¹² Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate,^(A) but Haman hurried off for home, mournful and with his head covered.^(B)

⁸ Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall,^[a] Haman was falling on the couch^(A) where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually violate the queen while I am in the house?” As soon as the statement left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.^(B)