Esther’s Plea

Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. And the king said to Esther on the second day also [a]as they drank their wine at the banquet, “(A)What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? (B)Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” Then Queen Esther replied, “(C)If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; for (D)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, (E)to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the [b]trouble would not be commensurate with the [c]annoyance to the king.” Then King Ahasuerus [d]asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, [e]who would presume to do thus?” Esther said, “(F)A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

Haman Is Hanged

The king arose (G)in his anger from [f]drinking wine and went into (H)the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king. Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the [g]place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on (I)the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king said, “Behold indeed, (J)the gallows standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai (K)who spoke good on behalf of the king!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 (L)So they hanged Haman on the [h]gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, (M)and the king’s anger subsided.

Footnotes

  1. Esther 7:2 Lit at the banquet of wine
  2. Esther 7:4 Or enemy could not compensate for the loss
  3. Esther 7:4 Or damage
  4. Esther 7:5 Lit said and said to
  5. Esther 7:5 Lit whose heart has been filled
  6. Esther 7:7 Lit the banquet of wine
  7. Esther 7:8 Lit house of the banquet of wine
  8. Esther 7:10 Lit tree

Haman Impaled

So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther’s banquet,(A) and as they were drinking wine(B) on the second day, the king again asked, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom,(C) it will be granted.(D)

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor(E) with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life—this is my petition. And spare my people—this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated.(F) If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.[a]

King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who is he? Where is he—the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

Esther said, “An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!”

Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage,(G) left his wine and went out into the palace garden.(H) But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate,(I) stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.

Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch(J) where Esther was reclining.(K)

The king exclaimed, “Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?”(L)

As soon as the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.(M) Then Harbona,(N) one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits[b](O) stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”

The king said, “Impale him on it!”(P) 10 So they impaled(Q) Haman(R) on the pole(S) he had set up for Mordecai.(T) Then the king’s fury subsided.(U)

Footnotes

  1. Esther 7:4 Or quiet, but the compensation our adversary offers cannot be compared with the loss the king would suffer
  2. Esther 7:9 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters

Haman Hanged Instead of Mordecai

So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. 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!”

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. 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.”

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?”

And Esther said, “The adversary and (D)enemy is this wicked Haman!”

So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.

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. 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. 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

  1. Esther 7:9 Lit. tree or wood

以斯帖述哈曼之恶于王

王带着哈曼来赴王后以斯帖的筵席。 这第二次在酒席筵前,王又问以斯帖说:“王后以斯帖啊,你要什么,我必赐给你;你求什么,就是国的一半,也必为你成就。” 王后以斯帖回答说:“我若在王眼前蒙恩,王若以为美,我所愿的是愿王将我的性命赐给我,我所求的是求王将我的本族赐给我。 因我和我的本族被卖了,要剪除、杀戮、灭绝我们。我们若被卖为奴为婢,我也闭口不言,但王的损失,敌人万不能补足。” 亚哈随鲁王问王后以斯帖说:“擅敢起意如此行的是谁?这人在哪里呢?” 以斯帖说:“仇人敌人,就是这恶人哈曼!”哈曼在王和王后面前就甚惊惶。

哈曼悬于自备之木

王便大怒,起来离开酒席往御园去了。哈曼见王定意要加罪于他,就起来求王后以斯帖救命。 王从御园回到酒席之处,见哈曼伏在以斯帖所靠的榻上,王说:“他竟敢在宫内,在我面前凌辱王后吗?”这话一出王口,人就蒙了哈曼的脸。 伺候王的一个太监名叫哈波拿,说:“哈曼为那救王有功的末底改做了五丈高的木架,现今立在哈曼家里。”王说:“把哈曼挂在其上!” 10 于是人将哈曼挂在他为末底改所预备的木架上。王的愤怒这才止息。