Bible Strands
Esther 7:8
Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king speaks aloud in the banquet hall upon returning from the garden, reacting to Haman collapsing on the couch where Esther reclines. His exclamation questions whether Haman intends to assault the queen while the king remains present.
The words — שָׁב (shav) = he returned and מִשְׁתֵּה (mish.Teh) = feast mark the abrupt spatial shift from the garden to the banquet hall where the confrontation occurs.
The thread — The sudden royal reaction parallels the palace setting of Esther 1:6, contrasts with Haman’s earlier grief-covered return in Esther 6:12, and aligns with Job 9:24’s pattern of swift divine judgment through human agents.
Why it lands — It forces a reader to recognize how human plotting collapses when circumstances reverse without warning, demanding attention to the precise timing of divine intervention rather than human control.
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 the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
Cross-references
- Esther 1:6 Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones.
- Esther 6:12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.
- Job 9:24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?
- Isaiah 22:17 Look, O mighty man! The LORD is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you,
- Isaiah 49:23 Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”