Bible Strands
Esther 5:9
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Haman leaves the palace immediately after Esther’s banquet invitation, carrying his newly granted honor to the king’s gate. He encounters Mordecai there at the precise moment his triumph turns to fury.
The words — שָׂמֵ֖חַ (sa.Me.ach) means "joyful" and לֵ֑ב (Lev) means "heart," describing Haman’s initial gladness. וְ/כִ/רְאוֹת֩ (ve./khi/r.'Ot) translates to "and just as saw," marking the exact instant his mood shifts when he observes Mordecai.
The thread — The text records this sudden shift from exaltation to rage, which runs parallel to the pattern in Esther 3:5, Matthew 2:16, and 1 Kings 21:4. Each reference documents a powerful figure whose anger ignites upon encountering unyielding resistance.
Why it lands — The narrative states that Haman’s joy becomes rage the moment he sees Mordecai refuse to rise or tremble. It asks the reader to observe how pride collapses when confronted with a boundary it cannot command.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Esther 3:5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.
- Matthew 2:16 When 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.
- 1 Kings 21:4 So 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.
- Esther 2:19 When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
- Esther 3:2 All 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.
- Job 20:5 the triumph of the wicked has been brief and the joy of the godless momentary?
- Job 31:31 if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’—
- Psalms 15:4 who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
- Psalms 27:3 Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust.
- Daniel 3:13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,