Esther 6

¹ That night, the king could not sleep; he called for the Record Book, the Chronicles, to be brought and read to him.

² They contained an account of how Mordecai had denounced Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs serving as Guardians of the Threshold, who had plotted to assassinate king Ahasuerus.

³ ‘And what honour and dignity’ the king asked ‘was conferred on Mordecai for this?’ ‘Nothing has been done for him’ the courtiers in attendance replied.

⁴ Then the king said, ‘Who is on duty in the antechamber?’ Haman had at that moment entered the outer antechamber of the king’s palace to ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows which he had just put up for the purpose.

⁵ So the king’s courtiers replied, ‘Haman is waiting in the antechamber’. ‘Bring him in’ the king said,

⁶ and went on to ask as soon as Haman had entered, ‘What is the right way to treat a man whom the king wishes to honour?’ ‘Whom’ thought Haman ‘would the king wish to honour, if not me?’

⁷ So he replied, ‘If the king wishes to honour someone,

⁸ have royal robes brought, which the king has worn, and a horse which the king has ridden, with a royal diadem on its head.

⁹ The robes and horse should be handed to one of the noblest of the king’s officers, and he should array the man whom the king wishes to honour and lead him on horseback, through the city square, proclaiming before him: “This is the way to treat a man whom the king wishes to honour”.’

¹⁰ ‘Hurry,’ the king said to Haman ‘take the robes and the horse, and do everything you have just said to Mordecai the Jew, who works at the Chancellery. On no account leave anything out that you have mentioned.’

¹¹ So taking the robes and the horse, Haman arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, proclaiming before him: ‘This is the way to treat a man whom the king wishes to honour’.

¹² After this Mordecai returned to the Chancellery, while Haman went hurrying home dejected, covering his face.

¹³ He told his wife Zeresh and all his friends what had just happened. His wife Zeresh and his friends said, ‘Thanks to Mordecai, you have just had a fall; if he happens to belong to the Jewish race, you will never recover the upper hand again. Far from it; once having begun, thanks to him you will fall and fall again.’

¹⁴ While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived in a hurry to escort Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.