Queen Esther Saves Her People Story - Bible

There was a Jewish man named Mordecai. He lived in the city of Susa. He had a cousin named Hadassah, also called Esther. Esther was very beautiful. Mordecai had raised her as his own daughter because her parents had died.

King Xerxes ruled over 127 provinces from India to Cush. He gave a great banquet for all his nobles and officials. On the seventh day of the banquet, when the king was happy with wine, he commanded his seven eunuchs to bring Queen Vashti before him. He wanted to show off her beauty. But Queen Vashti refused to come. The king became very angry.

The king asked his wise men what he should do. One of them said, 'Queen Vashti has done wrong. She has disobeyed the king. All the women in the kingdom will hear about this. They will start to disrespect their husbands. The king should remove Vashti as queen. He should give her royal position to someone else who is better than she is.'

The king agreed. He sent letters throughout the whole kingdom. The letters said that every man should be ruler over his own household.

Later, the king's attendants said, 'Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let them be brought to the harem in Susa. Let them be given beauty treatments. Then let the young woman who pleases the king become queen instead of Vashti.'

The king liked this idea. So many young women were brought to the palace. Esther was among them. She pleased the man who was in charge of the harem. He gave her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned seven female attendants to her.

Esther did not tell anyone that she was Jewish. Mordecai had told her not to. Every day Mordecai walked near the courtyard of the harem. He wanted to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.

When the time came for each young woman to go to the king, she was given anything she wanted to take with her. In the evening she would go to the king. In the morning she would return to another part of the harem. She would not go to the king again unless he was pleased with her and called for her by name.

When it was Esther's turn to go to the king, she asked for nothing except what the man in charge of the harem suggested. Everyone who saw Esther liked her. The king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women. He set the royal crown on her head. He made her queen instead of Vashti. The king gave a great banquet for all his nobles and officials. He declared a holiday throughout the provinces. He gave gifts in keeping with his royal generosity.

After Esther became queen, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. He overheard two of the king's officers plotting to kill the king. Mordecai told Esther about it. Esther reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. The two officers were hanged on a pole. All this was written down in the king's record book.

The king honored a man named Haman. He gave him a high position. He ordered all the royal officials at the king's gate to kneel down and pay honor to Haman. Mordecai refused to kneel or pay him honor.

The royal officials asked Mordecai, 'Why do you disobey the king's command?' Day after day they spoke to him. But he refused to listen. They told Haman about it to see if Mordecai's behavior would be tolerated. Mordecai had told them he was Jewish.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was very angry. But he did not want to kill only Mordecai. He looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom.

In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, Haman said to the king, 'There is a certain people scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their customs are different from those of all other people. They do not obey the king's laws. It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them. I will give ten thousand talents of silver to the king's administrators for the royal treasury.'

The king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman. He said, 'Keep the money. Do with the people what you like.'

Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces. The order said to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews. It said to plunder their goods. The order was to be carried out on a single day. Copies of the text of the edict were to be issued as law in every province. It was to be made known to the people of every nationality. They were to be ready for that day.

When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes. He put on sackcloth and ashes. He went out into the city. He wailed loudly and bitterly. In every province wherever the edict went, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted and wept and wailed. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther's eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai. She was greatly distressed. She sent clothes for Mordecai to put on. But he would not accept them.

Then Esther called for Hathak, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to attend her. She ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.

So Hathak went out to Mordecai. Mordecai told him everything that had happened. He told him about the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury. He gave him a copy of the edict. He told him to show it to Esther and explain the situation to her. He told him to urge her to go into the king's presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.

Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then Esther sent him back with this reply: 'All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned has only one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. I have not been summoned to come to the king for thirty days.'

When Mordecai received this message, he sent back this answer: 'Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. But you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?'

Esther sent back this reply to Mordecai: 'Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa. Fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king. If I perish, I perish.'

So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther's instructions.

On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes. She stood in the inner court of the palace. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her. He held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter.

The king asked, 'What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.'

Esther answered, 'If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.'

The king said, 'Bring Haman at once. Let's do what Esther asks.'

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, 'Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.'

Esther replied, 'My petition and my request is this: If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king's question.'

Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king's gate and observed that Mordecai did not stand up or show any honor to him, he was filled with rage against Mordecai. Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home.

Calling together his friends and his wife Zeresh, Haman boasted to them about his vast wealth. He boasted about his many sons. He boasted about all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above the other nobles.

Haman said, 'Queen Esther invited no one but me to come with the king to the banquet she gave. And tomorrow I am again invited by her, along with the king. But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king's gate.'

His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, 'Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of seventy-five feet. Ask the king tomorrow morning to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.'

Haman liked the idea. He had the pole set up.

That night the king could not sleep. So he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed the two officers who had plotted to kill the king.

The king asked, 'What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this?'

His attendants answered, 'Nothing has been done for him.'

The king said, 'Who is in the court?' Now Haman had just entered the outer court. He had come to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the pole he had set up.

His attendants answered, 'Haman is standing in the court.'

The king said, 'Bring him in.'

When Haman entered, the king asked him, 'What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?'

Haman thought to himself, 'Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?' So he answered the king, 'For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king's most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets. Let them proclaim before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!''

The king said to Haman, 'Go at once. Get the robe and the horse. Do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended.'

So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai. He led him on horseback through the city streets. He proclaimed before him, 'This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!'

Afterward Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried home with his head covered in grief. He told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened.

His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, 'Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him. You will surely come to ruin.'

While they were still talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived. They hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared.

So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther's banquet. The king again asked Esther, 'What is your request? It will be given you. Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.'

Then Queen Esther answered, 'If I have found favor with you, King, and if it pleases you, grant me my life. That is my petition. Spare my people. That is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet. But no such distress would justify disturbing the king.'

King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, 'Who is he? Where is he? Who has dared to do such a thing?'

Esther said, 'An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!'

Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. The king got up in a rage, left his wine, and went out into the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life. He realized that the king had already decided to kill him.

Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, 'Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?'

As soon as the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, 'A pole reaching to a height of seventy-five feet stands by Haman's house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.'

The king said, 'Hang him on it!' So they hanged Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king's fury subsided.

That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. Esther told the king how Mordecai was related to her. The king gave Mordecai his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman. Esther appointed Mordecai over Haman's estate.

Esther again pleaded with the king. She fell at his feet and wept. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman. The king extended the gold scepter to Esther. She rose and stood before him. She said, 'If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if he thinks it is the right thing to do, and if I have his approval, let an order be written to undo the letters Haman wrote. His letters ordered the destruction of the Jews in all the king's provinces. I cannot bear to see disaster fall on my people. I cannot bear to see my relatives destroyed.'

King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, 'Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther. He himself has been hanged on the pole. Now write another decree in the king's name. Do it in the king's favor and seal it with the king's signet ring. No letter written in the king's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.'

At once the king's secretaries were brought in. It was the twenty-third day of the third month. They wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews. They wrote to the governors and nobles of the 127 provinces. They wrote to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes. He sealed the dispatches with the king's signet ring. He sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.

The king's edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves. It gave them the right to destroy, kill, and annihilate any armed group of any nationality or province that might attack them. It gave them the right to plunder the property of their enemies. The day appointed for them to do this was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month. A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province. It was to be made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

The couriers rode out on their fast horses. They went out, spurred on by the king's command. The edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal garments of blue and white. He wore a large crown of gold. He also wore a purple robe of fine linen. The city of Susa held a joyous celebration.

For the Jews, it was a time of happiness and joy. It was a time of gladness and honor. In every province and in every city where the edict of the king went, the Jews had joy and gladness. They had feasting and celebrating. Many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them. But now the tables were turned. The Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes. They attacked those who tried to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because all the other peoples had become afraid of them.

The king asked Queen Esther, 'What is your request? It will be given you. What is your petition? It will be granted.'

Esther said, 'If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Susa have tomorrow also to do what the ediet allowed. Let Haman's ten sons be hanged on poles.'

The king commanded that this be done. So an edict was issued in Susa. Haman's ten sons were hanged. The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month. They killed three hundred men but did not take any plunder. The Jews in the rest of the king's provinces also came together. They killed their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them. But they did not take any plunder.

This happened on the thirteenth day of the month. On the fourteenth day they rested. They made it a day of feasting and joy.

Mordecai recorded these events. He sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes. He told them to celebrate every year on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month. Those were the days when the Jews got relief from their enemies. That was the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He told them to observe those days as days of feasting and joy. They were to give presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun. Mordecai wrote these things down. Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter. Letters were sent to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom. They sent them to give authority to observe these days. The letters wished the Jews peace and truth.

Esther's decree confirmed these regulations about Purim. It was written down in the records. The Jews called these days Purim, from the word 'pur' which means 'lot.' Haman had cast lots to destroy the Jews. But God turned the tables. He saved His people.

Esther was brave. She risked her life to save her people. She said, 'If I perish, I perish.' God used her to rescue the Jews from destruction. Esther's story reminds us that God puts us in places for a reason. He has a plan for each of us. Who knows but that we have come to our position for such a time as this?

The Queen Esther Saves Her People story teaches courage and faith. It shows the power of God working through brave and faithful people. This story highlights bravery and divine guidance.