Esther 7
International Children’s Bible
Haman Is Hanged
7 So the king and Haman went in to eat with Queen Esther. 2 They were drinking wine. And the king said to Esther on this second day also, “What are you asking for? I will give it to you. What is it you want? I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”
3 Then Queen Esther answered, “My king, I hope you are pleased with me. If it pleases you, let me live. This is what I ask. And let my people live, too. This is what I want. 4 I ask this because my people and I have been sold to be destroyed. We are to be killed and completely wiped out. If we had been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet. That would not be enough of a problem to bother the king.”
5 Then King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he? Who has done such a thing?”
6 Esther said, “A man who is against us! Our enemy is this wicked Haman!”
Then Haman was filled with terror before the king and queen. 7 The king was very angry. He got up, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman stayed inside to beg Queen Esther to save his life. He could see that the king had already decided to kill him.
8 The king came back from the palace garden to the banquet hall. And he saw Haman falling on the couch where Esther was lying. The king said, “Will he even attack the queen while I am in the house?”
As soon as the king said that, servants came in and covered Haman’s face. 9 Harbona was one of the eunuchs there serving the king. He said, “Look, a platform for hanging people stands near Haman’s house. It is 75 feet high. This is the one Haman had prepared for Mordecai, who gave the warning that saved the king.”
The king said, “Hang Haman on it!” 10 So they hanged Haman on the platform he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king was not so angry anymore.
Esther 7
New King James Version
Haman Hanged Instead of Mordecai
7 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, (A)at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4 For we have been (B)sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as (C)male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”
5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”
6 And Esther said, “The adversary and (D)enemy is this wicked Haman!”
So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across (E)the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?”
As the word left the king’s mouth, they (F)covered Haman’s face. 9 Now (G)Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! (H)The [a]gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke (I)good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”
Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”
10 So (J)they (K)hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.
Footnotes
- Esther 7:9 Lit. tree or wood
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.