Esther / Chapter 6

Esther 6

14 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 1 tradition available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

That night the king cannot sleep. He orders the royal chronicles to be read to him, and the reader comes to the account of Mordecai exposing the assassination plot of Bigthan and Teresh. The king asks what honor has been given to Mordecai for this. The answer: nothing has been done. The king asks who is in the court. Haman has just arrived — early in the morning, to ask permission to impale Mordecai. The king summons him and asks: what should be done for the man the king wishes to honor? Haman, certain the king means him, designs an extravagant public tribute: royal robes the king himself has worn, a horse the king has ridden, a royal crown on the horse's head, and a nobleman leading the honoree through the city square proclaiming his honor. The king says: do exactly that for Mordecai the Jew. Haman carries out the order, leading Mordecai through the city. Afterward, Mordecai returns to the king's gate while Haman rushes home in humiliation, his head covered. His wife Zeresh and his advisors deliver a grim verdict: if Mordecai is of Jewish descent, Haman will not prevail against him but will surely fall. While they are still speaking, the king's eunuchs arrive to rush Haman to Esther's second banquet.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The chapter is built on a single sleepless night — and that insomnia sets in motion the total reversal of Haman's plan. The king's inability to sleep is reported without explanation: the Hebrew says naddedah shenat ha-melekh ('the king's sleep fled') as if sleep itself were an agent that chose to leave. The reader is invited to see design where the text reports accident. Everything in this chapter runs on irony so precise it borders on comedy: Haman arrives to request a man's execution and is asked to design that man's parade of honor; he describes his own fantasy of royal recognition only to be told to perform it for his worst enemy; the stake he built overnight to kill Mordecai stands unused while he leads Mordecai through the streets. The literary architecture is flawless — every detail from chapters 2, 3, and 5 converges in this single night and morning.

Translation Friction

The chapter never states why the king cannot sleep or why the chronicles happen to open to the record of Mordecai's service. The Hebrew text presents these as coincidences. Whether the reader understands this as providential direction or narrative convention is left to the reader — the book maintains its characteristic refusal to name the force behind events. Zeresh's prophecy in verse 13 — 'if Mordecai is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him; you will surely fall before him' — is a striking statement from a non-Jewish character. It suggests that even those outside the covenant community recognize something about the Jewish people's relationship to a power that protects them, though neither Zeresh nor the narrator names that power.

Connections

The reversal pattern — the trap meant for one person catching the one who set it — appears throughout the Hebrew Bible: the pit dug for Joseph becomes his path to power (Genesis 37-41), the furnace meant to kill Daniel's friends becomes their testimony (Daniel 3), the lions' den meant for Daniel receives his accusers (Daniel 6). Proverbs states the principle directly: 'Whoever digs a pit will fall into it' (Proverbs 26:27). The king's insomnia connects to other pivotal biblical nights: Jacob wrestling at Jabbok (Genesis 32), the Passover night in Egypt (Exodus 12), Daniel's night with the lions (Daniel 6). The Hebrew wisdom tradition holds that 'the king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases' (Proverbs 21:1) — the Esther narrator never quotes this proverb but enacts it. **Tradition comparisons:** The LXX Esther adds theological content absent from the Hebrew: The LXX attributes the king's insomnia to divine action: 'the Lord removed sleep from the king.' The MT simply states that sleep fled the king. This is the most significant theological addition in this chapter. See the [LXX Esther comparison](/lxx-esther/6).

Esther 6:1

בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֔וּא נָדְדָ֖ה שְׁנַ֣ת הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לְהָבִ֞יא אֶת־סֵ֤פֶר הַזִּכְרֹנוֹת֙ דִּבְרֵ֣י הַיָּמִ֔ים וַיִּהְי֥וּ נִקְרָאִ֖ים לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

That night, sleep fled from the king. He ordered the book of records, the royal chronicles, to be brought, and they were read aloud before him.

KJV On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Hebrew naddedah shenat ha-melekh ('the king's sleep wandered away, fled') personifies sleep as something that actively departed — not 'the king could not sleep' but 'sleep fled from the king.' The verb nadad means to wander, to flee, to be restless. The king's remedy is bureaucratic: sefer ha-zikronot divrei ha-yamim ('the book of memorials, the chronicles of days') — the official court record. The passive vayyihyu niqra'im ('they were being read') indicates a reader going through the entries, arriving at Mordecai's record by what appears to be chance.

Greek Esther (LXX, with additions)theological

"the Lord removed sleep from the king"

The MT's masterful ambiguity — is the insomnia coincidence or providence? — is resolved by the LXX which explicitly names 'the Lord' (ho kyrios) as the agent. This is characteristic of the LXX Esther's theological program: making explicit what the MT leaves implicit.

Esther 6:2

וַיִּמָּצֵ֣א כָת֗וּב אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגִּ֤יד מׇרְדֳּכַי֙ עַל־בִּגְתָ֣נָא וָתֶ֔רֶשׁ שְׁנֵי֙ סָרִיסֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מִשֹּׁמְרֵ֖י הַסָּ֑ף אֲשֶׁ֤ר בִּקְשׁוּ֙ לִשְׁלֹ֣חַ יָ֔ד בַּמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ׃

It was found recorded that Mordecai had reported on Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs from the threshold guards, who had plotted to assassinate King Ahasuerus.

KJV And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The passive vayyimmatse katuv ('it was found written') implies discovery — the reader happened upon this entry. The account matches 2:21-23 exactly: Mordecai's report of the conspiracy by Bigthana and Teresh, shomerei ha-saf ('the threshold guards'). The phrase lishlo'ach yad ('to send a hand') is the same assassination idiom from 2:21. The critical detail from 2:23 — that the matter was written in the chronicles — now pays off. A bureaucratic record from years earlier becomes the catalyst for reversal.
Esther 6:3

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מַֽה־נַּעֲשָׂ֞ה יְקָ֧ר וּגְדוּלָּ֛ה לְמׇרְדֳּכַ֖י עַל־זֶ֑ה וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ נַעֲרֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ מְשָׁ֣רְתָ֔יו לֹא־נַעֲשָׂ֥ה עִמּ֖וֹ דָּבָֽר׃

The king asked, "What honor or recognition has been given to Mordecai for this?" The king's attendants who served him answered, "Nothing has been done for him."

KJV And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The king's question — mah na'asah yeqar u-gedulah le-Mordekhai ('what has been done of honor and greatness for Mordecai?') — reveals an oversight: a man who saved the king's life received no reward. The attendants' answer is blunt: lo na'asah immo davar ('nothing has been done with him'). The word davar ('thing, anything') is comprehensive — not partial recognition, not delayed recognition, but nothing at all. This administrative failure is about to become the mechanism of Mordecai's elevation.
Esther 6:4

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מִ֖י בֶּחָצֵ֑ר וְהָמָ֣ן בָּ֗א לַחֲצַ֤ר בֵּית־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַחִ֣יצוֹנָ֔ה לֵאמֹ֣ר לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִתְלֹ֥ות אֶת־מׇרְדֳּכַ֖י עַל־הָעֵ֥ץ אֲשֶׁר־הֵכִ֥ין לֽוֹ׃

The king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to ask the king to have Mordecai impaled on the stake he had prepared for him.

KJV And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The timing is the chapter's narrative hinge: the king needs advice on honoring someone at the exact moment Haman arrives to request that same person's execution. The king's question mi ba-chatser ('who is in the court?') is casual — he wants whoever is available. The narrator's aside reveals Haman's purpose: le'emor la-melekh litlot et Mordekhai al ha-ets asher hekhin lo ('to tell the king to impale Mordecai on the stake he had prepared for him'). The stake from 5:14, built overnight, stands ready. Haman has come to use it.
Esther 6:5

וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ נַעֲרֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֵלָ֔יו הִנֵּ֥ה הָמָ֖ן עֹמֵ֣ד בֶּחָצֵ֑ר וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ יָבֽוֹא׃

The king's attendants said to him, "Haman is standing in the court." The king said, "Let him come in."

KJV And the king's servants said unto him, Behold, Haman standeth in the court. And the king said, Let him come in.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The brevity is devastating: hinneh Haman omed ba-chatser ('look, Haman is standing in the court'). Haman stands in the outer court waiting to request an execution; the king summons him to design an honor. Neither knows what the other intends. The word yavo ('let him enter') admits Haman into a conversation he has completely misunderstood before it begins.
Esther 6:6

וַיָּבוֹא֮ הָמָן֒ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מַה־לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת בָּאִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֣ץ בִּיקָר֑וֹ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הָמָן֙ בְּלִבּ֔וֹ לְמִ֞י יַחְפֹּ֥ץ הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת יְקָ֖ר יוֹתֵ֥ר מִמֶּֽנִּי׃

Haman entered, and the king asked him, "What should be done for the man the king wishes to honor?" Haman thought to himself, "Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?"

KJV So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The king's question — mah la'asot ba-ish asher ha-melekh chafets biqaro ('what is to be done for the man in whom the king delights to do honor?') — is deliberately vague about the identity of the honoree. Haman's internal response — vayyomer Haman belibbo ('Haman said in his heart') — is the narrator granting the reader access to Haman's thoughts. The question lemi yachpots ha-melekh la'asot yeqar yoter mimmenni ('to whom would the king wish to do honor more than me?') reveals total self-absorption. It does not occur to Haman that anyone else could be in view.
Esther 6:7

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הָמָ֖ן אֶל־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ אִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֥ץ בִּיקָרֽוֹ׃

Haman said to the king, "For the man the king wishes to honor:

KJV And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour,

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Haman echoes the king's exact phrase — ish asher ha-melekh chafets biqaro — before launching into his detailed prescription. He is designing what he believes will be his own honor ceremony. Every detail in the following verses reflects Haman's personal fantasies of recognition.

Greek Esther (LXX, with additions)minor

"what shall I do for the man whom I wish to glorify?"

The LXX has the king speak in first person ('whom I wish'), while the MT uses third person ('whom the king wishes'). Both versions set up the devastating irony.

Esther 6:8

יָבִ֙יאוּ֙ לְב֣וּשׁ מַלְכ֔וּת אֲשֶׁ֥ר לָֽבַשׁ־בּ֖וֹ הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וְס֗וּס אֲשֶׁ֨ר רָכַ֤ב עָלָיו֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר נִתַּ֛ן כֶּ֥תֶר מַלְכ֖וּת בְּרֹאשֽׁוֹ׃

let them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn, and a horse that the king himself has ridden, with a royal crown placed on its head.

KJV Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Each element of Haman's proposal is specifically royal: levush malkhut asher lavash bo ha-melekh ('a royal garment that the king wore on himself') — not new robes but the king's own garments, carrying the king's identity. The sus asher rakhav alav ha-melekh ('a horse the king rode upon') is the royal mount. The keter malkhut be-rosho ('a royal crown on its head') likely refers to a decorative crown or crest on the horse, a known Persian practice marking a royal steed. Haman wants to look like the king — to wear his clothes, ride his horse, bear his insignia.
Esther 6:9

וְנָת֨וֹן הַלְּב֜וּשׁ וְהַסּ֗וּס עַל־יַד־אִ֞ישׁ מִשָּׂרֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַֽפַּרְתְּמִ֔ים וְהִלְבִּ֙ישׁוּ֙ אֶת־הָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֣ץ בִּיקָר֑וֹ וְהִרְכִּיבֻ֤הוּ עַל־הַסּוּס֙ בִּרְח֣וֹב הָעִ֔יר וְקָרְא֣וּ לְפָנָ֔יו כָּ֚כָה יֵעָשֶׂ֣ה לָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֥ץ בִּיקָרֽוֹ׃

Let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man the king wishes to honor, lead him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: 'This is what is done for the man the king wishes to honor!'"

KJV And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The ceremony Haman designs has three components: dressing (vehilbishu), a public procession on horseback (vehirkhivuhu al ha-sus birchov ha-ir), and a herald proclaiming his honor (veqare'u lefanav). The proclamation — kakhah ye'aseh la-ish asher ha-melekh chafets biqaro ('thus it shall be done for the man the king wishes to honor') — is meant to be repeated through the streets, maximizing public visibility. The phrase ish mi-sarei ha-melekh ha-partemim ('one of the noble officials of the king') designates a high-ranking nobleman as personal attendant — Haman is prescribing a servant for himself without realizing he is prescribing himself as the servant.
Esther 6:10

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ לְהָמָ֗ן מַ֠הֵ֠ר קַ֣ח אֶת־הַלְּב֤וּשׁ וְאֶת־הַסּוּס֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבַּ֔רְתָּ וַעֲשֵׂה־כֵן֙ לְמׇרְדֳּכַ֣י הַיְּהוּדִ֔י הַיּוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּשַׁ֣עַר הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ אַל־תַּפֵּ֣ל דָּבָ֔ר מִכֹּ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּֽרְתָּ׃

The king said to Haman, "Hurry! Take the robe and the horse, just as you have described, and do this for Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Do not leave out a single detail of what you have proposed."

KJV Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The command maher ('hurry!') mirrors the urgency in 5:5 — the king acts without hesitation. The identification le-Mordekhai ha-Yehudi ha-yoshev be-sha'ar ha-melekh ('for Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king's gate') is maximally specific: the king knows exactly who this man is and where he sits. The final command — al tappel davar mi-kol asher dibbarta ('do not let fall a single thing from all you have spoken') — is devastating: every element of Haman's fantasy must be performed in full, but for his enemy. The verb tappel ('to let fall, to omit, to leave out') insists on completeness — Haman cannot abbreviate, substitute, or delegate.
Esther 6:11

וַיִּקַּ֤ח הָמָן֙ אֶת־הַלְּב֣וּשׁ וְאֶת־הַסּ֔וּס וַיַּלְבֵּ֖שׁ אֶת־מׇרְדֳּכָ֑י וַיַּרְכִּיבֵ֙הוּ֙ בִּרְח֣וֹב הָעִ֔יר וַיִּקְרָ֣א לְפָנָ֔יו כָּ֚כָה יֵעָשֶׂ֣ה לָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֥ץ בִּיקָרֽוֹ׃

Haman took the robe and the horse, dressed Mordecai, led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, "This is what is done for the man the king wishes to honor!"

KJV Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The execution matches the prescription exactly: every verb from verse 9 is performed in verse 11. The narrator's restraint is remarkable — there is no description of Haman's internal state, no record of Mordecai's reaction, no crowd response. The scene is reported with clinical precision: vayyiqqach ('he took'), vayyalbesh ('he dressed'), vayyarkivehu ('he led him on horseback'), vayyiqra ('he proclaimed'). The humiliation is conveyed entirely through the action itself. Haman, who refused to soil his dignity by striking at one man, now serves as that man's personal valet and public herald.
Esther 6:12

וַיָּ֥שׇׁב מׇרְדֳּכַ֖י אֶל־שַׁ֣עַר הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וְהָמָ֤ן נִדְחַף֙ אֶל־בֵּית֔וֹ אָבֵ֖ל וַחֲפ֥וּי רֹֽאשׁ׃

Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman rushed home, mourning, his head covered.

KJV And Mordecai came again to the king's gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The contrast is compressed into a single verse. Mordecai vayyashov el sha'ar ha-melekh ('returned to the king's gate') — back to his usual place, as if nothing has changed. The parade did not alter his position or behavior. Haman nidchaf el beito ('was pushed, rushed to his house') — the passive-reflexive nidchaf suggests being driven, propelled by shame rather than choosing to go. The two signs of his state — avel ('mourning') and chafui rosh ('head covered') — are the markers of grief and humiliation. The man who came to the palace at dawn expecting triumph goes home in the posture of defeat.
Esther 6:13

וַיְסַפֵּ֨ר הָמָ֜ן לְזֶ֤רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּוֹ֙ וּלְכׇל־אֹ֣הֲבָ֔יו אֵ֖ת כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר קָרָ֑הוּ וַיֹּ֨אמְרוּ ל֜וֹ חֲכָמָ֣יו וְזֶ֣רֶשׁ אִשְׁתּ֗וֹ אִ֣ם מִזֶּ֣רַע הַיְּהוּדִ֡ים מׇרְדֳּכַ֞י אֲשֶׁר֩ הַחִלּ֨וֹתָ לִנְפֹּ֤ל לְפָנָיו֙ לֹא־תוּכַ֣ל ל֔וֹ כִּי־נָפֹ֥ל תִּפּ֖וֹל לְפָנָֽיו׃

Haman recounted to his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. His advisors and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him. You will surely fall before him."

KJV And Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Haman's friends, previously called ohavav ('his friends, his loved ones' — 5:10), are now called chakhamav ('his wise men, his advisors') — the shift in title suggests they are now speaking in an oracular capacity rather than as sympathizers. Zeresh's prophecy is built on the condition im mi-zera ha-Yehudim Mordekhai ('if Mordecai is of the seed of the Jews') — the 'if' is not uncertainty about Mordecai's ethnicity (they know he is Jewish from 5:13) but a conditional sentence introducing a certainty: because he is Jewish, you are doomed. The infinitive absolute nafol tippol ('falling you will fall') expresses inevitability. The verb nafal ('to fall') echoes hachillota linpol lefanav ('you have begun to fall before him') — the fall is already underway, and it cannot be stopped.

Greek Esther (LXX, with additions)minor

"his friends and Zosara his wife"

The LXX renders Zeresh as Zosara and changes 'wise men' to 'friends.' The ominous warning — 'if Mordecai is of Jewish descent, you will surely fall' — is preserved in both versions.

Esther 6:14

עוֹדָם֙ מְדַבְּרִ֣ים עִמּ֔וֹ וְסָרִיסֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ הִגִּ֑יעוּ וַיַּבְהִ֙לוּ֙ לְהָבִ֣יא אֶת־הָמָ֔ן אֶל־הַמִּשְׁתֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁר־עָשְׂתָ֥ה אֶסְתֵּֽר׃

While they were still speaking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman off to the banquet Esther had prepared.

KJV And while they were yet talking with him, came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The interruption is abrupt: odam medabberim immo ('while they were still speaking with him') — the prophecy of his fall is not even finished when the next stage begins. The verb vayyavhilu ('they hurried, they rushed') has the same root as the 'haste' that characterized Haman's approach to power throughout the book. The eunuchs come lehavi et Haman el ha-mishteh asher asetah Esther ('to bring Haman to the banquet Esther had prepared'). The word mishteh ('feast, drinking-feast') appears for the last time before the banquet of exposure in chapter 7. Haman is being rushed from the scene of his humiliation directly into the scene of his destruction, with no time to recover, strategize, or escape.
Chapter 5 Report an error Esther index Chapter 7