| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. | 1That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him. |
| 2And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. | 2And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. |
| 3Then the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” And the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” | 3The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?” “Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants. |
| 4So the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. | 4“Who is in the court?” the king asked. Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows he had prepared for him. |
| 5The king’s servants said to him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” | 5So the king’s attendants answered him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” “Bring him in,” ordered the king. |
| 6So Haman came in, and the king asked him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman thought in his heart, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” | 6Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me?” |
| 7And Haman answered the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, | 7And Haman told the king, “For the man whom the king is delighted to honor, |
| 8let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head. | 8have them bring a royal robe that the king himself has worn and a horse on which the king himself has ridden—one with a royal crest placed on its head. |
| 9Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’ ” | 9Let the robe and the horse be entrusted to one of the king’s most noble princes. Let them array the man the king wants to honor and parade him on the horse through the city square, proclaiming before him, ‘This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!’ ” |
| 10Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry, take the robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the Jew who sits within the king’s gate! Leave nothing undone of all that you have spoken.” | 10“Hurry,” said the king to Haman, “and do just as you proposed. Take the robe and the horse to Mordecai the Jew, who is sitting at the king’s gate. Do not neglect anything that you have suggested.” |
| 11So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” | 11So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed Mordecai, and paraded him through the city square, crying out before him, “This is what is done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor!” |
| 12Afterward Mordecai went back to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. | 12Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief. |
| 13When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” | 13Haman 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 begun, is Jewish, you will not prevail against him—for surely you will fall before him.” |
| 14While they were still talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hastened to bring Haman to the banquet which Esther had prepared. | 14While they were still speaking with Haman, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed him to the banquet that Esther had prepared. |
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