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¹ And it comes to pass on the third day, that Esther puts on royalty, and stands in the inner-court of the house of the king in front of the house of the king, and the king is sitting on his royal throne, in the royal-house, opposite the opening of the house,² and it comes to pass, at the king's seeing Esther the queen standing in the court, she has received grace in his eyes, and the king holds out to Esther the golden scepter that [is] in his hand, and Esther draws near, and touches the top of the scepter.³ And the king says to her, "What do you [want], Esther, O queen? And what [is] your request? To the half of the kingdom—and it is given to you."⁴ And Esther says, "If to the king [it be] good, the king comes in, and Haman, today, to the banquet that I have made for him";⁵ and the king says, "Hurry Haman—to do the word of Esther"; and the king comes in, and Haman, to the banquet that Esther has made.⁶ And the king says to Esther, during the banquet of wine, "What [is] your petition? And it is given to you; and what [is] your request? To the half of the kingdom—and it is done."⁷ And Esther answers and says, "My petition and my request [is]:⁸ if I have found grace in the eyes of the king, and if to the king [it be] good, to give my petition, and to perform my request, the king comes, and Haman, to the banquet that I make for them, and tomorrow I do according to the word of the king."

⁹ And Haman goes forth on that day rejoicing and glad in heart, and at Haman's seeing Mordecai in the gate of the king, and he has not risen nor moved for him, then is Haman full of fury against Mordecai.¹⁰ And Haman forces himself, and comes into his house, and sends, and brings in his friends, and his wife Zeresh,¹¹ and Haman recounts to them the glory of his wealth, and the abundance of his sons, and all that with which the king made him great, and with which he lifted him up above the heads and servants of the king.¹² And Haman says, "Indeed, Esther the queen brought none in with the king, to the feast that she made, except myself, and also for tomorrow I am called to her, with the king,¹³ and all this is not profitable to me, during all the time that I am seeing Mordecai the Jew sitting in the gate of the king."¹⁴ And his wife Zeresh says to him, and all his friends, "Let them prepare a tree, in height fifty cubits, and in the morning speak to the king, and they hang Mordecai on it, and go in with the king to the banquet rejoicing"; and the thing is good before Haman, and he prepares the tree.