Esther 6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The King Honors Mordecai
6 On that night the king could not sleep, and he gave orders to bring the book of records, the annals, and they were read to the king.(A) 2 It was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the threshold and who had conspired to kill[a] King Ahasuerus.(B) 3 Then the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hung on the pole that he had prepared for him.(C) 5 So the king’s servants told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” The king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?”(D) 7 So Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king wishes to honor, 8 let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and a horse that the king has ridden, with a royal crown on its head.(E) 9 Let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials; let him[b] robe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him[c] conduct the man on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.’ ”(F) 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Quickly, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” 11 So Haman took the robes and the horse and robed Mordecai and led him riding through the open square of the city, proclaiming, “Thus shall it be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.(G) 13 When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is of the Jewish people, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.”(H)
Haman’s Downfall and Mordecai’s Advancement
14 While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the banquet that Esther had prepared.(I)
Read full chapter
Esther 6
International Standard Version
Haman’s Plan Begins to Unravel
6 That night the king could not sleep, so he gave instructions to bring the book of records, the chronicles, and they were read to the king. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had reported about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance to the restricted areas of the palace,[a] and that they had conspired to assassinate[b] King Ahasuerus. 3 So the king asked, “What honor and distinction was bestowed on Mordecai for this?”
The young men who served the king answered, “Nothing was done for him.”
4 The king said, “Who is in the courtyard?” Now Haman had just entered the outer courtyard of the palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the pole he had set up.
5 The king’s young men told him, “Look, Haman is standing in the courtyard.”
The king said, “Let him come in.”
6 After Haman came in, the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king desires to honor?”
Haman told himself, “Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?” 7 Haman answered the king, “For a man whom the king desires to honor, 8 let them bring royal robes that the king has worn and a horse on which the king has ridden, with a royal crown placed on its head. 9 Then give the robes and the horse to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them put the robes on the man whom the king desires to honor, and let them put him on the horse in the main[c] square of the city. Then let them announce in front of him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king desires to honor.’”
10 Then the king told Haman, “Quick! Take the clothes and the horse just as you have suggested and do this for Mordecai the Jew who sits in the king’s gate. And don’t let anything you’ve suggested fall through the cracks.”[d]
11 So Haman took the clothes and the horse, dressed Mordecai, and put him on the horse in the main[e] square of the city. He cried out in front of him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king desires to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, while Haman hurried to his house, mourning and hiding his face.[f] 13 Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. His wise friends and his wife Zeresh told him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is one of the Jewish people,[g] you won’t prevail against him. Instead, you will surely fall before him.”
14 While they were still talking to him, the king’s eunuchs arrived, and they quickly took him to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Esther 6:2 Lit. guarded the threshold
- Esther 6:2 Lit. to send a hand against
- Esther 6:9 The Heb. lacks main
- Esther 6:10 The Heb. lacks through the cracks
- Esther 6:11 The Heb. lacks main
- Esther 6:12 Lit. and covering his head
- Esther 6:13 Lit. of the seed of the Jews
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
