Estherchapter 3
15 verses · BSBEsther book hub →
A.Mordecai will not bow, and Haman is full of wrathvv. 1-6
1 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. 2 All the royal servants at the king’s 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. 3 Then the royal servants at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the command of the king?” 4 Day after day they warned him, but he would not comply. So they reported it to Haman to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew. 5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage. 6 And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.
B.The lot is cast, and a people's life is priced at ten thousand talentsvv. 7-11
7 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. 8 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 else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. 9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.” 10 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. 11 “Keep your money,” said the king to Haman. “These people are given to you to do with them as you please.”
C.The posts ride out while the king and Haman sit down to drinkvv. 12-15
12 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. 13 And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month. 14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day. 15 The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s 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.
Chapter summary
Haman the Agagite is promoted above all the princes, and all the king's servants bow to him: 'but Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence.' Told that Mordecai is a Jew, Haman is filled with wrath and scorns to lay hands on him alone: he seeks to destroy every Jew in the kingdom.
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Chapter summary
Haman the Agagite is promoted above all the princes, and all the king's servants bow to him: 'but Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence.' Told that Mordecai is a Jew, Haman is filled with wrath and scorns to lay hands on him alone: he seeks to destroy every Jew in the kingdom.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
Haman the Agagite is promoted above all the princes, and all the king's servants bow to him: 'but Mordecai bowed not down, nor did him reverence.' Told that Mordecai is a Jew, Haman is filled with wrath and scorns to lay hands on him alone: he seeks to destroy every Jew in the kingdom. Pur, that is the lot, is cast month by month and falls on Adar. His pitch to the king is a masterpiece of insinuation ('There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples… and their laws are diverse from those of every people'), with ten thousand talents offered for the treasuries. The posts ride out, and 'the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.'
Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.
Context
History · Mordecai — Esther overview
- A. 1–6 Mordecai will not bow, and Haman is full of wrath
- B. 7–11 The lot is cast, and a people's life is priced at ten thousand talents
- C. 12–15 The posts ride out while the king and Haman sit down to drink
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
Daniel 63 verses
- Daniel 6:2and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.
- Daniel 6:8Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
- Daniel 6:20When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
- Read Daniel 6 →
Esther 83 verses
- Esther 8:2The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the estate of Haman.
- Esther 8:13A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
- Esther 8:15Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
- Read Esther 8 →
Esther 52 verses
- Esther 5:9That day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the king’s gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.
- Esther 5:11Haman 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.
- Read Esther 5 →
Esther 22 verses
- Esther 2:19When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
- Esther 2:21In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
- Read Esther 2 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
Esther 31 verse
- Esther 3:2All the royal servants at the king’s 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.
- Read Esther 3 →
Numbers 241 verse
- Numbers 24:7Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will have abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted.
- Read Numbers 24 →
Psalms 151 verse
- Psalms 15:4who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
- Read Psalms 15 →
Exodus 11 verse
- Exodus 1:17The midwives, however, feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt had instructed; they let the boys live.
- Read Exodus 1 →
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.