Old/New Testament

The Man Whom the King Honors

6 During that night, sleep had ^(A)fled from the king, so he said for them to bring ^(B)the book of memoranda, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. ² And it was found written what ^(C)Mordecai had told concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, that they had sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus. ³ And the king said, “What honor or greatness has been done to Mordecai for this?” Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” ⁴ So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had ^(D)entered the outer court of the king’s house in order to speak to the king about ^(E)hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had set up for him. ⁵ And the king’s young men said to him, “Behold, Haman is standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” ⁶ So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man ^(F)whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” ⁷ Then Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, ⁸ let them bring a royal robe which the king clothes himself in, and ^(G)the horse on which the king has ridden, and on whose head ^(H)a royal crown has been placed; ⁹ and let the robe and the horse be given over to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, and let them clothe the man whom the king delights to honor and lead him on horseback through the city square ^(I)and call out before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’”

Mordecai Is Honored

¹⁰ Then the king said to Haman, “Take quickly the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so for Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate; do not fall short in anything of all that you have spoken.” ¹¹ So Haman took the robe and the horse and clothed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square and called out before him, “Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”

¹² Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hastened home, mourning, ^(J)with his head covered. ¹³ And Haman recounted ^(K)to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the seed of the Jews, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him.”

¹⁴ While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs reached Haman’s home and hastily ^(L)brought Haman to the feast which Esther had prepared.

Esther’s Petition to the King

7 Then 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 feast, “^(M)What is ^[b]your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be given you. And what is ^[c]your request? ^(N)Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” ³ Then Queen Esther answered and said, “^(O)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; ⁴ for ^(P)we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, ^(Q)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.” ⁵ 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?” ⁶ So Esther said, “^(R)An adversary and an enemy is this evil Haman!” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

Haman Is Hanged

⁷ And the king arose ^(S)in his wrath from ^[h]drinking wine and went into ^(T)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. ⁸ Now the king returned from the garden of his palace into the ^[i]place where they were drinking wine. And Haman was falling on ^(U)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. ⁹ Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were before the king, said, “Behold indeed, ^(V)the gallows—which Haman made for Mordecai ^(W)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 (X)So they hanged Haman on the ^[j]gallows which he had set up for Mordecai, ^(Y)and the king’s wrath subsided.

Esther Saves the Jews

8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, ^(Z)the adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told ^(AA)what he was to her. ^2 (AB)And the king removed his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

³ Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept, and implored him to ^[k]repeal the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his scheme which he had devised against the Jews. ^4 (AC)And the king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. ⁵ Then she said, “^(AD)If it seems good to the king, and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am good in his eyes, let it be written to turn back the ^(AE)letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to cause the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces to perish. ⁶ For ^(AF)how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the perishing of my kinsmen?”

The King’s Decree Avenges the Jews

⁷ So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, ^(AG)I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the ^[l]gallows because he had sent forth his hand against the Jews. ⁸ Now you write to the Jews, according to what is good in your eyes, in the king’s name, and ^(AH)seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a written decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring ^(AI)may not be turned back.”

^9 (AJ)So the king’s scribes were called at that time in the third month (that is, the month Sivan), on the twenty-third ^[m]day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces which extended ^(AK)from India to ^[n]Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to ^(AL)every province according to its script, and to every people according to their tongue as well as to the Jews according to their script and their tongue. ¹⁰ And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring and sent letters by the hand of couriers on ^(AM)horses, riding on steeds sired by the ^[o]royal stud. ^11 [p]In them the king gave the Jews who were in each and every city the right ^(AN)to assemble and to make a stand for their lives, ^(AO)to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish the entire military force of any people or province which would act as their adversaries, including little ones and women, and ^(AP)to plunder their spoil, ¹² on ^(AQ)one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month Adar). ^13 (AR)A copy of that which was written down to be given as law in each and every province was revealed to all the peoples, so that the Jews would be ready for this day to avenge themselves on their enemies. ¹⁴ The couriers, hurried and hastened by the king’s word, went out, riding on the royal steeds; and the law was given out at the citadel in Susa.

¹⁵ Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king ^(AS)in royal robes of ^[q]blue and fine white, with a large crown of gold and ^(AT)a garment of fine linen and purple; and ^(AU)the city of Susa cried aloud and was glad. ¹⁶ For the Jews there was ^(AV)light and gladness and joy and honor. ¹⁷ And in each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s word and his law reached, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a ^[r](AW)holiday. And ^(AX)many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.

Selection of the Seven

6 Now in those days, while the ^(A)disciples were ^(B)multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the ^[a](C)Hellenists against the ^(D)Hebrews, because their ^(E)widows were being overlooked in ^(F)the daily serving of food. ² So the twelve summoned the ^[b]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. ³ Therefore, ^(G)brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, ^(H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. ⁴ But we will ^(I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” ⁵ And this word pleased the whole ^[c]congregation, and they chose ^(J)Stephen, a man ^(K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and ^(L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a ^[d](M)proselyte from ^(N)Antioch. ⁶ And these they stood before the apostles, and after ^(O)praying, they ^(P)laid their hands on them.

^7 (Q)And the word of God kept on spreading, and ^(R)the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great ^[e]many of the priests were becoming obedient to ^(S)the faith.

Stephen Accused of Blasphemy

⁸ And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great ^(T)wonders and ^[f]signs among the people. ⁹ But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both ^(U)Cyrenians and ^(V)Alexandrians, and some from ^(W)Cilicia and ^[g](X)Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. ¹⁰ But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. ¹¹ Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they ^(Y)came up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to ^(Z)the Sanhedrin. ¹³ And they put forward ^(AA)false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this ^(AB)holy place and the Law; ¹⁴ for we have heard him say that ^(AC)this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter ^(AD)the customs which Moses handed down to us.” ¹⁵ And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the ^(AE)Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel.