« | Esther 5 | » |
1 Now it came to pass on the third day that Esther put on her royal apparel and stood in the inner court of the king's house, opposite the king's house; and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, opposite the gate of the house.
2 And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near and touched the top of the scepter.
3 Then said the king unto her, "What wish thou, Queen Esther? And what is thy request? It shall be even given thee, to the half of the kingdom."
4 And Esther answered, "If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him."
5 Then the king said, "Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Esther hath said." So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, "What is thy petition? And it shall be granted thee. And what is thy request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed."
7 Then answered Esther and said, "My petition and my request is:
8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king hath said."
9 Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.
10 Nevertheless Haman refrained himself; and when he came home, he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife.
11 And Haman told them of the glory of his riches and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king.
12 Haman said moreover, "Yea, Esther the queen let no man but myself come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared, and tomorrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."
14 Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, "Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and tomorrow speak thou unto the king, that Mordecai may be hanged thereon. Then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet." And the thing pleased Haman, and he caused the gallows to be made.
About: The 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
The 21st Century King James Version (KJ21) is an updated version of the King James Version Bible published in 1994 that remains aligned to the Textus Receptus, and does not exclude biblical passages based on Alexandrian Greek manuscripts. Unlike the New King James Version, it does not change the language significantly from the 1611 King James Version, keeping Jacobean grammar (including thee and thou), but it tries to substitute some of the vocabulary that may not be understood by the modern reader.
The alterations in words are based on the second edition of the Webster New International Dictionary. There were no changes related to gender or theology. Recently, it has the capitalization of pronouns much like New King James Version, addressing Deity while keeping the archaic pronouns.
The reader should notice almost no difference from reading the King James Version except that certain archaic words have been replaced with words that are more understandable in modern English. The translation is directed towards readers who are looking for a very conservative King James update, but reduce the use of obsolete words.