Esther 5 (WEB)

Esther 5

¹ Now on the third day, Esther put on her royal clothing and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, next to the king’s house. The king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, next to the entrance of the house.

² When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter.

³ Then the king asked her, “What would you like, queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you even to the half of the kingdom.”

⁴ Esther said, “If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

⁵ Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that it may be done as Esther has said.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

⁶ The king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.”

⁷ Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and my request is this.

⁸ If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said.”

⁹ Then Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he didn’t stand up nor move for him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.

¹⁰ Nevertheless Haman restrained himself, and went home. There, he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife.

¹¹ Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.

¹² Haman also said, “Yes, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow I am also invited by her together with the king.

¹³ Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

¹⁴ Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on it. Then go in merrily with the king to the banquet.” This pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

Around Esther 5

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Esther 5 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

On the third day, Esther puts on her royal clothing and stands in the inner court. The king sees her, and she obtains favor in his sight. He holds out the golden scepter, and she comes near and touches its top.

He asks what she wants, even to the half of the kingdom. She does not ask for that. Instead she invites the king and Haman to a banquet she has prepared. At the banquet he asks again, and again she asks only that they come to a second banquet the next day.

Haman goes out joyful and glad. Then he sees Mordecai at the king’s gate, who does not stand or move for him, and he fills with wrath. At home he boasts to his friends and his wife Zeresh of his riches and his honors, but says all this means nothing while he sees Mordecai the Jew at the gate. They tell him to build a gallows fifty cubits high, and Haman has it made.

Background

Esther’s delay in naming her request builds suspense, and the text does not say why she waits. Some readers see careful strategy, and others see fear. Haman’s boasting and his plan to hang Mordecai set up the reversal of the coming chapters. The gallows stands ready as the chapter ends. A cubit is roughly the length of a forearm, so the structure was meant to be very tall and public.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 3 November 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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