That day Haman went out full of joy and glad of heart. At the king’s gate, however, he saw Mordecai, who did not rise or tremble in fear at his presence. And Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he didn’t stand up nor move for him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai.
- KJV Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.
- NKJV So Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, and that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with indignation against Mordecai.
- NASB Then Haman went out that day joyful and pleased of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and that he did not stand up or tremble before him, Haman was filled with anger against Mordecai.
- NLT Haman was a happy man as he left the banquet! But when he saw Mordecai sitting at the palace gate, not standing up or trembling nervously before him, Haman became furious.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Haman leaves the banquet elated, but his joy turns to rage when Mordecai again refuses to rise or tremble before him. His pride cannot tolerate a single dissenter.
Overview
Haman's mood swings from gladness to fury over Mordecai's refusal to honor him, exposing the fragility of pride. The whole structure of his contentment collapses at one man's defiance. Scripture's warning that 'pride goes before destruction' is being enacted before our eyes as Haman's wrath sets his own ruin in motion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Esth 3:5When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.
- Matt 2:16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
- Esth 2:19When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
- Job 31:31if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—
- Job 20:5the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- Dan 3:13Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,
- Dan 3:16–19Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
- Amos 6:12–13“Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
- Luke 6:25Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
- Jas 4:9Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
- Ps 27:3Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust.
- Ps 15:4who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
- John 16:20Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
- Esth 3:2All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.
- 1 Kgs 21:4So Ahab went to his palace, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had told him, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat.
- Acts 7:54On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.
- Matt 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
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Though God is never named, his hidden hand preserves the people from whom the Messiah will come — a deliverance 'for such a time as this' that anticipates the open deliverance of Christ.
How Esther 5:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
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