Esther’s Plea

7 Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. ² And the king said to Esther on the second day also ^[a]as they drank their wine at the banquet, “^(A)What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your wish? ^(B)Up to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” ³ 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 request, and my people as my wish; ⁴ for ^(D)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, ^(E)killed, and eliminated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have kept silent, because the distress would not be sufficient reason to burden the king.” ⁵ Then King Ahasuerus ^[b]asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, ^[c]who would presume to do such a thing?” ⁶ And Esther said, “^(F)A foe and an enemy is this wicked Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.