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5^*3The king said to her, ‘What do you wish, Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to half of my kingdom.’ ⁴And Esther said, ‘Today is a special day for me. If it pleases the king, let him and Haman come to the dinner that I shall prepare today.’ ⁵Then the king said, ‘Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther desires.’ So they both came to the dinner that Esther had spoken about. ⁶While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, ‘What is it, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you.’ ⁷She said, ‘My petition and request is: ⁸if I have found favour in the sight of the king, let the king and Haman come to the dinner that I shall prepare them, and tomorrow I will do as I have done today.’

Haman’s Plot against Mordecai

9 So Haman went out from the king joyful and glad of heart. But when he saw Mordecai the Jew in the courtyard, he was filled with anger. ¹⁰Nevertheless, he went home and summoned his friends and his wife Zosara. ¹¹And he told them about his riches and the honour that the king had bestowed on him, and how he had advanced him to be the first in the kingdom. ¹²And Haman said, ‘The queen did not invite anyone to the dinner with the king except me; and I am invited again tomorrow. ¹³But these things give me no pleasure as long as I see Mordecai the Jew in the courtyard.’ ¹⁴His wife Zosara and his friends said to him, ‘Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then, go merrily with the king to the dinner.’ This advice pleased Haman, and so the gallows was prepared.