Esther 7
Revised Geneva Translation
7 So, the king and Haman came to banquet with Queen Esther.
2 And the king repeated to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition, Queen Esther that it may be given to you? And what is your request? It shall be done, even up to the half of the kingdom.”
3 And Esther the Queen answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given to me at my petition, and my people at my request.
4 “For we are sold —I and my people —to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. If we were merely sold as servants and handmaids, I would have held my tongue, for it would not have been worth the king’s time.”
5 Then king Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he? And where is he who presumes to do this?”
6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.” Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
7 And the king arose from the banquet of wine in his wrath and went into the palace garden. But Haman stood up to beg Queen Esther for his life. For he saw that the king intended to do him harm.
8 And when the king came out of the palace garden into the house again, where they had been drinking wine, Haman had fallen upon the bed where Esther sat. Therefore, the King said, “Will he also force himself on the queen before me in the house?!” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
9 And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said in the presence of the king, “Behold, a hanging tree still stands at Haman’s house, 75 feet high, which Haman had prepared for Mordecai, who spoke well of the king.” Then the King said, “Hang him on it.”
10 So they hanged Haman on the tree that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the King’s wrath was pacified.
Esther 7
Evangelical Heritage Version
7 So the king and Haman went to the feast with Queen Esther.
2 On the second day, when they were again drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What are you seeking? Up to half of the kingdom—it’s yours.”
3 Queen Esther responded, “My King, if I have found favor in your eyes, and if it pleases the king, I am asking that my life be spared, and I am seeking the lives of my people, 4 because I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we were merely being sold to be male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, because that would not have been bad enough to be a reason to bother the king.”
5 King Xerxes spoke up. He said to Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is this person who has the audacity to do this?”
6 Esther said, “This hateful enemy is this evil Haman!” Haman was terrified in the presence of the king and the queen.
7 The king rose angrily from the place where they were drinking wine[a] and went to the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, because he saw the king had evil plans for him.
8 Just as the king was returning from the palace garden to the hall where they had been drinking wine, Haman was falling onto the couch on which Esther was lying. The king said, “Will he even assault the queen when I am in the building?” As soon as the words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.[b]
9 In addition, Harbona, one of the eunuchs present with the king, said, “You know, there is a gallows seventy-five feet high standing by the house of Haman, which he made for Mordecai, the person who spoke up for the benefit of the king.” The king said, “Hang[c] him on it.”
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai, and the king’s anger subsided.
Footnotes
- Esther 7:7 The word mishteh, which is often translated banquet, refers primarily to drinking rather than eating. Here that connotation is made explicit by the addition of the word wine.
- Esther 7:8 Apparently, to mark him as a condemned man
- Esther 7:9 Or impale
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The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.