To be destroyed , to be slain - She here repeats the words which Haman put into the decree. See Esther 3:13 . Could not countervail the king ' s damage - Even the ten thousand talents of silver could not be considered as a compensation to the state for the loss of a whole nation of people throughout all their generations. read more
Who is he , and where is he - There is a wonderful abruptness and confusion in the original words, highly expressive of the state of mind in which the king then was: כן לעשות לבו מלאו אשר הוא זה ואי זה הוא מי mi hu zeh veey zeh hu asher melao libbo laasoth ken . "Who? He? This one? And where? This one? He? Who hath filled his heart to do thus?" He was at once struck with the horrible nature of a conspiracy so cruel and diabolic. read more
Haman stood up - He rose from the table to make request for his life, as soon as the king had gone out; and then he fell on his knees before the queen, she still sitting upon her couch. read more
Will he force the queen - On the king's return he found him at the queen's knees; and, professing to think that he intended to do violence to her honor, used the above expressions; though he must have known that, in such circumstances, the thought of perpetrating an act of this kind could not possibly exist. They covered Haman ' s face - This was a sign of his being devoted to death: for the attendants saw that the king was determined on his destruction. When a criminal... read more
Behold also , the gallows - As if he had said, Besides all he has determined to do to the Jews, he has erected a very high gallows, on which he had determined, this very day, to hang Mordecai, who has saved the king's life. Hang him thereon - Let him be instantly impaled on the same post. "Harm watch, harm catch," says the proverb. Perillus was the first person burnt alive in the brazen bull which he had made for the punishment of others; hence the poet said: - - Nec lex est... read more
Accused and convicted. I. TARNISHED GILT . Haman would hardly go "merrily" to Esther's second banquet. His heart would be heavy with the day s disappointments, and his ears would be haunted with the gloomy vaticinations of his friends. The glory of the honour which had so inflated him was dimmed. Worldly delights that are ardently anticipated may be robbed of their promise even before they are touched. II. WHETTED CURIOSITY . The king's desire to hear Esther's petition grew... read more
A crisis, a plea, and a deliverance. We have here— 1 . A most serious crisis. "So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen" (verse 1). The culminating point in this great issue is now reached. The lives of the chosen people of God throughout all Persia, in all her provinces, hang on this interview between an arbitrary sovereign, his wife, and his minister. Except the wife shall prevail over the crafty and all-powerful statesman, the race must die by one cruel blow. ... read more
Let my life be given me , etc. First of all, I ask at the king's hands my own life, which is threatened ( Esther 4:13 ); secondly, I ask the life of my people, in whose sentence it is that I am involved. Some rhetorical skill is shown in separating the two, so as to make them correspond to the two clauses of the king's address ''What is thy petition?" and "What is thy request?" read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 7:3
Let my life be given me - This was very artfully, as well as very honestly, managed; and was highly calculated to work on the feelings of the king. What! is the life of the queen, whom I most tenderly love, in any kind of danger? read more