So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, “Who is he, and where is he who dared presume in his heart to do so?”
- KJV Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
- BSB Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”
- NASB Then King Ahasuerus asked Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do such a thing?”
- NLT “Who would do such a thing?” King Xerxes demanded. “Who would be so presumptuous as to touch you?”
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
The king demands to know who would dare devise such a thing. His outrage sets up Haman's exposure.
Overview
The king's indignant question shows he is unaware that he himself sanctioned the decree. His demand opens the way for Esther to name the culprit directly. The moment heightens the suspense just before Haman's downfall is sealed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Job 9:24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If not he, then who is it?
- Gen 27:33Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed.”
- Acts 5:3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
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 7:5 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.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.