| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. | 1The king and Haman came to feast with Esther the queen. |
| 2And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. | 2Once again, on the second day while drinking wine, the king asked Esther, "Queen Esther, whatever you ask will be given to you. Whatever you seek, even to half the kingdom, will be done." |
| 3Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: | 3Queen Esther answered, "If I have obtained your approval, my king, and if the king is pleased, spare my life--this is my request; and spare my people--this is my desire. |
| 4For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. | 4For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and extermination. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn't be worth burdening the king." |
| 5Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? | 5King Ahasuerus spoke up and asked Queen Esther, "Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?" |
| 6And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. | 6Esther answered, "The adversary and enemy is this evil Haman." Haman stood terrified before the king and queen. |
| 7And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. | 7Angered by this, the king arose from where they were drinking wine and went to the palace garden. Haman remained to beg Queen Esther for his life because he realized the king was planning something terrible for him. |
| 8Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. | 8Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the house of wine drinking, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, "Would he actually violate the queen while I am in the palace?" As soon as the statement left the king's mouth, Haman's face was covered. |
| 9And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. | 9Harbona, one of the royal eunuchs, said: "There is a gallows 75 feet tall at Haman's house that he made for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king." The king commanded, "Hang him on it." |
| 10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified. | 10They hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's anger subsided. |
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