Esther 5

1 On the third [a specific point in a sequence] day, Esther put on her royal attire and stood [to stand in a strong sense, like in a position of readiness] in the inner [interior, or inward] court of the palace across from the king’s [belonging to a monarch, a ruler] quarters. The king was sitting [to dwell, or remain] on his royal [relating to a king’s power] throne in the royal courtroom, facing [positioned before, or in front of] the entrance [a doorway, or point of access]. word study 2 As soon as the king [the ruler, monarch] saw Queen Esther [the brave Jewish woman, adopted by her cousin] standing [in a strong sense, like in Exodus 17:12] in the court [the inner room, a village], she found favor [graciousness, kindness] in his sight [before his eyes, in his presence]. The king extended [held out, stretched] the gold [valuable, brilliant] scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached [drew near, came close] and touched [reached, struck] the tip [top, head] of the scepter [a staff]. word study 3 “What is it, Queen [royal ruler, monarch] Esther [a brave Jewish woman, adopted by her cousin]?” the king [a male ruler, monarch] inquired [asked, questioned]. “What is your request [petition, desire]? Even up to half [the middle, a division] the kingdom [royal power, dominion], it will be given [granted, provided] to you [as a gift, a bestowal].” word study 4 “If it pleases [seems good unto, is acceptable to] the king,” Esther [a brave Jewish woman, the queen of Persia] replied, “may the king [the ruler, the sovereign] and Haman [a powerful Persian official, the enemy of the Jews] come today [this day, at this time] to the banquet [feast, celebration] I have prepared [made, arranged] for the king [the monarch, the ruler].” word study 5 “Hurry [to hasten, make haste],” commanded the king [the ruler, monarch], “and bring Haman [the powerful Persian official], so we can do [fulfill, carry out] as Esther [the brave Jewish queen] has requested [spoken, said].” So the king and Haman went to the banquet [feast, celebration] that Esther had prepared [made, arranged]. word study 6 And as they drank their wine [at the banquet of wine], the king [the royal ruler] said to Esther [the brave Jewish queen], “What [a question of inquiry] is your petition [request, a loan, or something asked for]? It will be given [to give, put, or set something] to you. What [a question of inquiry] is your request [a petition, or something asked for]? Even up to half [the middle, a division] the kingdom [royal power, authority, and dominion], it will be fulfilled [to make, do, or perform something].” word study 7 Esther [the brave Jewish queen] replied, “This is my [personal, heartfelt] petition [request, prayer] and my [humble, sincere] request [plea, supplication]: word study 8 If I have found [gained, obtained] favor [graciousness, kindness] in the sight [presence, before] of the king, and if it pleases [is acceptable, pleasing] the king to grant [give, bestow] my petition [request, plea] and fulfill [carry out, complete] my request [desire, wish], may the king and Haman come [approach, arrive] tomorrow [on the next day, in the future] to the banquet [feast, dinner party] I will prepare [make, arrange] for them. Then I will answer [respond, reply to] the king’s question [inquiry, concern].” word study 9 That day [full of joy and gladness] Haman went out [with a happy heart, joyful] full of joy [cheerfulness, delight] and glad [happy, pleased] of heart [the seat of emotions, intellect, and will]. At the king’s [royal, sovereign] gate [the entrance to the palace, a place of authority], however, he saw [looked upon, gazed at] Mordecai [a brave Israelite, a leader], who did not rise [stand up, show respect] or tremble [shake with fear, be afraid] in fear [dread, terror] at his presence [before him, in his sight]. And Haman [a powerful Persian official] was filled [completely filled, made full] with rage [intense anger, fury, wrath] toward [against, upon] Mordecai [the object of his anger]. word study 10 Nevertheless, Haman [restrained his anger, dissembling] restrained himself [exercised self-control, refrained] and went [came, approached] home [to his house, dwelling place]. And calling [sent, invited] for his friends [loved ones, companions] and his wife [woman, female partner] Zeresh [meaning gold, his spouse], word study 11 Haman recounted [told in detail, boasted about] to them his glorious [great, abundant] wealth [riches, treasures], his many [abundant, numerous] sons [children, descendants], and all [everything, every aspect] the ways [methods, means] the king [ruler, sovereign] had honored [esteemed, respected] and promoted [exalted, lifted up] him over [above, superior to] the other [remaining, additional] officials [princes, nobles] and servants [attendants, slaves]. word study 12 “What is more [in addition to all that],” Haman added, “Queen [the royal female ruler] Esther invited no one [not a single person] but me [myself alone] to join [to be with, to accompany] the king [the monarch, the ruler] at the banquet [the feast, the celebration] she prepared [made, arranged], and I am invited [called, summoned] back tomorrow [on the next day, in the future] along with [together with, in the company of] the king. word study 13 Yet none of this [all these things, everything] satisfies me [is not profitable to me, availeth me nothing] as long as I see [am seeing, look upon] Mordecai [the brave Israelite, from the tribe of Judah] the Jew [of Judah, from the tribe of Judah] sitting [dwelling, seated] at the king’s [royal, belonging to the monarch] gate [entrance, doorway].” word study 14 His wife Zeresh [a woman of gold, his female companion] and all his friends [those who loved him, his dear ones] told him, “Have them build a gallows [a tree or wooden plank, a high pole] fifty cubits [a unit of measurement, about the length of a forearm] high, and ask the king [the ruler, the sovereign] in the morning [the break of day, a new beginning] to have Mordecai [a brave Israelite, a Jew] hanged [impaled, executed] on it. Then go to the banquet [a feast, a celebration] with the king [the monarch, the ruler] and enjoy yourself [be glad, rejoice].” The advice [the counsel, the suggestion] pleased Haman [a powerful Persian official, an enemy of the Jews], and he had the gallows [the tree, the wooden pole] constructed [made, built]. word study