Esther 3:1-6

Expanded Bible

Haman Plans to Destroy the Jews

3 After these ·things happened [events], King ·Xerxes [^LAhasuerus] ·honored [promoted; ^Lmade great] Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite [^Ca descendant of King Agag of the Amalekites, the hated enemies of Israel (which Saul failed to eradicate; 1 Sam. 15); Ex. 17:8–15; Deut. 23:3–6]. He ·gave him a new rank that was [exalted/elevated him] ·higher than [above] all the ·important men [nobles; officials]. ² All the ·royal officers [king’s ministers; officials] at the king’s gate would bow down and ·kneel before [pay homage to] Haman, as the king had ·ordered [commanded]. But Mordecai would not bow down or ·show him honor [pay him homage; ^Cbecause he was a hated Amalekite].

³ Then the ·royal officers [ministers; officials] at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why don’t you obey the king’s command?” ⁴ And they said this to him every day. When he did not listen to them, they told Haman. They wanted to see if Haman would ·accept [tolerate; ^Llet stand] Mordecai’s behavior because Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down to him or ·honor [pay homage to] him, he became ·very angry [enraged]. ⁶ He ·thought of himself as too important [disdained; thought it beneath him] to ·try to kill [lay hands on] only Mordecai. He had been told who the people of Mordecai were, so he looked for a way to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, in all of ·Xerxes’ [^LAhasuerus’s] ·kingdom [empire].