king objected not to any thing that had been proposed,
and insisted on it that every thing be done punctu-
ally by Human as he had advised, and from which he
could not with honour recede; though nothing could
be more mortifying to him to do, to a man he came
to court to get a grant to hang on a gallows he had
prepared,
Ver. 11. Then took ttaman the apparel, and the
horse, &c.] The one out of the wardrobe, the other
out of the stable, and the crown also no doubt, though
no mention is made of it, since the king made no
objection to it, yea, commanded that nothing fail of
what had been spoken; but this was included iu the
pomp and state of the led horse: and brought him on
horseback through the street of the city; the most grand
and public part of it, thus arrayed, and in this state:
and proclaimed before him, thus shall it be done to the
man whom the king delighteth to honour ; see the note
on vet. 9.
Ver. 12. And Mordecai came again to the king's gate,
&c.] To attend his post and office at court; which
confirms what has been already hinted, that he was in
some office in the court, which this phrase is expres-
sive of, and not a porter at the gate; for it is not pro-
bable he should return to such a station, after so much
honour had been done him; and much less that he re-
turned to his sackcloth and fasting, as Jarchi and the
former Targum; since he might reasonably conclude
things were taking a turn in his fayour, and that of his
people; though as yet he knew not what success
Esther had had, to wait for which he returned to court:
but Haman hasted to his house; pushed forward as fast
as he could: mourning; at his sad disappointment:
and having his head covered; through grief and sorrow,
confusion and shame; so Demosthenes, being hissed,
went home with his head covered{c}, as confounded
and ashamed to be seen d
Ver. 13. And Haman told Zeresh his wife, and all
his friends, every thing that had befallen him, &c.]

How he was prevented speaking to the king on ths
errand he went; instead of which, he had the mortifi-
cation of being obliged to do the honour to Mordecai
which he thought would never have been given to any
but himself, and so related the whole affer as above:
then said his wise men; before called his friends; per-
haps they were magicians and soothsayers he kept in
his house, to advise with about the proper methods
and times of advancing himself, and destroying his
enemies: and Zeresh his wife unto him; who joined
with the wise men in giving her opinion, and who set
up for a knowing woman, and of whom Haman thought
highly: if Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews; as it
was said he was; and therefore Human had vowed
and plotted revenge on the people of the Jews for his
sake: before whom thou hast begun to fall; as he did,
by being obliged to execute the king's will in doing
him so much honour: thou shall not prevail against
him; to get him hanged, or his people destroyed,
though he had prepared a gallows for the one, and
had got an edict for the other: but shall surely fall
before him: which might be concluded from his being
set above him, who would not fail of using his power
and interest to crush him, who had shewed himself to
be such an implacable enemy to him; or they might
have some knowledge of the history of the Jews, and
of what wonderful things God often did for them, in
defeating the designs of their enemies, and in raising
them up from a low to an high estate.
Ver. 14. And while they were yet talking with him,
&c.] About these things, and giving their opinion of
the issue of them, upon the present appearance of
them: came the king's chamberlains, and hasted to bring
Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared;
the time appointed for it being very near, or quite
up, and Haman being backward and dilatory, hav-
ing no stomach to go to it, and perhaps fearing
worse things were coming upon him he should hear of
there.

ESTHER, being solicited by the king to tell him
her petition, asks for her life and the lives of her peo-
ple, who were sold to be destroyed, ver. 1--4. the
king, amazed at her request, inquires who was the
person that dared to do so vile a thing; and was told
by her it was Haman there present, ver. 5, 6. on
which the king went out into the garden in wrath,
and, returning, found Haman on Esther's bed, which
still more incensed him; and being told that Haman
had prepared a gallows for Mordecai, the king ordered
that he himself should be hanged upon it, which was
done accordingly, vet. 7--10.
Ver. 1. So the king and Haman came to banquet with
Esther the queen.] Or, to drink with her{e}, that is,
wine; for in the next verse it is called a banquet of
wine; so they did according to the invitation the
queen had given them, ch. v. 8.
Ver. 2. And the king said again to Esther on the se-
cond day, at the banquet of wine, &c.] This was the
third time he put the following question to her, being
very desirous of knowing what she had to ask of him;
and it was of God that this was kept upon his mind,
and he was moved to solicit her petition, or otherwise
it would not have been so easy for her to have intro-
duced it: what is thy petition, Queen Esther ? and it
shall be granted thee: and what is thy request ? and it
shall be performed, even to the half of my kingdom;
see ch. v. 3, 6.
Ver. 3. Then Esther the queen answered and said,
&c.] Not rolling herself at the king's knees, as Se-


{c} Plutarch in Demosthene.
{d} See more instances in Lively's Chronology of the Persian mon-
archy, p. 18, 19.
{e} \^twtvl\^ ut biberent, V. L. Tigurine version; ad bibendum, Pagni-
nus, Montanus, Drusius, Vatablus.