HolyStudy
Bible IndexRead BibleNotesChurchesMissionPrivacyTermsContact
© 2026 HolyStudy
HomeRead BibleBible NotesChurchesSign in
HolyStudy
HomeRead BibleBible NotesChurches
Sign in

Esther 7

1

So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen.

2

And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.

1
3

Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:

2
4

For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.

2
5

Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?

1
6

And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.

1
7

And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.

8

Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

9

And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.

10

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.

← Previous ChapterNext 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 7:4

For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had merely been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace, but no one can compensate the king for the damage, demonstrating Esther's explanation of the threat facing her people and her assertion that while she might accept slavery, the threat to the very existence of her people is not tolerable and must be addressed. This statement contains a veiled accusation that the king has allowed the sale of his people to destruction, and Esther frames her petition in terms of the king's own interest (the loss of wealth and subjects cannot be compensated). The verse shows Esther's diplomatic skill in framing her request in terms that address the king's concerns while advocating for her people.

Esther 7:5

Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, Who is he, and where is he, that dares presume in his heart to do this? demonstrating the king's immediate anger at the revelation that someone in his kingdom has dared to plot the destruction of his queen and her people without his explicit knowledge or understanding of who is involved. This question reveals the king's shock and his apparent ignorance of the specific identity of the person responsible for the decree, suggesting that his original authorization of Haman's proposal was made without full understanding of the consequences or of the queen's identity as a Jew.

Esther 7:6

And Esther said, A foe and an enemy! This wicked Haman! And Haman was terrified before the king and the queen, demonstrating Esther's dramatic revelation of Haman as the perpetrator of the plot against her people and Haman's immediate terror upon hearing Esther's accusation. This moment represents the complete reversal of positions: Haman, who entered the banquet confident in his power and secure in the king's favor, is suddenly exposed as a traitor and enemy in the presence of the king and queen. The verse shows how revelation and exposure can overturn positions of power and prestige in a single moment.

Esther 7:7

The king rose in his wrath from the banquet and went into the palace garden, while Haman stood up to make an appeal for his life to Queen Esther, for he saw that the king was determined to punish him, demonstrating the king's violent response to Esther's revelation and his departure from the banquet, while Haman recognizes his danger and attempts to seek Esther's intercession. Haman's act of rising and approaching Esther to beg for mercy represents his recognition that his position has been completely reversed and that only the queen, who has just revealed his wickedness, can potentially save him. The verse shows the desperation of the suddenly fallen.

Esther 7:8

When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, he saw Haman falling on the couch where Esther was reclining, and the king said, Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house? As the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face, demonstrating that the king's return to the banquet coincides with Haman's desperate attempt to beg Esther for mercy, which the king interprets as an assault on the queen. This misinterpretation of Haman's gesture of supplication as an attack on the queen seals Haman's fate and moves events beyond the possibility of mercy or negotiation. The verse shows how a single moment of misunderstanding or misinterpretation can seal a person's fate when combined with a ruler's rage and the poison of accusation.

Esther 7:9

And Harbonah, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, Moreover, there is the gallows fifty cubits high that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king. It stands in the house of Haman. And the king said, Hang him on it!, demonstrating that one of the king's eunuchs brings to the king's attention the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai and connects this to Mordecai's service to the king in exposing the assassination plot. This revelation of the gallows prepared for Mordecai provides the final piece of evidence of Haman's malice and justifies the king's command to hang him on the gallows he had prepared. The verse demonstrates the theological principle that God often allows the wicked to prepare instruments of their own destruction.

Esther 7:10

So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath was pacified, demonstrating the execution of Haman on the very gallows he had prepared for Mordecai and the resolution of the king's anger through this act of justice. This moment represents the final reversal: the gallows prepared for the righteous man is used for the destruction of the wicked man who prepared it. The verse illustrates the theological principle that God works through the devices of the wicked to accomplish justice and the vindication of the righteous.