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Day 140 of 365

about 22 minutes

Esther 3-7

Esther Chapter 3

¹After this, King Ahasuerus highly honored Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Bugaean. He exalted him and set his seat above all his friends. ²All in the palace bowed down to him, for so the king had given orders to do; but Mordecai didn’t bow down to him. ³And they in the king’s palace said to Mordecai, “Mordecai, why do you transgress the commands of the king?” ⁴They questioned him daily, but he didn’t listen to them; so they reported to Haman that Mordecai resisted the commands of the king; and Mordecai had shown to them that he was a Jew. ⁵When Haman understood that Mordecai didn’t bow down to him, he was greatly enraged, ⁶and plotted to utterly destroy all the Jews who were under the rule of Ahasuerus. ⁷In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahasuerus, Haman made a decision by casting lots by day and month, to kill the race of Mordecai in one day. The lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar. ⁸So he spoke to King Ahasuerus, saying, “There is a nation scattered among the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from all the other nations. They disobey the king’s laws. It is not expedient for the king to tolerate them. ⁹If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them, and I will remit into the king’s treasury ten thousand talents of silver.” ¹⁰So the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Haman to seal the decrees against the Jews. ¹¹The king said to Haman, “Keep the silver, and treat the nation as you will.” ¹²So the king’s recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day, and they wrote as Haman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to one hundred twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their languages, in the name of King Ahasuerus. ¹³The message was sent by couriers throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus, to utterly destroy the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods. [The following is the copy of the letter. “From the great King Ahasuerus to the rulers and the governors under them of one hundred twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia, who hold authority under him: “Ruling over many nations and having obtained dominion over the whole world, I was determined (not elated by the confidence of power, but ever conducting myself with great moderation and gentleness) to make the lives of my subjects continually tranquil, desiring both to maintain the kingdom quiet and orderly to its utmost limits, and to restore the peace desired by all men. When I had asked my counselors how this should be brought to pass, Haman, who excels in soundness of judgment among us, and has been manifestly well inclined without wavering and with unshaken fidelity, and had obtained the second post in the kingdom, informed us that a certain ill-disposed people is scattered among all the tribes throughout the world, opposed in their law to every other nation, and continually neglecting the commands of the king, so that the united government blamelessly administered by us is not quietly established. Having then conceived that this nation is continually set in opposition to every man, introducing as a change a foreign code of laws, and injuriously plotting to accomplish the worst of evils against our interests, and against the happy establishment of the monarchy, we instruct you in the letter written by Haman, who is set over the public affairs and is our second governor, to destroy them all utterly with their wives and children by the swords of the enemies, without pitying or sparing any, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month Adar, of the present year; that the people aforetime and now ill-disposed to us having been violently consigned to death in one day, may hereafter secure to us continually a well constituted and quiet state of affairs.”] ¹⁴Copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready for that day. ¹⁵This business was hastened also in Susa. The king and Haman began to drink, but the city was confused.

1: After this, King Ahasuerus highly honored Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Bugaean. He exalted him and set his seat above all his friends.

2: All in the palace bowed down to him, for so the king had given orders to do; but Mordecai didn’t bow down to him.

3: And they in the king’s palace said to Mordecai, “Mordecai, why do you transgress the commands of the king?”

4: They questioned him daily, but he didn’t listen to them; so they reported to Haman that Mordecai resisted the commands of the king; and Mordecai had shown to them that he was a Jew.

5: When Haman understood that Mordecai didn’t bow down to him, he was greatly enraged,

6: and plotted to utterly destroy all the Jews who were under the rule of Ahasuerus.

7: In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahasuerus, Haman made a decision by casting lots by day and month, to kill the race of Mordecai in one day. The lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar.

8: So he spoke to King Ahasuerus, saying, “There is a nation scattered among the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from all the other nations. They disobey the king’s laws. It is not expedient for the king to tolerate them.

9: If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them, and I will remit into the king’s treasury ten thousand talents of silver.”

10: So the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Haman to seal the decrees against the Jews.

11: The king said to Haman, “Keep the silver, and treat the nation as you will.”

12: So the king’s recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day, and they wrote as Haman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to one hundred twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their languages, in the name of King Ahasuerus.

13: The message was sent by couriers throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus, to utterly destroy the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods. [The following is the copy of the letter. “From the great King Ahasuerus to the rulers and the governors under them of one hundred twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia, who hold authority under him: “Ruling over many nations and having obtained dominion over the whole world, I was determined (not elated by the confidence of power, but ever conducting myself with great moderation and gentleness) to make the lives of my subjects continually tranquil, desiring both to maintain the kingdom quiet and orderly to its utmost limits, and to restore the peace desired by all men. When I had asked my counselors how this should be brought to pass, Haman, who excels in soundness of judgment among us, and has been manifestly well inclined without wavering and with unshaken fidelity, and had obtained the second post in the kingdom, informed us that a certain ill-disposed people is scattered among all the tribes throughout the world, opposed in their law to every other nation, and continually neglecting the commands of the king, so that the united government blamelessly administered by us is not quietly established. Having then conceived that this nation is continually set in opposition to every man, introducing as a change a foreign code of laws, and injuriously plotting to accomplish the worst of evils against our interests, and against the happy establishment of the monarchy, we instruct you in the letter written by Haman, who is set over the public affairs and is our second governor, to destroy them all utterly with their wives and children by the swords of the enemies, without pitying or sparing any, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month Adar, of the present year; that the people aforetime and now ill-disposed to us having been violently consigned to death in one day, may hereafter secure to us continually a well constituted and quiet state of affairs.”]

14: Copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready for that day.

15: This business was hastened also in Susa. The king and Haman began to drink, but the city was confused.

Esther Chapter 4

¹But Mordecai, having perceived what was done, tore his garments, put on sackcloth, and sprinkled dust upon himself. Having rushed forth through the open street of the city, he cried with a loud voice, “A nation that has done no wrong is going to be destroyed!” ²He came to the king’s gate, and stood; for it was not lawful for him to enter into the palace wearing sackcloth and ashes. ³And in every province where the letters were published, there was crying, lamentation, and great mourning on the part of the Jews. They wore sackcloth and ashes. ⁴The queen’s maids and chamberlains went in and told her; and when she had heard what was done, she was deeply troubled. She sent clothes to Mordecai to replace his sackcloth, but he refused. ⁵So Esther called for her chamberlain Hathach, who waited upon her; and she sent to learn the truth from Mordecai. ⁷Mordecai showed him what was done, and the promise which Haman had made the king of ten thousand talents to be paid into the treasury, that he might destroy the Jews. ⁸And he gave him the copy of what was published in Susa concerning their destruction to show to Esther; and told him to charge her to go in and entreat the king, and to beg him for the people. “Remember, he said, the days of your humble condition, how you were nursed by my hand; because Haman, who holds the next place to the king, has spoken against us to cause our death. Call upon the Lord, and speak to the king concerning us, to deliver us from death.” ⁹So Hathach went in and told her all these words. ¹⁰Esther said to Hathach, “Go to Mordecai, and say, ¹¹‘All the nations of the empire know that any man or woman who goes in to the king into the inner court without being called, that person must die, unless the king stretches out his golden sceptre; then he shall live. I haven’t been called to go into the king for thirty days.’ ” ¹²So Hathach reported to Mordecai all the words of Esther. ¹³Then Mordecai said to Hathach, “Go, and say to her, ‘Esther, don’t say to yourself that you alone will escape in the kingdom, more than all the other Jews. ¹⁴For if you keep quiet on this occasion, help and protection will come to the Jews from another place; but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you have been made queen for this occasion?’ ” ¹⁵And Esther sent the messenger who came to her to Mordecai, saying, ¹⁶“Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and all of you fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night and day. My maidens and I will also fast. Then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.” ¹⁷So Mordecai went and did all that Esther commanded him. ¹⁸[He prayed to the Lord, making mention of all the works of the Lord. ¹⁹He said, “Lord God, you are king ruling over all, for all things are in your power, and there is no one who can oppose you in your purpose to save Israel; ²⁰for you have made the sky and the earth and every wonderful thing under the sky. ²¹You are Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist you, Lord. ²²You know all things. You know, Lord, that it is not in insolence, nor arrogance, nor love of glory, that I have done this, to refuse to bow down to the arrogant Haman. ²³For I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet for the safety of Israel. ²⁴But I have done this that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God. I will not worship anyone except you, my Lord, and I will not do these things in arrogance. ²⁵And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of Abraham, spare your people, for our enemies are planning our destruction, and they have desired to destroy your ancient inheritance. ²⁶Do not overlook your people, whom you have redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt. ²⁷Listen to my prayer. Have mercy on your inheritance and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and sing praise to your name, O Lord. Don’t utterly destroy the mouth of those who praise you, O Lord.” ²⁸All Israel cried with all their might, for death was before their eyes. ²⁹And queen Esther took refuge in the Lord, being taken as it were in the agony of death. ³⁰Having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments of distress and mourning. Instead of grand perfumes she filled her head with ashes and dung. She greatly humbled her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with her tangled hair. ³¹She implored the Lord God of Israel, and said, “O my Lord, you alone are our king. Help me. I am destitute, and have no helper but you, ³²for my danger is near at hand . ³³I have heard from my birth in the tribe of my kindred that you, Lord, took Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and have done for them all that you have said. ³⁴And now we have sinned before you, and you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies, ³⁵because we honored their gods. You are righteous, O Lord. ³⁶But now they have not been content with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of their idols ³⁷to abolish the decree of your mouth, and utterly to destroy your inheritance, and to stop the mouth of those who praise you, and to extinguish the glory of your house and your altar, ³⁸and to open the mouth of the Gentiles to speak the praises of vanities, and that a mortal king should be admired forever. ³⁹O Lord, don’t surrender your sceptre to those who don’t exist, and don’t let them laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel against themselves, and make an example of him who has begun to injure us. ⁴⁰Remember us, O Lord! Manifest yourself in the time of our affliction. Encourage me, O King of gods, and ruler of all dominion! ⁴¹Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate him who fights against us, to the utter destruction of those who agree with him. ⁴²But deliver us by your hand, and help me who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord. ⁴³You know all things, and know that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of every stranger. ⁴⁴You know my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of my splendor. I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I don’t wear it in the days of my tranquility. ⁴⁵Your handmaid has not eaten at Haman’s table, and I have not honored the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk wine of libations. ⁴⁶Neither has your handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in you, O Lord God of Abraham. ⁴⁷O god, who has power over all, listen to the voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of those who devise mischief. Deliver me from my fear.]

1: But Mordecai, having perceived what was done, tore his garments, put on sackcloth, and sprinkled dust upon himself. Having rushed forth through the open street of the city, he cried with a loud voice, “A nation that has done no wrong is going to be destroyed!”

2: He came to the king’s gate, and stood; for it was not lawful for him to enter into the palace wearing sackcloth and ashes.

3: And in every province where the letters were published, there was crying, lamentation, and great mourning on the part of the Jews. They wore sackcloth and ashes.

4: The queen’s maids and chamberlains went in and told her; and when she had heard what was done, she was deeply troubled. She sent clothes to Mordecai to replace his sackcloth, but he refused.

5: So Esther called for her chamberlain Hathach, who waited upon her; and she sent to learn the truth from Mordecai.

7: Mordecai showed him what was done, and the promise which Haman had made the king of ten thousand talents to be paid into the treasury, that he might destroy the Jews.

8: And he gave him the copy of what was published in Susa concerning their destruction to show to Esther; and told him to charge her to go in and entreat the king, and to beg him for the people. “Remember, he said, the days of your humble condition, how you were nursed by my hand; because Haman, who holds the next place to the king, has spoken against us to cause our death. Call upon the Lord, and speak to the king concerning us, to deliver us from death.”

9: So Hathach went in and told her all these words.

10: Esther said to Hathach, “Go to Mordecai, and say,

11: ‘All the nations of the empire know that any man or woman who goes in to the king into the inner court without being called, that person must die, unless the king stretches out his golden sceptre; then he shall live. I haven’t been called to go into the king for thirty days.’ ”

12: So Hathach reported to Mordecai all the words of Esther.

13: Then Mordecai said to Hathach, “Go, and say to her, ‘Esther, don’t say to yourself that you alone will escape in the kingdom, more than all the other Jews.

14: For if you keep quiet on this occasion, help and protection will come to the Jews from another place; but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you have been made queen for this occasion?’ ”

15: And Esther sent the messenger who came to her to Mordecai, saying,

16: “Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and all of you fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days, night and day. My maidens and I will also fast. Then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die.”

17: So Mordecai went and did all that Esther commanded him.

18: [He prayed to the Lord, making mention of all the works of the Lord.

19: He said, “Lord God, you are king ruling over all, for all things are in your power, and there is no one who can oppose you in your purpose to save Israel;

20: for you have made the sky and the earth and every wonderful thing under the sky.

21: You are Lord of all, and there is no one who can resist you, Lord.

22: You know all things. You know, Lord, that it is not in insolence, nor arrogance, nor love of glory, that I have done this, to refuse to bow down to the arrogant Haman.

23: For I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet for the safety of Israel.

24: But I have done this that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of God. I will not worship anyone except you, my Lord, and I will not do these things in arrogance.

25: And now, O Lord God, the King, the God of Abraham, spare your people, for our enemies are planning our destruction, and they have desired to destroy your ancient inheritance.

26: Do not overlook your people, whom you have redeemed for yourself out of the land of Egypt.

27: Listen to my prayer. Have mercy on your inheritance and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and sing praise to your name, O Lord. Don’t utterly destroy the mouth of those who praise you, O Lord.”

28: All Israel cried with all their might, for death was before their eyes.

29: And queen Esther took refuge in the Lord, being taken as it were in the agony of death.

30: Having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments of distress and mourning. Instead of grand perfumes she filled her head with ashes and dung. She greatly humbled her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with her tangled hair.

31: She implored the Lord God of Israel, and said, “O my Lord, you alone are our king. Help me. I am destitute, and have no helper but you,

32: for my danger is near at hand .

33: I have heard from my birth in the tribe of my kindred that you, Lord, took Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and have done for them all that you have said.

34: And now we have sinned before you, and you have delivered us into the hands of our enemies,

35: because we honored their gods. You are righteous, O Lord.

36: But now they have not been content with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of their idols

37: to abolish the decree of your mouth, and utterly to destroy your inheritance, and to stop the mouth of those who praise you, and to extinguish the glory of your house and your altar,

38: and to open the mouth of the Gentiles to speak the praises of vanities, and that a mortal king should be admired forever.

39: O Lord, don’t surrender your sceptre to those who don’t exist, and don’t let them laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel against themselves, and make an example of him who has begun to injure us.

40: Remember us, O Lord! Manifest yourself in the time of our affliction. Encourage me, O King of gods, and ruler of all dominion!

41: Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate him who fights against us, to the utter destruction of those who agree with him.

42: But deliver us by your hand, and help me who am alone and have no one but you, O Lord.

43: You know all things, and know that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the bed of the uncircumcised and of every stranger.

44: You know my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of my splendor. I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I don’t wear it in the days of my tranquility.

45: Your handmaid has not eaten at Haman’s table, and I have not honored the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk wine of libations.

46: Neither has your handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in you, O Lord God of Abraham.

47: O god, who has power over all, listen to the voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of those who devise mischief. Deliver me from my fear.]

Esther Chapter 5

¹It came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she took off her servant’s dress and put on her glorious apparel. Being splendidly dressed and having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. She was blooming in the perfection of her beauty. Her face was cheerful and looked lovely, but her heart was filled with fear. Having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king. He was sitting on his royal throne. He had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrifying. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger. The queen fell, and changed her color as she fainted. She bowed herself upon the head of the maid who went before her. But God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in intense feeling, he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered. He comforted her with peaceful words, and said to her, “What is the matter, Esther? I am your relative. Cheer up! You shall not die, for our command is openly declared to you: ‘Draw near.’ ” ²And having raised the golden sceptre, he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her. He said, “Speak to me.” So she said to him, “I saw you, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of your glory; for you, my lord, are to be wondered at, and your face is full of grace.” While she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her. ³The king said, “What do you desire, Esther? What is your request? Ask even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be yours.” ⁴Esther said, “Today is a special day. So if it seems good to the king, let both him and Haman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.” ⁵The king said, “Hurry and bring Haman here, that we may do as Esther said.” So they both came to the feast about which Esther had spoken. ⁶At the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your request, queen Esther? You shall have all that you require.” ⁷She said, “My request and my petition is: ⁸if I have found favor in the king’s sight, let the king and Haman come again tomorrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as I have done today.” ⁹So Haman went out from the king very glad and merry; but when Haman saw Mordecai the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged. ¹⁰Having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zeresh. ¹¹He showed them his wealth and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had promoted him to be chief ruler in the kingdom. ¹²Haman said, “The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited tomorrow. ¹³But these things don’t please me while I see Mordecai the Jew in the court. ¹⁴Then Zeresh his wife and his friends said to him, “Let a fifty cubit tall gallows be made for you. In the morning you speak to the king, and let Mordecai be hanged on the gallows; but you go in to the feast with the king, and be merry.” The saying pleased Haman, and the gallows was prepared.

1: It came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she took off her servant’s dress and put on her glorious apparel. Being splendidly dressed and having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. She was blooming in the perfection of her beauty. Her face was cheerful and looked lovely, but her heart was filled with fear. Having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king. He was sitting on his royal throne. He had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrifying. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger. The queen fell, and changed her color as she fainted. She bowed herself upon the head of the maid who went before her. But God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in intense feeling, he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered. He comforted her with peaceful words, and said to her, “What is the matter, Esther? I am your relative. Cheer up! You shall not die, for our command is openly declared to you: ‘Draw near.’ ”

2: And having raised the golden sceptre, he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her. He said, “Speak to me.” So she said to him, “I saw you, my lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of your glory; for you, my lord, are to be wondered at, and your face is full of grace.” While she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her.

3: The king said, “What do you desire, Esther? What is your request? Ask even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be yours.”

4: Esther said, “Today is a special day. So if it seems good to the king, let both him and Haman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.”

5: The king said, “Hurry and bring Haman here, that we may do as Esther said.” So they both came to the feast about which Esther had spoken.

6: At the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your request, queen Esther? You shall have all that you require.”

7: She said, “My request and my petition is:

8: if I have found favor in the king’s sight, let the king and Haman come again tomorrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as I have done today.”

9: So Haman went out from the king very glad and merry; but when Haman saw Mordecai the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged.

10: Having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zeresh.

11: He showed them his wealth and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had promoted him to be chief ruler in the kingdom.

12: Haman said, “The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited tomorrow.

13: But these things don’t please me while I see Mordecai the Jew in the court.

14: Then Zeresh his wife and his friends said to him, “Let a fifty cubit tall gallows be made for you. In the morning you speak to the king, and let Mordecai be hanged on the gallows; but you go in to the feast with the king, and be merry.” The saying pleased Haman, and the gallows was prepared.

Esther Chapter 6

¹The Lord removed sleep from the king that night; so he told his servant to bring in the books, the registers of daily events, to read to him. ²And he found the records written concerning Mordecai, how he had told the king about the king’s two chamberlains, when they were keeping guard, and sought to lay hands on Ahasuerus. ³The king said, “What honor or favor have we done for Mordecai?” The king’s servants said, “You haven’t done anything for him.” ⁴And while the king was enquiring about the kindness of Mordecai, behold, Haman was in the court. The king said, “Who is in the court? Now Haman had come in to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared. ⁵The king’s servants said, “Behold, Haman stands in the court.” And the king said, “Call him!” ⁶The king said to Haman, “What should I do for the man whom I wish to honor?” Haman said within himself, “Whom would the king honor but myself?” ⁷He said to the king, “As for the man whom the king wishes to honor, ⁸let the king’s servants bring the robe of fine linen which the king puts on, and the horse on which the king rides, ⁹and let him give it to one of the king’s noble friends, and let him dress the man whom the king loves. Let him mount him on the horse, and proclaim through the streets of the city, saying, “This is what will be done for every man whom the king honors!” ¹⁰Then the king said to Haman, “You have spoken well. Do so for Mordecai the Jew, who waits in the palace, and let not a word of what you have spoken be neglected!” ¹¹So Haman took the robe and the horse, dressed Mordecai, mounted him on the horse, and went through the streets of the city, proclaiming, “This is what will be done for every man whom the king wishes to honor.” ¹²Then Mordecai returned to the palace; but Haman went home mourning, with his head covered. ¹³Haman related the events that had happened to him to Zeresh his wife and to his friends. His friends and his wife said to him, “If Mordecai is of the race of the Jews, and you have begun to be humbled before him, you will assuredly fall; and you will not be able to withstand him, for the living God is with him.” ¹⁴While they were still speaking, the chamberlains arrived to rush Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

1: The Lord removed sleep from the king that night; so he told his servant to bring in the books, the registers of daily events, to read to him.

2: And he found the records written concerning Mordecai, how he had told the king about the king’s two chamberlains, when they were keeping guard, and sought to lay hands on Ahasuerus.

3: The king said, “What honor or favor have we done for Mordecai?” The king’s servants said, “You haven’t done anything for him.”

4: And while the king was enquiring about the kindness of Mordecai, behold, Haman was in the court. The king said, “Who is in the court? Now Haman had come in to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows which he had prepared.

5: The king’s servants said, “Behold, Haman stands in the court.” And the king said, “Call him!”

6: The king said to Haman, “What should I do for the man whom I wish to honor?” Haman said within himself, “Whom would the king honor but myself?”

7: He said to the king, “As for the man whom the king wishes to honor,

8: let the king’s servants bring the robe of fine linen which the king puts on, and the horse on which the king rides,

9: and let him give it to one of the king’s noble friends, and let him dress the man whom the king loves. Let him mount him on the horse, and proclaim through the streets of the city, saying, “This is what will be done for every man whom the king honors!”

10: Then the king said to Haman, “You have spoken well. Do so for Mordecai the Jew, who waits in the palace, and let not a word of what you have spoken be neglected!”

11: So Haman took the robe and the horse, dressed Mordecai, mounted him on the horse, and went through the streets of the city, proclaiming, “This is what will be done for every man whom the king wishes to honor.”

12: Then Mordecai returned to the palace; but Haman went home mourning, with his head covered.

13: Haman related the events that had happened to him to Zeresh his wife and to his friends. His friends and his wife said to him, “If Mordecai is of the race of the Jews, and you have begun to be humbled before him, you will assuredly fall; and you will not be able to withstand him, for the living God is with him.”

14: While they were still speaking, the chamberlains arrived to rush Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared.

Esther Chapter 7

¹So the king and Haman went in to drink with the queen. ²The king said to Esther at the banquet on the second day, “What is it, queen Esther? What is your request? What is your petition? It shall be done for you, up to half of my kingdom.” ³She answered and said, “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, let my life be granted as my petition, and my people as my request. ⁴For both I and my people are sold for destruction, pillage, and genocide. If both we and our children were sold for male and female slaves, I would not have bothered you, for this isn’t worthy of the king’s palace.” ⁵The king said, “Who has dared to do this thing?” ⁶Esther said, “The enemy is Haman, this wicked man!” Then Haman was terrified in the presence of the king and the queen. ⁷The king rose up from the banquet to go into the garden. Haman began to beg the queen for mercy, for he saw that he was in serious trouble. ⁸The king returned from the garden; and Haman had fallen upon the couch, begging the queen for mercy. The king said, “Will you even assault my wife in my house?” And when Haman heard it, he changed countenance. ⁹And Bugathan, one of the chamberlains, said to the king, “Behold, Haman has also prepared a gallows for Mordecai, who spoke concerning the king, and a fifty cubit high gallows has been set up on Haman’s property.” The king said, “Let him be hanged on it!” ¹⁰So Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath was abated.

1: So the king and Haman went in to drink with the queen.

2: The king said to Esther at the banquet on the second day, “What is it, queen Esther? What is your request? What is your petition? It shall be done for you, up to half of my kingdom.”

3: She answered and said, “If I have found favor in the sight of the king, let my life be granted as my petition, and my people as my request.

4: For both I and my people are sold for destruction, pillage, and genocide. If both we and our children were sold for male and female slaves, I would not have bothered you, for this isn’t worthy of the king’s palace.”

5: The king said, “Who has dared to do this thing?”

6: Esther said, “The enemy is Haman, this wicked man!” Then Haman was terrified in the presence of the king and the queen.

7: The king rose up from the banquet to go into the garden. Haman began to beg the queen for mercy, for he saw that he was in serious trouble.

8: The king returned from the garden; and Haman had fallen upon the couch, begging the queen for mercy. The king said, “Will you even assault my wife in my house?” And when Haman heard it, he changed countenance.

9: And Bugathan, one of the chamberlains, said to the king, “Behold, Haman has also prepared a gallows for Mordecai, who spoke concerning the king, and a fifty cubit high gallows has been set up on Haman’s property.” The king said, “Let him be hanged on it!”

10: So Haman was hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath was abated.

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Scripture text: World English Bible, Catholic Edition (WEBC) — public domain

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