Esther 5:9-14·~1 min

Haman’s Plot against Mordecai

Haman leaves the banquet joyful, but when he sees Mordecai at the king's gate neither rising nor trembling before him, he is filled with rage. Even so, he restrains himself and goes home.

T⁹hat day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the king’s gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai. ¹⁰Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,

Before his friends and his wife Zeresh, Haman boasts of his wealth, sons, honors, and exclusive invitation with Esther and the king. Yet he admits that none of it satisfies him while Mordecai the Jew still sits at the gate.

¹¹Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants. ¹²“What is more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king. ¹³Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

Zeresh and Haman's friends advise him to build a very high gallows and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it before going happily to the banquet.

¹⁴His wife Zeresh and all his friends told him, “Have them build a gallows fifty cubits high, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go to the banquet with the king and enjoy yourself.”

Section summaryHaman leaves the banquet exulting in his standing, only to have his joy shattered again by Mordecai's refusal to honor him. At home he recites his wealth, sons, and favor before king and queen, but admits that none of it satisfies him while Mordecai lives, and his household urges him toward the gallows.

Role in the chapterThis closing section intensifies Haman's inner corruption just as Esther's plan is quietly unfolding. It narrows the broad threat of chapter 3 into an immediate design against Mordecai, preparing the next chapter's reversal.