¹So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen .

²The king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine , “What is your petition , queen Esther? It shall be granted you . What is your request ? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed .”

³Then Esther the queen answered , “If I have found favour in your sight , O king , and if it pleases the king , let my life be given me at my petition , and my people at my request .

⁴For we are sold , I and my people , to be destroyed , to be slain , and to perish. But if we had been sold for male and female slaves , I would have held my peace , although the adversary could not have compensated for the king ’s loss.”

⁵Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen , “Who is he , and where is he who dared presume in his heart to do so ?”

⁶Esther said, “An adversary and an enemy , even this wicked Haman !”

Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen .

⁷The king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden . 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 .

⁸Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine ; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was . Then the king said , “Will he even assault the queen in front of me in the house ?” As the word went out of the king ’s mouth , they covered Haman ’s face .

⁹Then Harbonah , one of the eunuchs who were with the king , said , “Behold , the gallows fifty cubits high , which Haman has made for Mordecai , who spoke good for the king , is standing at Haman ’s house .”[#7:9 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimetres.]

The king said , “Hang him on it !”

¹⁰So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai . Then the king ’s wrath was pacified .