Esther 7:1-6 · Bible study
Esther 7:1-6 Commentary: The Second Banquet's Revelation
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does Esther wait until the second banquet to reveal her petition? A study of dramatic timing, courage, and divine providence in Esther 7:1-6.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Esther reveals the genocidal plot and accuses Haman, triggering the reversal that saves the Jews.
- Key words: נִמְכַּרְנוּ (nimkarnu, “we are sold”), refers to Haman's bribe; the Niphal perfect stresses that the sale is complete.
- Main debate: The clause in v.4 about the adversary and the king's loss, does it mean Haman's payment cannot compensate the king, or that the suffering is trivial compared to the king's honor?
- Theological theme: Providence without divine name, God works through human courage, timing, and the consequences of evil.
- Best use: A model of wise advocacy: pray, wait, speak clearly, and let the truth expose the wrong.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
1So the king and Haman went to dine with Esther the queen,
2and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”
3Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my request.
4For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.”
5Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”
6Esther replied, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!” And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.
WEB World English Bible 2000
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 favor 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.
KJV King James Version 1769
1So the king and Haman came to banquet 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.
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:
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.
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?
6And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
1So the king and Haman came to banquet 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? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.
3Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor 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:
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 peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king’s damage.
5Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
6And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
1And the king cometh in, and Haman, to drink with Esther the queen,
2and the king saith to Esther also on the second day, during the banquet of wine, `What is thy petition, Esther, O queen? and it is given to thee; and what thy request? unto the half of the kingdom--and it is done.'
3And Esther the queen answereth and saith, `If I have found grace in thine eyes, O king, and if to the king it be good, let my life be given to me at my petition, and my people at my request;
4for we have been sold, I and my people, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy; and if for men-servants and for maid-servants we had been sold I had kept silent--but the adversity is not equal to the loss of the king.'
5And the king Ahasuerus saith, yea, he saith to Esther the queen, `Who is he--this one? and where is this one? --he whose heart hath filled him to do so?'
6And Esther saith, `The man--adversary and enemy-- is this wicked Haman;' and Haman hath been afraid at the presence of the king and of the queen.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
1And the king and Haman came to drink with Esther the queen.
2And the king said again to 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? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be done.
3And Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found grace 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;
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 adversary could not compensate the king's damage.
5And king Ahasuerus spoke and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he that has filled his heart to do so?
6And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
1So the king and Aman went in, to drink with the queen.
2And the king said to her again the second day, after he was warm with wine: What is thy petition, Esther, that it may be granted thee? and what wilt thou have done: although thou ask the half of my kingdom, thou shalt have it.
3Then she answered: If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please thee, give me my life for which I ask, and my people for which I request.
4For we are given up, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And would God we were sold for bondmen and bondwomen: the evil might be borne with, and I would have mourned in silence: but now we have an enemy, whose cruelty redoundeth upon the king.
5And king Assuerus answered and said: Who is this, and of what power, that he should do these things?
6And Esther said: It is this Aman that is our adversary and most wicked enemy. Aman hearing this was forthwith astonished, not being able to bear the countenance of the king and of the queen.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Esther 7:1
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions read Esther 7:1-6 as the book's climactic hinge, where the hidden plot is unmasked. They agree that Esther's decision to delay her petition until the second banquet is a deliberate act of strategic patience. Matthew Henry observes that the king's repeated promise, thrice given, binds him to grant her request, making the moment of revelation more potent. The queen's wording, echoing Haman's decree (Esther 3:13: “to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish”), is calculated to implicate him directly. Gill notes that the doubled phrase “the king said … and he said” (וַיֹּאמֶר … וַיֹּאמֶר) in verse 5 reveals the king's agitation and horror. Esther's accusation, “An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman”, strips Haman of all pretense, and his immediate terror signals the great reversal. All commentators see God's providential hand working through Esther's courage and timing, though the divine name never appears.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Strategic timing: Esther's delay maximizes the king's goodwill and the emotional impact (cf. Est 5:3-8).
- Divine orchestration: God's providential timing is implied; the second banquet allows events to align exactly (cf. the coincidences throughout the book).
- Translation ambiguity in v.4: The clause about the adversary is interpreted differently across versions (compensation vs. comparison), affecting the precise thrust of Esther's plea.
What is clear: Esther reveals the plot against the Jews, identifies Haman as the enemy, and secures the king's sympathy — the reversal of the decree is set in motion.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Timing of Esther's petition | Esther deliberately waited until the second banquet, increasing dramatic impact. | Some see it as pure strategy (to ensure the king's favor was secure); others as a sign of her initial fear or the need for divine courage. |
| Meaning of verse 4b | The Hebrew text is obscure, and all translations are interpretive. | Christians who read it as 'the enemy cannot compensate the king's loss' argue that Esther appeals to the king's self-interest. Others render it 'the distress is not comparable to the king's damage' or 'this oppression is not worth troubling the king about.' Each shifts the rhetoric slightly. |
| The king's culpability | The king was deceived by Haman and did not know Esther was a Jew. | Some traditions highlight the king's naivety and rashness (he signed the decree without due diligence). Others emphasize that the king is ultimately the instrument of deliverance, showing that God can work through flawed rulers. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This banquet scene follows Persian court protocols. The king and Haman come to drink (לִשְׁתּוֹת) with Esther, as was common at royal feasts where wine loosened tongues and lowered defenses. The king's repeated offer, “even to the half of the kingdom”, is a known hyperbolic formula (cf. Mark 6:23) expressing extreme favor, not a literal division of empire. Esther's opening words, “If I have found favor in your sight,” echo her earlier cautious approach (Esther 5:8), showing she still treads carefully despite the king's goodwill.
The background to her petition is Haman's decree (Esther 3:8-14), which condemned all Jews in the Persian Empire to annihilation. Esther herself was a Jew, though the king did not know it. By revealing her own identity (“my people and I have been sold”), she forces the king to confront the conspiracy personally. The word “sold” (נִמְכַּרְנוּ) recalls the bribe of ten thousand talents Haman offered (Esther 3:9; 4:7), as Keil and Delitzsch note. The obscure clause in verse 4 (כִּי אֵין הַצָּר שֹׁוֶה בְּנֵזֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ) is debated: some read it as Haman's payment could not compensate the king's loss of a productive people; others, that the distress is not comparable to the king's damage. Either way, Esther argues that Haman's scheme harms both her people and the king's own interests.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants in the Hebrew of Esther 7:1-6. The main difficulty is interpretive, not scribal: the clause in verse 4 (כִּי אֵין הַצָּר שֹׁוֶה בְּנֵזֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ) is grammatically ambiguous. The word שֹׁוֶה (shoveh) means “equal” or “comparable,” and the preposition בְּ can be read as “for/in” or “to.” This has led to multiple English renderings in translations, as reflected in the KJV, WEB, BSB, and others, but the underlying Hebrew text is stable.
Reception History
Across Christian history, Esther 7:1-6 has been seen as a model of courageous intercession. The early church read it as a type of Christ's advocacy for his people, the hidden mediator who steps forward in the crisis. In medieval and Reformation art, the scene was depicted as the triumph of justice over pride, often paired with Psalm 7:15 (“He made a pit, and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made”). Jewish tradition has always treasured this moment as the turning point of Purim, celebrating Esther's wisdom and God's hidden miracle. Many modern sermons draw from it a pattern for speaking truth to power with patience and grace.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The patient wait. Esther holds her petition until the second banquet, allowing the king's promises to multiply and his goodwill to deepen. This teaches discernment in timing, not impulsive speech but prayerful preparation.
- The bold revelation. She confesses her identity and accuses Haman directly, using the language of the decree to prove his guilt. Courage does not mean recklessness; it means speaking truth at the right moment.
- The swift reversal. Haman's terror in verse 6 sets up his downfall. The enemy who built a gallows for Mordecai is caught in his own trap, a vivid picture of divine justice.
Five-point outline
- The king's repeated offer (v.2), grace that invites the petition.
- Esther's humble request (v.3), “let my life be given me”, she frames her need personally before broadening it.
- The indictment (v.4), she exposes the plot without naming Haman … yet.
- The king's horrified question (v.5), his doubled words betray shock.
- The accusation (v.6), “this wicked Haman”, the naked enemy stands unmasked.
Illustration hooks
- The irony of a dinner party where the host unravels a crime while the criminal sits at the table.
- A witness in court who has rehearsed the testimony for weeks, waiting for the precise moment to speak.
- The experience of holding back a difficult truth until the hearer is ready, then watching the impact unfold.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why didn't Esther reveal the plot at the first banquet? Was she afraid or just wise?
- Does the king share any blame? He signed the decree without knowing it included his queen.
- How do we know when to speak boldly and when to wait?
Leading a Discussion
Esther 7:1-6 is the moment the hidden becomes known. Esther's courage did not appear overnight, she had prayed, fasted, and planned. As you read this passage together, notice how each person in the scene responds: the king with repeated offers, Esther with restrained power, Haman with growing dread. The story invites us to consider how God works in the spaces we cannot see.
Discussion questions
- Read verses 1 and 2. Why do you think the king asks Esther for her petition yet again? What does this show about his character?
- How does Esther word her request in verse 3? What might she be feeling when she says “let my life be given me”?
- In verse 4, Esther says “we are sold.” Who sold them? How does this word choice echo the earlier bribe?
- The king's question in verse 5 is doubled in the Hebrew text. What does that repetition tell us about his emotional state?
- Esther answers in verse 6 with three words: “adversary,” “enemy,” and “this wicked Haman.” Why does she use such strong language?
- How does this passage show the reversal of fortunes? Where do you see God's hand even though God is not mentioned?
- Think of a time you had to speak a difficult truth. What helped you find the right moment?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Esther 3:15 | The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Susa was perplexed. |
| Esther 5:8 | If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said.” |
| Esther 5:3 | Then the king asked her, “What would you like, queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you even to the half of the kingdom.” |
| Esther 5:6 | The king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.” |
| Esther 9:12 | The king said to Esther the queen, “The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in the citadel of Susa, including the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your further request? It shall be done.” |
| John 16:24 | Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full. |
| I Kings 20:31 | His servants said to him, “See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our bodies and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life.” |
| II Kings 1:13 | Again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, and said to him, “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty of your servants be precious in your sight. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that Esther skillfully uses her love for the king to urge him to save her people. He also writes that the king is instantly shocked by the cruelty of Haman’s plot.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that the king now understands, possibly for the first time, that his own queen is Jewish. He further observes that even Haman's offered payment to the treasury would not make up for the king's loss of so many subjects through the planned massacre.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges notes that the suffering the Jews face is not serious compared to the loss the king will suffer if Haman enslaves his subjects. This view holds that the harm done to the king outweighs any harm done to the people.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
Geneva Bible Notes shows that Haman is the one who acts wrongly by wanting to destroy the queen and her people. The king then discovers that Haman is the guilty party.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that Esther does not ask for wealth or honor but only her own life and her people’s lives to stop Haman’s plan. He explains that she says they are sold for destruction because death causes a loss greater than slavery.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
Jamieson Fausset Brown notes that selling the Jews as slaves would have added wealth to the kingdom but their total destruction would cause an irreparable harm no amount of money could fix. You provide protection for Esther and her people.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch see Esther’s use of the word for price as her offering her life and people in exchange for protection. They believe she says the enemy is not worth the king’s damage meaning he is not worthy enough that she should bother the king with her request.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange highlights Esther's shrewd diplomacy: she frames her plea not as a personal cry but as a warning that the king himself will suffer loss if the Jews are destroyed. Her careful wording aims to move Ahasuerus by appealing to his own interests, not just her need.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that the king repeats his promise three times because he remembers Esther’s earlier request. He also points out that she asks for her own life and her people’s rescue from destruction rather than wealth or power.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that the king’s anger stems from his own guilt over agreeing to the deadly edict. He also points out that the queen’s fear comes from facing her own conscience as a witness against him.