Esther 7:1-6
This Wicked Man
Read the passage
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
At the second banquet, the king asks again what Esther wants. This time she gives her request: her own life, and the lives of her people.
For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation.
The language recalls the decree written in Xerxes' name. Esther brings its consequences before him as a threat to people, including his queen. She identifies herself with those marked for death.
She adds that she would have remained silent if they had merely been sold into slavery, because such distress would not justify burdening the king. Those words are difficult. They form part of her appeal in this royal court; they are not a command for enslaved people to remain silent or an assurance that slavery is acceptable. Her immediate petition concerns the destruction of an entire people.
Xerxes asks who has devised such a scheme. Esther names Haman directly as the adversary and enemy. Haman stands in terror before them.
The man who gained the king's permission to destroy the Jews now hears his plan exposed by the queen. Xerxes' question does not erase his own part in authorizing the decree. Esther has finally put the danger, her connection to it, and the responsible planner before him.
Questions
1 What does Esther ask the king to grant?
AnswerHer life and the lives of her people. She joins her own danger to theirs.
2 What threat does she describe?
AnswerDestruction, death, and annihilation—the substance of the decree against the Jews.
3 What does the king ask after hearing her petition?
AnswerWho has devised this scheme and where that person is.
4 Whom does Esther identify, and how does he react?
AnswerShe names Haman as the adversary and enemy. He stands in terror before the king and queen.
What This Means for Us
Speaking about harm clearly may require naming both what is happening and who is responsible. Esther does not turn the danger into a vague complaint. If someone is being hurt, help them reach a person who can act, and be specific about what you know. Those with authority also need to examine their own part rather than placing every fault on someone else.
Prayer
Father, we do harm by not paying attention, and then we are shocked at the harm. Slow us down before we agree. Give us the courage Esther had to name a wrong out loud in the room where it will cost something. Amen.