Esther 5 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
474 BC, on the third day of the fast, weeks after the decree was issued
Location
The inner court and the private throne hall of the palace at Susa, and afterwards Haman's own house in the city
Audience
Jews under Persian rule reading how their people were preserved
Situation
Esther enters the inner court uninvited, is received, and instead of asking her request she invites the king and Haman to a banquet, then to a second banquet the next day. Haman leaves elated, is angered by Mordecai's refusal to rise, and on his family's advice has a tall pole built on which to impale him.
Key Background
The offer of up to half the kingdom was court flattery rather than a literal grant, a formula of generosity used in royal settings. Private banquets with wine were a normal Persian venue for petitions and political business, so Esther's delay is a tactical use of the king's own customs rather than nerves. The pole Haman prepares, about twenty-two metres tall, points to the Persian practice of impaling or hanging a body in public view as a deterrent, with the extreme height meant as a spectacle over the city.
On the third day, Esther put on her and stood in the inner courtyard of the palace, facing the king's hall. The king was sitting on his throne in the hall, facing the entrance.
When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the courtyard, she The king extended the golden scepter in hand toward Esther, and Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
The king asked her, "What is it, Queen Esther? What do you want? Even up to the — it's yours."
Esther answered, "If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a I've prepared for him."
The king said, "Get Haman immediately so we can do what Esther asks." So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared.
While they were drinking wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, "So what's your request? It will be granted. What do you want? Even up to half the kingdom — it's yours."
Esther replied, "My request — what I really want —
if I've found favor with the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my request and do what I want — let the king and Haman come to another banquet I'll prepare for them tomorrow. Then I'll answer the king's question."
Haman left that day happy and in great spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate — and Mordecai up or at his presence — Haman was filled with rage toward him.
But Haman held himself back. He went home and called together his friends and his wife
Haman bragged to them about enormous wealth, and every way the king had promoted and elevated him above all the other officials and servants.
"On top of all that," Haman added, "Queen Esther didn't invite anyone except me to come with the king to the banquet she prepared. And I'm invited back again tomorrow with the king!
But none of this means anything to me as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king's gate."
His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, "Have a set up — seventy-five — and in the morning, tell the king to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then you can go to the banquet with the king in a good mood." Haman liked the idea, so he had the set up.