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Esther’s Petition to the King

Then 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 feast, “(A)What is [b]your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be given you. And what is [c]your request? (B)Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” Then Queen Esther answered and said, “(C)If I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it seems good to the king, let my life be given to me as [d]my petition, and my people as [e]my request; for (D)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, (E)to be killed, and to be caused to perish. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the [f]adversity would not be worth the [g]annoyance to the king.” Then King Ahasuerus said—he said to Esther the Queen, “Who is this one, and where is this one, who fills his heart to do thus?” So Esther said, “(F)An adversary and an enemy is this evil Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

Haman Is Hanged

And the king arose (G)in his wrath from [h]drinking wine and went into (H)the garden of his palace; but Haman stayed to seek for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that calamity had been determined against him by the king. Now the king returned from the garden of his palace into the [i]place where they were drinking wine. And Haman was falling on (I)the couch where Esther was. So 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—which Haman made for Mordecai (K)who spoke good on behalf of the king—are standing at Haman’s house fifty cubits high!” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 (L)So they hanged Haman on the [j]gallows which he had set up for Mordecai, (M)and the king’s wrath subsided.

Footnotes

  1. Esther 7:2 Lit at the banquet of wine
  2. Esther 7:2 Or that which you ask for
  3. Esther 7:2 Or that which you seek, cf. Esth 7:7
  4. Esther 7:3 Or that which I ask for
  5. Esther 7:3 Or that which I seek, cf. Esth 7:7
  6. Esther 7:4 Or enemy could not compensate for the loss
  7. Esther 7:4 Or damage
  8. Esther 7:7 Lit the banquet of wine
  9. Esther 7:8 Lit house of the banquet of wine
  10. Esther 7:10 Lit tree, cf. Deut 21:22-23

Haman Is Executed

The king and Haman came to feast[a](A) with Esther the queen. Once again, on the second day while drinking wine,(B) the king asked Esther, “Queen Esther, whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek, even to half the kingdom, will be done.”(C)

Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if the king is pleased,(D) spare my life; this is my request. And spare my people; this is my desire.(E) For my people and I have been sold(F) to destruction, death, and annihilation.(G) If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves,(H) I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

King Ahasuerus spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?” [b](I)

Esther answered, “The adversary and enemy(J) is this evil Haman.”

Haman stood terrified(K) before the king and queen. The king arose in anger(L) and went from where they were drinking wine to the palace garden.[c](M) Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his life because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him.(N) Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall,[d] Haman was falling on the couch(O) where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually violate the queen while I am in the house?” As soon as the statement left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.(P)

Harbona, one of the king’s eunuchs,(Q) said, “There is a gallows seventy-five feet[e] tall at Haman’s house that he made for Mordecai,(R) who gave the report that saved[f] the king.”(S)

The king said, “Hang him on it.”

10 They hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai.(T) Then the king’s anger subsided.(U)

Footnotes

  1. 7:1 Lit drink
  2. 7:5 Lit who would fill his heart to do this
  3. 7:7 Lit the garden of the house, also in v. 8
  4. 7:8 Or the house of wine
  5. 7:9 Lit 50 cubits
  6. 7:9 Lit who spoke good for

So the king and Aman went in, to drink with the queen.

And the king said to her again the second day, after he was warm with wine: What is thy petition, Esther, that it may be granted thee? and what wilt thou have done: although thou ask the half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it.

Then she answered: If I have found Favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please thee, give me my life for which I ask, and my people for which I request.

For we are given up, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And would God we were sold for bondmen and bondwomen: the evil might be borne with, and I would have mourned in silence: but now we have an enemy, whose cruelty redoundeth upon the king.

And king Assuerus answered and said: Who is this, and of what power, that he should do these things?

And Esther said: It is this Aman that is our adversary and most wicked enemy. Aman hearing this was forthwith astonished, not being able to bear the countenance of the king and of the queen.

But the king being angry rose up, and went from the place of the banquet into the garden set with trees. Aman also rose up to entreat Esther the queen for his life, for he understood that evil was prepared for him by the king.

And when the king came back out of the garden set with trees, and entered into the place of the banquet, he found Aman was fallen upon the bed on which Esther lay, and he said: He will force the queen also in my presence, in my own house. The word was not yet gone out of the king's mouth, and immediately they covered his face.

And Harbona, one of the eunuchs that stood waiting on the king, said: Behold the gibbet which he hath prepared for Mardochai, who spoke for the king, standeth in Aman's house, being fifty cubits high. And the king said to him: Hang him upon it.

10 So Aman was hanged on the gibbet, which he had prepared for Mardochai: and the king's wrath ceased.