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Esther 3:1–5

Haman Plots Against the Jews

After these things King Ahasuerus qpromoted Haman rthe Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, sand advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. tBut Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. Then the king’s servants who were uat the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress vthe king’s command?” And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that tMordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was wfilled with fury.

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Esther 3:1–5 — The New International Version (NIV)

After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.

Esther 3:1–5 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king’s servants, which were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment? Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.

Esther 3:1–5 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Some time later King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite over all the other nobles, making him the most powerful official in the empire. All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.

Then the palace officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” They spoke to him day after day, but still he refused to comply with the order. So they spoke to Haman about this to see if he would tolerate Mordecai’s conduct, since Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or show him respect, he was filled with rage.

Esther 3:1–5 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate bowed and paid homage to Haman, for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage. Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” Now it happened, when they spoke to him daily and he would not listen to them, that they told it to Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow or pay him homage, Haman was filled with wrath.

Esther 3:1–5 — New Century Version (NCV)

After these things happened, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He gave him a new rank that was higher than all the important men. All the royal officers at the king’s gate would bow down and kneel before Haman, as the king had ordered. But Mordecai would not bow down or show him honor.

Then the royal officers at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why don’t you obey the king’s command?” And they said this to him every day. When he did not listen to them, they told Haman about it. They wanted to see if Haman would accept Mordecai’s behavior because Mordecai had told them he was Jewish.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down to him or honor him, he became very angry.

Esther 3:1–5 — American Standard Version (ASV)

After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed down, and did reverence to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence. Then the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment? Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath.

Esther 3:1–5 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

After these things king Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king’s servants that were in the king’s gate bowed and did Haman reverence, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment? And it came to pass as they spoke daily to him, and he hearkened not to them, that they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, Haman was full of fury.

Esther 3:1–5 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Later, King Xerxes promoted Haman. (Haman was the son of Hammedatha and was from Agag.) He gave Haman a position higher in authority than all the other officials who were with him. All the king’s advisers were at the king’s gate, kneeling and bowing to Haman with their faces touching the ground, because the king had commanded it. But Mordecai would not kneel and bow to him. 

Then the king’s advisers at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you ignore the king’s command?” Although they asked him day after day, he paid no attention to them. So they informed Haman to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. 

When Haman saw that Mordecai did not kneel and bow to him, Haman was infuriated.

Esther 3:1–5 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

After all this took place, King Ahasuerus honored Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite. He promoted him in rank and gave him a higher position than all the other officials. The entire royal staff at the King’s Gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded this to be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage. The members of the royal staff at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?” When they had warned him day after day and he still would not listen to them, they told Haman to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai was not bowing down or paying him homage, he was filled with rage.

Esther 3:1–5 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the officials who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and did obeisance to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance. Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would avail; for he had told them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or do obeisance to him, Haman was infuriated.

Esther 3:1–5 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and he exalted him and set his position above all the officials who were with him. And all of the king’s servants who were at the gate of the king were kneeling and bowing down to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him, but Mordecai did not kneel and bow down. And the king’s servants who were at the gate of the king said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the command of the king?” They spoke to him day after day, but he did not listen to them, and they informed Haman to see if Mordecai’s resolve would prevail; for he had told them that he was a Jew. And Haman saw that Mordecai was not kneeling and bowing down to him, and he was filled with wrath.

Esther 3:1–5 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

After those events, King Xerxes honored Haman. Haman was the son of Hammedatha. He was from the family line of Agag. The king gave Haman a higher position than he had before. He gave him a seat of honor. It was higher than the positions any of the other nobles had. All of the royal officials at the palace gate got down on their knees. They gave honor to Haman. That’s because the king had commanded them to do it.

But Mordecai refused to get down on his knees. He wouldn’t give Haman any honor at all.

The royal officials at the palace gate asked Mordecai a question. They said, “Why don’t you obey the king’s command?” Day after day they spoke to him. But he still refused to obey. So they told Haman about it. They wanted to see whether he would let Mordecai get away with what he was doing. Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.

Haman noticed that Mordecai wouldn’t get down on his knees. He wouldn’t give Haman any honor. So Haman burned with anger.

Esther 3:1–5 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and established his authority over all the princes who were with him.

All the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage.

Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the king’s command?”

Now it was when they had spoken daily to him and he would not listen to them, that they told Haman to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai neither bowed down nor paid homage to him, Haman was filled with rage.


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