The Book of Esther

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- Chapter 6 -

The king honors Mordecai

That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles,(a) to be brought in and read to him.

And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana (b) and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.

The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?” “Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants.

“Who is in the court?” the king asked. Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

So the king’s attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” ordered the king.

Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me?”

And Haman told the king, “For the man whom the king is delighted to honor,

have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head.

Let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them array the man the king wants to honor and parade him on the horse through the city square, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!’”

“Hurry,” said the king to Haman, “and do just as you proposed. Take the robe and the horse to Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything that you have suggested.”

So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!”

Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.

Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.”

While they were still speaking with Haman, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed him to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Footnotes

(a)6:1 Or the Book of Memorials, the Annals or the Book of Records of Historical Events

(b)6:2 Bigthana is a variant of Bigthan; see Esther 2:21.

The king honors Mordecai

On that night, the king couldn’t sleep. He commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought, and they were read to the king.

It was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who were doorkeepers, who had tried to lay hands on the King Ahasuerus.

The king said, “ What honor and dignity has been given to Mordecai for this?” Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “ Nothing has been done for him.”

The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had come into the outer court of the king’s house, to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

The king’s servants said to him, “ Behold, (a) Haman stands in the court.” The king said, “Let him come in.”

So Haman came in. The king said to him, “ What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman said in his heart, “ Who would the king delight to honor more than myself?”

Haman said to the king, “ For the man whom the king delights to honor,

let royal clothing be brought which the king uses to wear, and the horse that the king rides on, and on the head of which a royal crown is set.

Let the clothing and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man whom the king delights to honor with them, and have him ride on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘ Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’”

Then the king said to Haman, “ Hurry and take the clothing and the horse, as you have said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Let nothing fail of all that you have spoken.”

Then Haman took the clothing and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and had him ride through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “ Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”

Mordecai came back to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning and having his head covered.

Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “ If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him, but you will surely fall before him.”

While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Footnotes

(a)6:5 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.