Esther 5

1 And it came to pass, on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the house of the king, over against the house of the king, —and, the king, was sitting upon his royal seat, in the royal house, over against the opening of the house.

Three days later Esther put on her royal robes and went and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, opposite the king's hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the king's hall, facing the entrance.

2 And it came to pass, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his eyes, —and the king held out to Esther, the golden sceptre which was in his hand, so Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the inner court she won his approval so he acted favorably by holding out his scepter to her. So Esther went over and touched the end of the scepter.

3 Then said the king unto her, What aileth thee, Queen Esther? and what is thy request? Unto the half of the kingdom, shall it be given thee.

The king asked her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What do you want? I'll give it to you, as much as half my empire!”

4 Then said Esther, If, unto the king, it seem good, let the king with Haman come in this day, unto the banquet which I have prepared for him.

Esther replied, “If it please Your Majesty, may the king and Haman come today to a dinner I have prepared for him.”

5 And the king said, Hasten ye Haman, to perform the word of Esther. So the king with Haman came in, unto the banquet which Esther had prepared,

“Bring Haman here at once so we can do what Esther has requested,” the king ordered. The king and Haman went to the dinner that Esther had prepared.

6 Then said the king unto Esther, during the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, that it may be granted thee?—and what is thy request—unto the half of the kingdom—that it may be performed?

As they drank their wine, the king asked Esther, “What are you really asking for? It will be given to you. What do you want? You shall have it, as much as half my empire!”

7 Then answered Esther, and said, —As touching my petition and my request,

Esther answered, “This is what I'm asking for, and this is what I want.

8 If I have found favour in the eyes of the king, and if, unto the king, it seem good, to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king with Haman come in unto the banquet which I will prepare for them, and, to-morrow, I will do according to the word of the king.

If the king looks on me favorably, and if it please Your Majesty to grant my request and do as I ask, may the king and Haman come to a dinner I will prepare for them. Tomorrow I will answer Your Majesty's question.”

9 Then went Haman forth on that day, joyful and of a merry heart, —but, when Haman saw Mordecai in the gate of the king, that he rose not up nor moved because of him, then was Haman filled with wrath against Mordecai.

When Haman left that day he was very happy and pleased with himself. But when he saw Mordecai at the palace gate and that he didn't stand up or tremble with fear before him, Haman was furious with Mordecai.

10 Nevertheless Haman restrained himself, and came into his own house, —and sent and brought in his friends, and Zeresh his wife;

However, Haman controlled himself and he went home. There he invited his friends over. Once they and his wife Zeresh had gathered,

11 and Haman recounted unto them the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, —and all the things wherein the king had promoted him to power, and how he had advanced him, above the rulers and the servants of the king.

Haman went into great detail about how much money and possessions he had, and how many children, and how the king had made him so important by promoting him above all the other nobles and officials.

12 And Haman said, Moreover Esther the queen did bring in no one with the king into the banquet which she had prepared, saving myself, —yea moreover, even for to-morrow, I, am invited unto her, with the king.

“Added to all that,” Haman went on, “I was the only other person Queen Esther invited to come to a dinner she had prepared for the king. I'm also invited by her to eat together with the king tomorrow.”

13 Yet, all this, sufficeth me not, —so long as, I, see Mordecai the Jew, sitting in the gate of the king.

Then he said, “But all of this is worthless to me while I keep on seeing Mordecai the Jew sitting at the palace gate.”

14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let them make ready a gallows, of the height of fifty cubits, and, in the morning, speak thou unto the king, that they hang Mordecai thereon, then go with the king into the banquet joyfully. And the thing seemed good before Haman, and he made ready the gallows.

His wife Zeresh and his friends told him, “Arrange for a pole to be set up, fifty cubits high. Then, in the morning, go and ask the king to have Mordecai impaled on it. Afterwards, you'll be happy as you go with the king to the dinner.” Haman thought this was good advice, so he had the pole set up.