Old TestamentBeginner II · Story 16Esther 6:1-14; Esther 7:1-10

The Night of the King

The king cannot sleep, and someone reads to him about Mordecai. The king asks Haman how to honor a man, and Haman thinks it is himself. Then the king tells Haman to honor Mordecai. At a banquet, Esther tells the king who her enemy is. Read the story in simple English.

Start this storyStory + 4 lessons · ~41 min · free

A large open book lies on a table beside a lit lamp at night, and nobody is there

The words in this story

10 words you will really use: they appear in the story and in the exercises, and come back for review in the next stories.

horse
an animal that people ride
noun
prince
a man of high rank who serves a king
noun
enemy
someone who is against you
noun
could
was able to; could not means was not able to (the king could not sleep: he was not able to sleep)
verb
honor
to show great respect to someone; as a noun, the great respect that is shown to a person
verb
most
more than all the others; before a word like important it makes the highest level (the most important princes: more important than all the other princes)
adjective
mourn
to show that you are very sad
verb
cover
to put something over a thing
verb
wise
knowing much and judging well
adjective
wicked
very bad; doing great wrong to other people
adjective

What you'll discover

The moments of the story, in the order they happen.

The king cannot sleep, asks what honor Mordecai got, and the servants answer: nothing.
The king asks Haman how to honor a man, and then tells him to do it for Mordecai.
Haman mourns at home with his head covered. His wise men say Mordecai is stronger, if he is a Jew.
At the banquet, Esther tells the king that Haman is her enemy, and the king is angry.

Original verse

The verse that closes the story, in the World English Bible. After 4 lessons, this is how you read it: the real text, with nothing simplified.

Esther 6:6 · WEB

So Haman came in. The king said to him, “What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman said in his heart, “Who would the king delight to honor more than myself?”

Context

One detail about the scene, with the work it comes from.

The world of the story

What did the king have brought? Esther 6:1 says that he commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought.

Source: World English Bible · Public domain

What a story looks like

First the whole story, in simple English with audio for every sentence. Then 4 short lessons, each with a piece of the story, a tip and exercises. At the end, the Bible verse and a little celebration.

The story · 20 sentences, with the meaning of each word on tap, 3 quick questions about the story
4 lessons · a piece of the story, a tip and exercises in each one
The original verse · the Bible text, unadapted, then the next story

Questions about this story

Which Bible passage is this story from?

Esther 6 and 7, in the World English Bible.

What does the king ask about Mordecai?

He asks what honor and dignity Mordecai got for what he did, and the servants say that nothing has been done for him (Esther 6:3).

What does Haman ask for the man whom the king honors?

He asks for the king's royal clothing, the king's horse with a royal crown on its head, and one of the most noble princes to lead the man through the city square (Esther 6:8-9).

Where does Haman go after he honors Mordecai?

He hurries to his house, mourning and having his head covered, and his wise men say that Mordecai is stronger, if he is a Jew (Esther 6:12-13).

What does Esther say at the second banquet?

She asks the king for her life and for her people, and she says that the enemy is this wicked Haman (Esther 7:3-6).

How close is it to the Bible?

It follows Esther 6 and 7 in order, in short sentences. The retelling leaves out the plot of Bigthana and Teresh (6:2), the crown on the horse (6:8), what Haman calls out in the city square (6:11), Zeresh (6:13), the king's walk in the garden (7:7) and what Harbonah says (7:9). The real verses at the end are Esther 6:6, 7:6 and 7:3.

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