Esther 5:1–9:19
5 And it happened, on the third day, and Esther put on royal clothes, and she stood in the inner courtyard of the ⌊king’s palace⌋,a opposite the ⌊king’s palace⌋;b the king was sitting on his royal throne in the ⌊throne room⌋c opposite the doorway of the palace. 2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard she found favor in his eyes, and the king held out the gold scepter that was in his hand to Esther, and Esther approached and touched the top of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.” 4 And Esther said, “If it is good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” 5 And the king said, “Bring Haman quickly ⌊to fulfill⌋d the request of Esther.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 And the king said to Esther ⌊while they were drinking wine⌋,e “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even half the kingdom, it will done. 7 And Esther answered and said, “This is my petition and my request. 8 If I have found favor in the eyes of the king,f and if it is good to the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them tomorrow, and I will do according to the word of the king.
9 And Haman went out on that day rejoicing and ⌊feeling good⌋.g But when Haman saw Mordecai at the gate of the king, and he did not rise or tremble before him, Haman was filled ⌊with rage toward⌋h Mordecai. 10 But Haman controlled himself and went to his house, and he sent for and brought his friends and Zeresh his wife. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his wealth and the number of his sons and all the ways that the king had honored him and promoted him above the officials and king’s servants. 12 ⌊And Haman added⌋,i “Esther the Queen did not let just anyone come to the banquet that she prepared with the king except me, and I am also invited tomorrow to her banquet with the king. 13 But all this ⌊fails to satisfy me⌋j ⌊when⌋k I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the gate of the king.” 14 And Zeresh his wife and all of his friends said to him, “Let them make a gallows fifty cubitsl high, and in the morning tell the king, “Let them hang Mordecai on it; then go with the king to the banquet happily.” The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.
6 During that night the king’s sleep escaped him, and he gave orders to bring the ⌊scroll of records and chronicles⌋,a and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written how Mordecai had reported concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold who had conspired ⌊to assassinate⌋b King Ahasuerus. 3 And the king asked, “What has been done to bestow honor to Mordecai for this?” And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 And the king asked, “Who is in the courtyard?” Haman had just come to the courtyard of the king’s outer palace to tell the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 And the king’s servants said to him, “Look! Haman is standing in the courtyard.” And the king said, “Let him come.” 6 And Haman came, and the king said to him, “What is to be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” And Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?” 7 So Haman said to the king, “For a man whom the king wishes to honor, 8 let them bring ⌊royal clothing⌋c with which the king has clothed himself, and a horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal head-dress has been given. 9 And let the clothing and the horse be given ⌊to the man⌋d by the officials of the king’s nobles; let them clothe the man whom the king wishes to honor, and let him ride on his horse through the public square of the city, and let them proclaim before him, ‘Thus, it will be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor.’ ” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Quickly, take the clothing and the horse, just as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the gate of the king; you must not leave out anything from what you have said.” 11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and let him ride through the public square of the city; and he proclaimed before him, “Thus, it is done to the man whom the king wishes to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the gate of the king, and Haman rushed to his house mournful and with his head covered. 13 And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends all that had happened to him. And his advisers and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is ⌊from the descendants of the Jews⌋,e you will not prevail against him, but will certainly fall before him.” 14 As they were still speaking with him the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
7 So the king and Haman went ⌊to dine⌋a with Queen Esther. 2 And the king again said to Esther, on the second day ⌊while they were drinking⌋,b “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It will be given to you. What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered, and she said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,c O king, and if it is good to the king, let my life be given to me at my petition and my people at my request; 4 I and my people have been sold to be destroyed and killed, to be annihilated. If we had been sold as male and female slaves I would have kept quiet, because thisd is not a need sufficient to trouble the king.”e 5 And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who ⌊gave himself the right to do this⌋?”f 6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman!” And Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
7 The king rose in his anger ⌊from the banquet⌋g and went to the palace garden, and Haman stood to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for ⌊he realized that the king was determined to make an end to his life⌋.h 8 And the king returned from the palace garden to the ⌊banquet hall⌋,i where Haman was lying prostrate on the couch that Esther was on, and the king said, “Will he also molest the queen with me in the house?” As the wordsj went from the king’s mouth they covered Haman’s face. 9 And Habrona, one of the eunuchs in the presence of the king, said, “Look, the same gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai who spoke good for the sake of the king stands at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on it.” 10 And they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and the anger of the king was abated.
8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. 2 And the king removed his signet ring that he had taken away from Haman, and he gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 And Esther again spoke before the king, and she fell before his feet and wept, pleading for his grace to avert Haman the Agagite’s evil plan and the plot that he devised against the Jews. 4 And the king held out to Esther the scepter of gold, and Esther rose and stood before the king, 5 and she said, “If it is good to the king, and if I have found favor before him,a and if the king is pleased with this matter, and ⌊I have his approval⌋,b let an edict be written to revoke the letters of the plans of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the provinces of the king. 6 For ⌊how can I bear⌋c to look on the disaster that will find my people, and ⌊how can I bear⌋d to look on the destruction of my family?” 7 And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have given Haman’s house to Esther, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he ⌊plotted against⌋e the Jews. 8 Write ⌊as you see fit⌋f concerning the Jews in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be revoked.”
9 And the secretaries of the king were summonedg at that time, in the third month, which is in the month of Sivan on the twenty-third day, and an edict was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the governors and satraps and officials of the provinces from India to Cushh—one hundred and twenty-seven provincesi—each province according to its own script and to every people in their own ⌊language⌋,j and to the Jews in their own script and language. 10 And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and he sealed the letters with the king’s signet ring and sent themk by couriers on horses, riding on royal horses ⌊bred by⌋l racing mares.m 11 In them the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and ⌊defend their lives⌋,n to destroy and kill and annihilate any army of any people or province attacking them, including women and children, and to plunder their spoil, 12 in one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 13 A copy of the ⌊edict⌋o was to be given as law in each province to inform all the people, so that the Jews would be readyp on that day to avenge themselves from their enemies. 14 The mounted couriers on the royal horses went out without delay, urged by the king’s word. The law was given in the citadel of Susa.
15 Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in ⌊royal clothing⌋q of blue cloth and white linen, and a great crown of gold and a robe of fine white linen and purple, and the city of Susa was shouting and rejoicing. 16 For the Jews, there was light and gladness, joy and honor. 17 In every…