Esther 7:6

And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Was afraid. . . .—Shrank back in terror before . . . See the use of the word in 1Chronicles 21:30; Daniel 8:17.

Benson Commentary

Esther 7:6. Esther said, The enemy is this wicked Haman — It is he that has designed our murder, and I charge him with it before his face: here he is; let him speak for himself, for therefore he was invited. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen — It was time for him to fear, when the queen was his prosecutor, the king his judge, and his own conscience a witness against him; and the surprising operations of providence against him that same morning could not but increase his fear. Now he has little joy of his being invited to the banquet of wine, but finds himself in straits when he thought himself in the fulness of his sufficiency.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:1-6 If the love of life causes earnest pleadings with those that can only kill the body, how fervent should our prayers be to Him, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell! How should we pray for the salvation of our relatives, friends, and all around us! When we petition great men, we must be cautious not to give them offence; even just complaints must often be kept back. But when we approach the King of kings with reverence, we cannot ask or expect too much. Though nothing but wrath be our due, God is able and willing to do exceeding abundantly, even beyond all we can ask or think.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The king now learned, perhaps for the first time, that his favorite was a Jewess.

Although the enemy ... - i. e. "although the enemy (Haman) would not (even in that case) compensate (by his payment to the treasury) for the king's loss of so many subjects."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed—that is, by the cruel and perfidious scheme of that man, who offered an immense sum of money to purchase our extermination. Esther dwelt on his contemplated atrocity, in a variety of expressions, which both evinced the depth of her own emotions, and were intended to awaken similar feelings in the king's breast.

But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue—Though a great calamity to the Jews, the enslavement of that people might have enriched the national treasury; and, at all events, the policy, if found from experience to be bad, could be altered. But the destruction of such a body of people would be an irreparable evil, and all the talents Haman might pour into the treasury could not compensate for the loss of their services.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The adversary and enemy of the king, and of my person and people.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Esther said, the adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman,.... Who was not only an enemy to her and her people, but an adversary to the king, by advising and persuading him to that which was to the loss of his revenues, as well as of his reputation; also, she pointed at him, and gave him his just character; her charge of wickedness upon him, as it was true, it was honourably made to his face before the king, of which, if he could, he had the opportunity of exculpating himself:

then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen; gave visible signs of his confusion, consternation, and trouble of mind, by the fall of his countenance, his pale looks, his trembling limbs, and quivering lips, being struck dumb, and not able to speak one word for himself.

Geneva Study Bible

And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - The adversary and enemy. Esther adds a second term of reproach - "enemy" - stronger than the one which she had used before (ver. 4), to stir up the king to greater anger. Esther 7:6

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Esther replies: "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." Then was Haman afraid before the king and the queen. נבעת as in 1 Chronicles 21:30; Daniel 8:17.