2. He was happy to see Esther, and he held out the gold sceptre to her.When Esther came up and touched the tip of the sceptre,
3. the king said, “Esther, what brings you here? Just ask, and I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”
4. Esther answered, “Your Majesty, please come with Haman to a dinner I will prepare for you later today.”
5. The king said to his servants, “Hurry and get Haman, so we can accept Esther's invitation.”The king and Haman went to Esther's dinner,
6. and while they were drinking wine, the king asked her, “What can I do for you? Just ask, and I will give you as much as half of my kingdom.”
9. Haman was feeling great as he left. But when he saw Mordecai at the palace gate, he noticed that Mordecai did not stand up or show him any respect. This made Haman really angry,
10. but he did not say a thing.When Haman got home, he called together his friends and his wife Zeresh
11. and started boasting about his great wealth and all his sons. He told them the many ways that the king had honoured him and how all the other officials and leaders had to respect him.
12. Haman added, “That's not all! Besides the king himself, I'm the only person Queen Esther invited for dinner. She has also invited the king and me to dinner tomorrow.
13. But none of this makes me happy, as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the palace gate.”
14. Haman's wife and friends said to him, “Have a tower built about twenty-two metres high, and tomorrow morning ask the king to hang Mordecai there. Then later, you can have dinner with the king and enjoy yourself.”This seemed like a good idea to Haman, and he had the tower built.