Haman

After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.

All the royal servants at the kingʼs gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

Day after day they warned him, but he would not comply. So they reported it to Haman to see whether Mordecaiʼs behavior would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.

And when he learned the identity of Mordecaiʼs people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecaiʼs people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.

In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone elseʼs, and they do not obey the kingʼs laws. So it is not in the kingʼs best interest to tolerate them.

So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

“Keep your money,” said the king to Haman. “These people are given to you to do with them as you please.”

On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.

The couriers left, spurred on by the kingʼs command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.

and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury in order to destroy the Jews.

“If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king.”

“Hurry,” commanded the king, “and bring Haman, so we can do as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the kingʼs question.”

That day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the kingʼs gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,

Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.

“What is more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king.

His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.” The advice pleased Haman, and he had the gallows constructed.

“Who is in the court?” the king asked. Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him.

So the kingʼs attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” ordered the king.

Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me?”

And Haman told the king, “For the man whom the king is delighted to honor,

“Hurry,” said the king to Haman, “and do just as you proposed. Take the robe and the horse to Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the kingʼs gate. Do not neglect anything that you have suggested.”

So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!”

Then Mordecai returned to the kingʼs gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.

Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.”

While they were still speaking with Haman, the kingʼs eunuchs arrived and rushed him to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

So the king and Haman went to dine with Esther the queen,

Esther replied, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!” And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.

In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.

Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the kingʼs mouth, they covered Hamanʼs face.

Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Hamanʼs house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.” “Hang him on it!” declared the king.

So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.

That same day King Xerxes awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai entered the kingʼs presence because Esther had revealed his relation to her.

The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the estate of Haman.

And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.

“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order be written to revoke the letters that the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews in all the kingʼs provinces.

So King Xerxes said to Esther the Queen and Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Hamanʼs estate to Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews.

They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Hamanʼs ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.”

Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out todayʼs edict, and may the bodies of Hamanʼs ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.

For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.