Esther 9:25

But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The king issues a written decree after receiving the report of the Jews' deliverance, ordering that Haman's plotted destruction be reversed against the enemy.

The words — The text highlights יָשׁוּב (ya.Shuv), meaning "let it return," and מַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ (ma.cha.shav.to), meaning "his plan," to describe the decree's reversal of Haman's intended destruction.

The thread — The motif of a plotted scheme recoiling on its author appears in Psalms 7:16, while the preceding inquiry about the scheme occurs in Esther 7:5 and the subsequent petition for a second edict is recorded in Esther 9:13.

Why it lands — The text records that Haman's own gallows become the instrument of his execution, requiring the reader to recognize the precise reversal of intended violence without adding moral commentary.

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

But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Cross-references

Psalms 7:16 His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
Esther 7:5 Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”
Esther 9:13 Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”
Psalms 109:17 The cursing that he loved, may it fall on him; the blessing in which he refused to delight, may it be far from him.
Psalms 140:9 May the heads of those who surround me be covered in the trouble their lips have caused.
Psalms 141:10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.
Matthew 21:44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”