Esther 6
New English Translation
The Turning Point: The King Honors Mordecai
6 Throughout that night the king was unable to sleep,[a] so he asked for the book containing the historical records[b] to be brought. As the records[c] were being read in the king’s presence, 2 it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana[d] and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate[e] King Ahasuerus.
3 The king asked, “What great honor[f] was bestowed on Mordecai because of this?” The king’s attendants who served him responded, “Not a thing was done for him.”
4 Then the king said, “Who is that in the courtyard?” Now Haman had come to the outer courtyard of the palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had constructed for him. 5 The king’s attendants said to him, “It is Haman who is standing in the courtyard.” The king said, “Let him enter.”
6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman thought to himself,[g] “Who is it that the king would want to honor more than me?” 7 So Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king wishes to honor, 8 let them bring royal attire which the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one bearing the royal insignia.[h] 9 Then let this clothing and this horse be given to one of the king’s noble officials. Let him[i] then clothe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him lead him about through the plaza of the city on the horse, calling[j] before him, ‘So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!’”
10 The king then said to Haman, “Go quickly! Take the clothing and the horse, just as you have described, and do as you just indicated to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Don’t neglect[k] a single thing of all that you have said.”
11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”
12 Then Mordecai again sat at the king’s gate, while Haman hurried away to his home, mournful and with a veil over his head. 13 Haman then related to his wife Zeresh and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. These wise men,[l] along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, “If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish,[m] you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!”
14 While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived. They quickly brought Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Footnotes
- Esther 6:1 tn Heb “and the sleep of the king fled.” In place of the rather innocuous comment of the Hebrew text, the LXX reads here, “And the Lord removed the sleep from the king.” The Greek text thus understands the statement in a more overtly theological way than does the Hebrew text, although even in the Hebrew text there may be a hint of God’s providence at work in this matter. After all, this event is crucial to the later reversal of Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people, and a sympathetic reader is likely to look beyond the apparent coincidence.
- Esther 6:1 tn Heb “the book of the remembrances of the accounts of the days”; NAB “the chronicle of notable events.”
- Esther 6:1 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the records) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Esther 6:2 tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthan,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 2:21.
- Esther 6:2 tn Heb “to send a hand against”; NASB “had sought to lay hands on.”
- Esther 6:3 tn Heb “honor and greatness.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).
- Esther 6:6 tn Heb “said in his heart” (so ASV); NASB, NRSV “said to himself.”
- Esther 6:8 tc The final comment (“one on whose head the royal crown has been”) is not included in the LXX.tn Heb “a royal crown on his head.” The reference is to an official decoration or headdress for horses in royal service. See HALOT 506 s.v. כֶּתֶר; DCH 4:477 s.v. כֶּתֶר. Cf. TEV “a royal ornament”; CEV “a fancy headdress.”
- Esther 6:9 tc The present translation reads with the LXX וְהִלְבִּישׁוֹ (vehilbisho, “and he will clothe him”) rather than the reading of the MT וְהִלְבִּישׁוּ (vehilbishu, “and they will clothe”). The reading of the LXX is also followed by NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, and NLT. Likewise, the later verbs in this verse (“cause him to ride” and “call”) are better taken as singulars rather than plurals.
- Esther 6:9 tn Heb “and let them call” (see the previous note).
- Esther 6:10 tn Heb “do not let fall”; NASB “do not fall short.”
- Esther 6:13 tc Part of the Greek tradition and the Syriac Peshitta understand this word as “friends,” probably reading the Hebrew term רֲכָמָיו (rakhamayv, “his friends”) rather than the reading of the MT חֲכָמָיו (hakhamayv, “his wise men”). Cf. NLT “all his friends”; the two readings appear to be conflated by TEV as “those wise friends of his.”
- Esther 6:13 tn Heb “from the seed of the Jews”; KJV, ASV similar.
Esther 6
New American Standard Bible
The King Plans to Honor Mordecai
6 During that night [a]the king (A)could not sleep, so he gave an order to bring (B)the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written what (C)Mordecai had reported about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to [b]attack 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 courtyard?” Now Haman had just (D)entered the outer courtyard of the king’s palace in order to speak to the king about (E)hanging Mordecai on the wooden gallows which he had prepared for him. 5 So the king’s servants said to him, “Behold, Haman is standing in the courtyard.” And the king said, “Have him come in.” 6 Haman then came in and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man (F)whom the king desires to honor?” And Haman said [c]to himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” 7 Therefore Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king desires to honor, 8 have them bring a royal robe which the king has worn, and (G)the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head (H)a royal turban has been placed; 9 then order them to hand the robe and the horse over to one of the king’s noble officials, and have them dress the man whom the king desires to honor, and lead him on horseback through the city square, (I)and proclaim before him, ‘So it shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor.’”
Haman Must Honor Mordecai
10 Then the king said to Haman, “Quickly, take the robe and the horse just as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fail to do anything of all that you have said.” 11 So Haman took the robe and the horse, and dressed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “So it shall be done for the man whom the king desires to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, while Haman hurried home, mourning, (J)with his head covered. 13 And Haman informed (K)Zeresh his wife and all his friends of everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is [d]of Jewish origin, you will not prevail over him, but will certainly fall before him.”
14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and quickly (L)brought Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.
Footnotes
- Esther 6:1 Lit the king’s sleep fled
- Esther 6:2 Or kill; lit put out a hand against
- Esther 6:6 Lit in his heart
- Esther 6:13 Lit from the seed of the Jews
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