Esther, 7

¹ So the king and Haʹman came in to Queen Esther’s banquet.

² The king said to Esther again on the second day during the banquet of wine: “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It will be granted you. And what is your request? Even to^*1 the half of my kingdom, it will be done!”

³ Queen Esther answered: “If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life^*1 be granted as my petition, and my people as my request.

⁴ For we have been sold, I and my people, to be annihilated, killed, and destroyed. If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. But the distress is not proper, for it will be damaging to the king.”

⁵ King A·has·u·eʹrus then said to Queen Esther: “Who is this, and where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?”

⁶ Esther said: “The adversary and enemy is this evil Haʹman.” Haʹman became terrified because of the king and the queen.

⁷ The king rose up in a rage from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden, but Haʹman stood up to plead with Queen Esther for his life,^*1 for he realized that the king was determined to punish him.

⁸ The king returned from the palace garden to the house of the wine banquet and saw that Haʹman had thrown himself on the couch where Esther was. The king exclaimed: “Is he also going to rape the queen in my own house?” As soon as these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haʹman’s face.

⁹ Har·boʹna, one of the king’s court officials, now said: “Haʹman also prepared a stake for Morʹde·cai, whose report saved the king. It is standing at Haʹman’s house, 50 cubits^*1 high.” At that the king said: “Hang him on it.”

¹⁰ So they hanged Haʹman on the stake that he had prepared for Morʹde·cai, and the king’s rage subsided.