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Queen Esther went to see King Zerk-sees (Xerxes)
1 The Jewish people did what Esther said and they all stopped eating for 3 days. On the 3rd day, Esther put on her queen's clothes and went to the king's palace. She walked into the king's waiting room.
Zerk-sees was sitting on the king's chair and he could see into the waiting room. 2 He looked up and saw Queen Esther standing there and he was really happy to see her. He held out his golden stick as a sign that she could come closer to him. Esther saw him do that and so she walked into the king's room and touched the end of the stick.
3 The king said to her, “Queen Esther, what do you want to ask me? I will give you whatever you want, even if you ask for one half of everything in my country!”
4 Esther answered, “I told my workers to get a special supper ready for you today. I would like you and Haman to come and have supper with me.”
5 The king said to one of his workers, “Go quickly and get Haman so that we can have the supper Queen Esther has got ready.”
So King Zerk-sees and Haman went to eat supper with Esther. 6 While they were drinking wine, Zerk-sees said to Esther, “What is it you want to ask me Esther? I will give you whatever you want, even if it is half of my country.”
7 Esther said, “This is what I want to ask you, my king. 8 If I have made you happy and if you want to give me whatever I ask for, can you come and eat supper with me again tomorrow? I will get it ready, and I want you to bring Haman with you. Then I will tell you what I want.”
Haman made a plan to kill More-dek-eye (Mordecai)
9 At the end of the supper, Haman left the king's palace and went home. He was very happy and was feeling good inside himself. But when he got to the palace gate, he saw that More-dek-eye did not stand up or show him any respect and he got really angry with More-dek-eye. 10 But he did not show how angry he was, he just went home.
When he got home, Haman asked his friends and his wife, Zeresh, to come and have a meeting with him. 11 Haman started to talk about himself too much. He told them about how much money and how many sons he had. And he told them all the ways the king showed him respect and how the king made him more important than all the other men in the government. 12 He said, “But that's not all, Queen Esther wanted me to go with the king to the supper she got ready today. I am the only other person she has asked, and she wants me to go with the king to her supper again tomorrow. 13 I should be happy, but every time I see More-dek-eye the Jew sitting next to the gate outside the king's palace, I cannot be happy.”
14 Haman's wife Zeresh, and all his friends said, “We think you should tell your workers to build a very tall pole. Then tomorrow morning, ask the king to put More-dek-eye up on that pole until he is dead. And then you can go to Esther's party with the king and enjoy yourself.”
Haman liked that idea and told his workers to build the hanging pole.