Esther 8:5

5 Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, "If it please the king, ¹and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke ²the letters devised by Haman ³the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.

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. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews.

4 When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther,

5 Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, "If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king.

6 For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?"

7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews.

Cross References

• 1. Esther 5:8; Esther 7:3
• 2. [Esther 3:13]
• 3. [See ver. 3 above]