Greek Esther 5
5
Esther Invites the King and Haman to a Banquet
17 #Mk 6.23#5.3 In Greek, Chapter D replaces verses 1 and 2 in Hebrew.“What is it, Esther?” the king asked. “Tell me what you want, and you shall have it — even if it is half my empire.”
18 Esther replied, “Today is a special day for me. If it please my lord, I would like you and Haman to be my guests tonight at a banquet I am preparing for you.”
19 The king then ordered Haman to come quickly, so that they could be Esther's guests. So the king and Haman went to Esther's banquet. 20 Over the wine the king again said to her, “Tell me what you want, Queen Esther.”
21 Esther replied, 22 “If my lord is kind enough to grant my request, I would like you and Haman to be my guests tomorrow at another banquet that I will prepare for you. It will be just like this one.”
Haman Plots to Kill Mordecai
23 When Haman left the king he was happy and in a good mood, until he saw Mordecai the Jew in the courtyard of the palace. That made him furious, 24 but he went home. Then he invited his friends to his house and asked his wife Zeresh to join them. 25 He boasted to them about how rich he was and about the honour the king had paid him when he promoted him to high office and made him prime minister. 26 “What is more,” Haman said, “Queen Esther gave a banquet for no one but the king and me, and we are invited back tomorrow. 27 But none of this means a thing to me as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting in the courtyard of the palace.”
28 Then his wife and all his friends suggested, “Why don't you have a gallows put up, 22 metres high? Tomorrow morning you can ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it, and then you can go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” Haman thought it was a good idea, so he had the gallows built.
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Greek Esther 5: GNBDK
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.