Esther 3-6
New King James Version

Haman’s Conspiracy Against the Jews

3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the (A)Agagite, and (B)advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. 2 And all the king’s servants who were (C)within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai (D)would not bow or pay homage. 3 Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the (E)king’s command?” 4 Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai (F)did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was (G)filled with wrath. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him of the people of Mordecai. Instead, Haman (H)sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus—the people of Mordecai.

7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, (I)they cast Pur (that is, the lot), before Haman [a]to determine the day and the [b]month, [c]until it fell on the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.

8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; (J)their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.”

10 So the king (K)took (L)his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the (M)enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money and the people are given to you, to do with them as seems good to you.”

12 (N)Then the king’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province (O)according to its script, and to every people in their language. (P)In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 13 And the letters were (Q)sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, little children and women, (R)in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and (S)to plunder their [d]possessions. 14 (T)A copy of the document was to be issued as law in every province, being published for all people, that they should be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out, hastened by the king’s command; and the decree was proclaimed in [e]Shushan the [f]citadel. So the king and Haman sat down to drink, but (U)the city of Shushan was [g]perplexed.

Esther Agrees to Help the Jews

4 When Mordecai learned all that had happened, [h]he (V)tore his clothes and put on sackcloth (W)and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He (X)cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 So Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth away from him, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what and why this was. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king’s gate. 7 And Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and (Y)the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries to destroy the Jews. 8 He also gave him (Z)a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was given at [i]Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and plead before him for her people. 9 So Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into (AA)the inner court to the king, who has not been called, (AB)he has but one law: put all to death, except the one (AC)to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been (AD)called to go in to the king these thirty days.” 12 So they told Mordecai Esther’s words.

13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in [j]Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for (AE)three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; (AF)and if I perish, I perish!”

17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded [k]him.

Esther’s Banquet

5 Now it happened (AG)on the third day that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in (AH)the inner court of the king’s palace, across from the king’s house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the [l]house. 2 So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that (AI)she found favor in his sight, and (AJ)the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter.

3 And the king said to her, “What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? (AK)It shall be given to you—up to half the kingdom!”

4 So Esther answered, “If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, that he may do as Esther has said.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

6 At the banquet of wine (AL)the king said to Esther, (AM)“What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”

7 Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and request is this: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and [m]fulfill my request, then let the king and Haman come to the (AN)banquet which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”

Haman’s Plot Against Mordecai

9 So Haman went out that day (AO)joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and (AP)that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman (AQ)restrained himself and went home, and he sent and called for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 Then Haman told them of his great riches, (AR)the multitude of his children, everything in which the king had promoted him, and how he had (AS)advanced him above the officials and servants of the king.

12 Moreover Haman said, “Besides, Queen Esther invited no one but me to come in with the king to the banquet that she prepared; and tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. 13 Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a (AT)gallows[n] be made, [o]fifty cubits high, and in the morning (AU)suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet.”

And the thing pleased Haman; so he had (AV)the gallows made.

The King Honors Mordecai

6 That night [p]the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring (AW)the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of [q]Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?”

And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.”

4 So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered (AX)the outer court of the king’s palace (AY)to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

5 The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.”

And the king said, “Let him come in.”

6 So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than (AZ)me?” 7 And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and (BA)a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal [r]crest placed on its head. 9 Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then [s]parade him on horseback through the city square, (BB)and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ”

10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.”

11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”

12 Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman (BC)hurried to his house, mourning (BD)and with his head covered. 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against (BE)him but will surely fall before him.”

14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to (BF)the banquet which Esther had prepared.

Footnotes

  1. Esther 3:7 Lit. from day to day and month to month
  2. Esther 3:7 LXX adds to destroy the people of Mordecai in one day; Vg. adds the nation of the Jews should be destroyed
  3. Esther 3:7 So with MT, Vg.; LXX and the lot fell on the fourteenth of the month
  4. Esther 3:13 LXX adds the text of the letter here
  5. Esther 3:15 Or Susa
  6. Esther 3:15 palace
  7. Esther 3:15 in confusion
  8. Esther 4:1 Lit. Mordecai
  9. Esther 4:8 Or Susa
  10. Esther 4:16 Or Susa
  11. Esther 4:17 LXX adds a prayer of Mordecai here
  12. Esther 5:1 LXX adds many extra details in vv. 1, 2
  13. Esther 5:8 Lit. to do
  14. Esther 5:14 Lit. tree or wood
  15. Esther 5:14 About 75 feet
  16. Esther 6:1 Lit. the king’s sleep fled away
  17. Esther 6:2 Bigthan, Esth. 2:21
  18. Esther 6:8 crown
  19. Esther 6:9 Lit. cause him to ride
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Esther 3-6
New International Version

Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews

3 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,(A) elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. 2 All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

3 Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”(B) 4 Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply.(C) Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.(D) 6 Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way(E) to destroy(F) all Mordecai’s people, the Jews,(G) throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur(H) (that is, the lot(I)) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on[a] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.(J)

8 Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs(K) are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey(L) the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.(M) 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”(N)

10 So the king took his signet ring(O) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”

12 Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language(P) of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed(Q) with his own ring. 13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews(R)—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,(S) and to plunder(T) their goods. 14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.(U)

15 The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.(V) The king and Haman sat down to drink,(W) but the city of Susa was bewildered.(X)

Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help

4 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes,(Y) put on sackcloth and ashes,(Z) and went out into the city, wailing(AA) loudly and bitterly. 2 But he went only as far as the king’s gate,(AB) because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. 3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.

6 So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.(AC) 8 He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

9 Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, 11 “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned(AD) the king has but one law:(AE) that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter(AF) to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent(AG) at this time, relief(AH) and deliverance(AI) for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”(AJ)

15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast(AK) for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”(AL)

17 So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Esther’s Request to the King

5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes(AM) and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s(AN) hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. 2 When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.(AO)

3 Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom,(AP) it will be given you.”

4 “If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.”

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine,(AQ) the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom,(AR) it will be granted.”(AS)

7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor(AT) and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet(AU) I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

Haman’s Rage Against Mordecai

9 Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage(AV) against Mordecai.(AW) 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.

Calling together his friends and Zeresh,(AX) his wife, 11 Haman boasted(AY) to them about his vast wealth, his many sons,(AZ) and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles and officials. 12 “And that’s not all,” Haman added. “I’m the only person(BA) Queen Esther invited to accompany the king to the banquet she gave. And she has invited me along with the king tomorrow. 13 But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.(BB)”

14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits,[c](BC) and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled(BD) on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.

Mordecai Honored

6 That night the king could not sleep;(BE) so he ordered the book of the chronicles,(BF) the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.(BG)

3 “What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?” the king asked.

“Nothing has been done for him,”(BH) his attendants answered.

4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him.

5 His attendants answered, “Haman is standing in the court.”

“Bring him in,” the king ordered.

6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?”

Now Haman thought to himself, “Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?” 7 So he answered the king, “For the man the king delights to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe(BI) the king has worn and a horse(BJ) the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. 9 Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!(BK)’”

10 “Go at once,” the king commanded Haman. “Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.”

11 So Haman got(BL) the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, “This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!”

12 Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered(BM) in grief, 13 and told Zeresh(BN) his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him.

His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall(BO) has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him—you will surely come to ruin!”(BP) 14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet(BQ) Esther had prepared.

Footnotes

  1. Esther 3:7 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have And the lot fell on.
  2. Esther 3:9 That is, about 375 tons or about 340 metric tons
  3. Esther 5:14 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters
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Esther 2
Esther 7
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