Esther 7

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther.

And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.

For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”

Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?”

And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king.

And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face.

Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.”

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

← Previous chapter Next chapter →

Esther 7

At the second banquet, the king again asks Esther what her petition is, assuring her that it will be granted even to half his kingdom, and Esther finally reveals her Jewish identity and her people's peril. Esther identifies Haman as the enemy who has plotted the genocide, and the king, enraged by this betrayal of his trust and the threat to his queen, leaves the banquet to walk in the garden. When Haman, in desperation, falls upon the couch where Esther reclines to plead for his life, the king returns and interprets the gesture as an assault on the queen, sealing Haman's condemnation. A servant mentions the gallows that Haman prepared for Mordecai, and the king orders Haman to be hanged upon it, fulfilling the principle that the pit one digs for another becomes one's own grave. Mordecai is clothed with Haman's position and Esther is granted Haman's estate, marking the complete inversion of the previous hierarchy and the triumph of the Jewish remnant. This chapter demonstrates divine justice working through natural human emotion and decision-making, without miraculous intervention, yet achieving the salvation of God's people.

Esther 7:1

So the king and Haman came to banquet with Queen Esther, demonstrating the beginning of the second banquet and the gathering of the three principal characters at what will become the scene of Haman's undoing. This repetition of the banquet scene emphasizes its significance and anticipates the revelation that Esther will make in this setting. The verse marks the beginning of the final act of the narrative where hidden identities will be revealed and the hidden purposes of God will be made manifest.

Esther 7:2

And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after dinner, the king again said to Esther, What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be given you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled, repeating the king's repeated offer to grant Esther's petition and suggesting that the moment of her revelation is now at hand. The king's continued eagerness to grant her request combined with the intimate setting of the banquet creates the opportunity for Esther to finally make her true petition. The verse anticipates the revelation that will transform the banquet from a celebration into a scene of judgment and reversal.

Esther 7:3

Then Queen Esther answered, If I have won your favor, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request, demonstrating Esther's final revelation of her petition, which is for her own life and the lives of her people. This moment of revelation marks the climax of Esther's strategic approach: through the two banquets, she has secured the king's affection and established the context in which her request will carry maximum weight. The revelation of her petition as concerning her life and her people's lives shifts the significance of the entire banquet from personal entertainment to a matter of life and death.

Esther 7

Esther 7:4

Esther 7:5

Esther 7:6

Esther 7:7

Esther 7:8

Esther 7:9

Esther 7:10