Ester 3:1

Haman Conspires to Destroy the Jews

3:1 Some time later ¹  King Ahasuerus promoted ²  Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, exalting him and setting his position ³  above that of all the officials who were with him.

Ester 3:6-8

3:6 But the thought of striking out against ⁴  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ⁵  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ⁶  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ⁷  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

3:7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year ⁸  of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur ⁹  (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month. ¹⁰  It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). ¹¹ 

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ¹²  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ¹³  throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. ¹⁴ 

Ester 4:7

4:7 Then Mordecai related to him everything that had happened to him, even the specific amount of money that Haman had offered to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed.

Ester 5:11-12

5:11 Haman then recounted to them his fabulous wealth, ¹⁵  his many sons, ¹⁶  and how the king had magnified him and exalted him over the king’s other officials and servants. 5:12 Haman said, “Furthermore, Queen Esther invited ¹⁷  only me to accompany the king to the banquet that she prepared! And also tomorrow I am invited ¹⁸  along with the king.

Ester 5:14

5:14 Haman’s ¹⁹  wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet ²⁰  high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” ²¹ 

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

Ester 6:11

6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”

Ester 6:13

6:13 Haman then related to his wife Zeresh and to all his friends everything that had happened to him. These wise men, ²²  along with his wife Zeresh, said to him, “If indeed this Mordecai before whom you have begun to fall is Jewish, ²³  you will not prevail against him. No, you will surely fall before him!”

Ester 7:8

7:8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down ²⁴  on the couch where Esther was lying. ²⁵  The king exclaimed, “Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building!”

As these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Ester 8:1

The King Acts to Protect the Jews

8:1 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate ²⁶  of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her.

Ester 8:3

8:3 Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet. She wept and begged him for mercy, that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite which he had intended against the Jews. ²⁷ 

Ester 8:7

8:7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action ²⁸  against the Jews.

Ester 9:12-13

9:12 Then the king said to Queen Esther, “In Susa the citadel the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman! What then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? What is your request? It shall be given to you. What other petition do you have? It shall be done.”

9:13 Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to act tomorrow also according to today’s law, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows.”

Ester 3:12

3:12 So the royal scribes ²⁹  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ³⁰  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring.

Ester 8:5

8:5 She said, “If the king is so inclined and if I have met with his approval and if the matter is agreeable to the king and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, ³¹  which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces.

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NASB, NIV “After these events.”

[3:1]  ² tn Heb “made great”; NAB “raised…to high rank”; NIV “honored.”

[3:1]  sn The promotion of Haman in 3:1 for reasons unexplained contrasts noticeably with 2:19-23, where Mordecai’s contribution to saving the king’s life goes unnoticed. The irony is striking.

[3:1]  ³ tn Heb “chair”; KJV, NRSV “seat”; NASB “established his authority.”

[3:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

[3:6]  ⁶ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

[3:6]  ⁷ tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.

[3:7]  ⁸ sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.

[3:7]  ⁹ tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).

[3:7]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.

[3:7]  tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).

[3:7]  ¹¹ tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.

[3:8]  ¹² tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

[3:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”

[3:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

[5:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the glory of his riches” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “the splendor of his riches.”

[5:11]  ¹⁶ sn According to Esth 9:10 Haman had ten sons.

[5:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “caused to come”; KJV “did let no man come in…but myself.”

[5:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “called to her”; KJV “invited unto her”; NAB “I am to be her guest.”

[5:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”

[5:14]  ²¹ tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”

[6:13]  ²² tc Part of the Greek tradition and the Syriac Peshitta understand this word as “friends,” probably reading the Hebrew term רֲכָמָיו (rakhamayv, “his friends”) rather than the reading of the MT חֲכָמָיו (hakhamayv, “his wise men”). Cf. NLT “all his friends”; the two readings appear to be conflated by TEV as “those wise friends of his.”

[6:13]  ²³ tn Heb “from the seed of the Jews”; KJV, ASV similar.

[7:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “falling”; NAB, NRSV “had (+ just TEV) thrown himself (+ down TEV).”

[7:8]  ²⁵ tn Heb “where Esther was” (so KJV, NASB). The term “lying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “was reclining.”

[8:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV; also in vv. 2, 7). Cf. TEV “all the property.”

[8:3]  ²⁷ sn As in 7:4 Esther avoids implicating the king in this plot. Instead Haman is given sole responsibility for the plan to destroy the Jews.

[8:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.

[3:12]  ²⁹ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ³⁰ tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[8:5]  ³¹ tc The LXX does not include the expression “the Agagite.”