Esther 5–6

Esther’s Banquet

5And 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. ²When 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. ³And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It will be given to you—even half the kingdom.” ⁴And 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.” ⁵And 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. ⁶And 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. ⁷And Esther answered and said, “This is my petition and my request. ⁸If 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.

⁹And 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. ¹⁰But Haman controlled himself and went to his house, and he sent for and brought his friends and Zeresh his wife. ¹¹And 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. ¹²And 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. ¹³But all this fails to satisfy me^j when^k I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the gate of the king.” ¹⁴And Zeresh his wife and all of his friends said to him, “Let them make a gallows fifty cubits^l 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.

Mordecai is Honored

6During 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. ²And 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. ³And 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.” ⁴And 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. ⁵And the king’s servants said to him, “Look! Haman is standing in the courtyard.” And the king said, “Let him come.” ⁶And 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?” ⁷So Haman said to the king, “For a man whom the king wishes to honor, ⁸let 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. ⁹And 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.’ ” ¹⁰Then 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.” ¹¹So 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.”

¹²Then Mordecai returned to the gate of the king, and Haman rushed to his house mournful and with his head covered. ¹³And 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.” ¹⁴As they were still speaking with him the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.