The Book of Esther
Esther 5
Chapter V · Vol. II, pp. 931–932
1 Esther, adventuring on the king's favour, obtaineth the grace of the golden sceptre, and inviteth the king and Haman to a banquet. 6 She, being encouraged by the king to name her suit, inviteth them to another banquet the next day. 9 Haman, proud of his advancement, repineth at the contempt of Mordecai. 14 By the advice of his wife and friends he prepareth for him a gallows.
1 Now it came to pass on athe third day, that Esther bput on her royal apparel, and stood in the cinner court1 of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
a ch.4.16.
b Mat.10.16. Ps.112.5. 1 Pe.3.3,5. Ep.5.15.
c ch.4.11; 6.4.
1 The more private residence of the king. The circumstance that Esther was seen by the king, she being in the court, while he was seated in the hall, is explained by the fact that, in the Persian palaces, the principal apartment is open in front, so that the king, from the upper end of the hall, commands a view of the whole court.—I.
2 And it was dso, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king eheld out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
A.M. 3495 B.C. 509
d Ps.116.1. Ac.10.4. Pr.21.1. ch.4.11; 8.4. Ge.22.14. De.32.36. 1 Co.10.13.
e Col.3.18. 1 Pe.3.1-7.
3 Then said the king unto her, fWhat wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom.2
f ver.6; ch.7.2; 9.12. 1 Ki.2.20. Mar.6.23, so? Zec.1.13. Jn.16.24.
2 It was customary with the Persian kings to give particular cities and provinces to their queens and favourites, not in absolute possession, but to furnish various necessaries. Historians tell us of one city which was assigned to a Persian queen for sandals, a second for a girdle, a third for her head-dress; of one to furnish a favourite with flesh, another with bread, and a third with wine.—C.
4 And Esther ganswered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the hbanquet that I have prepared for him.
5 Then the king said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, iWhat is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
i ver.3; ch.7.2; 9.12.
8 If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform3 my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do lto-morrow as the king hath said.4
3 Heb. to do.
l Pr.16.9. ch.vi.
4 No one can certainly discover the motive of Esther in this postponement. It may have been fear shrinking from a present difficulty in hope of a better opportunity; or wisdom seeking more ingratiation, in hope of greater influence; or piety waiting upon a providential opening, and concluding, by the Spirit of God, that her time was not come. The event leads us to adopt this last view of Esther's decision.—C.
9 Then went Haman forth that day mjoyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he nstood not up, nor moved for him, he was ofull of indignation against Mordecai.
10 Nevertheless Haman prefrained himself: and when he came home, he sent and 5called for his friends, and qZeresh his wife.
11 And rHaman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
r Da.4.30. ch.9.7-10; 3.1. Ps.49.6,16,18; 73.4-8,12; 37.35; 17.14. Job 21.7,8,11,12.
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and sto-morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
s Pr.27.1. 1 Th.5.3. Is.13.8. Lu.21.34,35.
13 Yet tall this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.6
t Job 5.2. 1 Ki.21.4. Ps.52.1,2. Ec.10.1.
6 What a picture does this give of poor degraded human nature! Here was a man, according to his own account, enjoying everything his heart could wish for—wealth, honour, domestic prosperity; and yet the bitter hatred he entertained to another troubled and distracted his mind. Haman was essentially a bad man. He was vain, ambitious, cruel, and unscrupulous. To gratify his private feelings he would stop at no crime. Mordecai had from the first formed a true estimate of him.—P.
14 Then said uZeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits[≈ 23 m · 75 ft] high, and to-morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then xgo thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and yhe caused the gallows to be made.
Notes
Reflections.—Prudence and courage must be joined to our prayers if we would succeed in any work for God. And a plentiful harvest of joy shall they reap who sow in the tears and mourning of faith. They who venture all for God shall find him able to do for them unspeakably better than their most sanguine hopes. While himself is easily accessible, casting out none that come to him, he can dispose the spirits of the haughtiest princes to whatever he pleases. But in our dealing with great men, it is best first to conciliate their affection before we ask important favours: and to watch the favourable moment is the best way to insure success. They who are careful to please God need neither fear nor care who are displeased with them for so doing. But pitiful and miserable is the condition of the proud. Easily they are puffed up with that which is intended to ruin them, and unmeasurably fretted at that which could never hurt them. Their pride and discontentment create them numberless miseries, and rob them of the enjoyment of their mercies: and the curse of God is often visible upon them in the midst of all their great possessions. But it is unhappy for proud spirits to have rash and imprudent advisers, who spur them on to the most debasing resentment. And base are those minds which promote revenge, even the lowest, with alertness and pleasure.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.