Esther 8:5

5 Then she said, "1If it pleases * the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the 2letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces.

Esther 8:5 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 8:5

And said, if it please the king, and if I have found favour in
his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing
in his eyes
This heap of phrases, which signify much the same thing, are used to work upon the king's affections, and to show how submissive she was to his will:

let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of
Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which
are in all the king's provinces.
She wisely takes no notice of any concern the king had in them, but suggests as that she looked upon them as forged by Haman, who put the king's name and seal to them, without his knowledge and consent.

Esther 8:5 In-Context

3 Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews.
4 The king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king.
5 Then she said, "If it pleases the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight, let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces.
6 "For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?"
7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the gallows because he had stretched out his hands against the Jews.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Esther 5:8; Esther 7:3
  • 2. Esther 3:13
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