Esther 6:1-7:10
That
night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the
record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded
there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers
who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
"What
honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?" the king asked.
"Nothing
has been done for him," his attendants answered.
The
king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the
outer court of the palace to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the
gallows he had erected for him.
His
attendants answered, "Haman is standing in the court."
"Bring
him in," the king ordered.
When
Haman entered, the king asked him, "What should be done for the man the
king delights to honor?"
Now
Haman thought to himself, "Who is there that the king would rather honor
than me?" So he answered the king, "For the man the king delights to
honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has
ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse
be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes. Let them robe the man the
king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets,
proclaiming before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king delights to
honor!' "
"Go
at once," the king commanded Haman. "Get the robe and the horse and
do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's
gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended."
So
Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback
through the city streets, proclaiming before him, "This is what is done
for the man the king delights to honor!"
Afterward
Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head
covered in grief, and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that
had happened to him.
His
advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, "Since Mordecai, before whom
your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against
him--you will surely come to ruin!" While they were still talking with
him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther
had prepared.
So
the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther, and as they were drinking
wine on that second day, the king again asked, "Queen Esther, what is your
petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the
kingdom, it will be granted."
Then
Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it
pleases your majesty, grant me my life--this is my petition. And spare my
people--this is my request. For I and my people have been sold for destruction
and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female
slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify
disturbing the king."
King
Xerxes asked Queen Esther, "Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to
do such a thing?"
Esther
said, "The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman."
Then
Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage, left
his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the
king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his
life.
Just
as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was
falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.
The
king exclaimed, "Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the
house?"
As
soon as the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then
Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, "A gallows
seventy-five feet high stands by Haman's house. He had it made for Mordecai,
who spoke up to help the king."
The
king said, "Hang him on it!" So they hanged Haman on the gallows he
had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's fury subsided. (NIV)
This
reading is taken from 30 Scripture Readings
HOLY
BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights
reserved.
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