Esther 7:5
What does Esther 7:5 mean?
A plain-English look at Esther 7:5 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Esther 7:5 means
King Ahasuerus’s response is immediate and indignant. His questions—“Who is he, and where is he?”—reveal both astonishment and a determination to act. He recognizes that an attack on the queen is an attack on his own authority and household. The phrase “durst presume in his heart” underscores the brazen audacity required to conceive such a crime. The king’s ignorance of the plot’s personal implications now gives way to focused anger. The verse shows that rulers, though sometimes misled, remain accountable to protect the innocent when the truth is brought into the light and framed in terms they cannot ignore.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
KJV
King James Version · 1611Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, Who is he and where is he who has had this evil thought in his heart?
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And the king Ahasuerus saith, yea, he saith to Esther the queen, `Who <FI>is<Fi> he--this one? and where <FI>is<Fi> this one? --he whose heart hath filled him to do so?'
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And king Assuerus answered and said: Who is this, and of what power, that he should do these things?
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And king Ahasuerus spoke and said to Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he that has filled his heart to do so?
Context
This outcry follows Esther’s careful briefing and sets up the climactic identification of the enemy. The king’s twin questions demand a clear answer, placing Esther under an implied oath to name the guilty party. The very next verse answers him directly and unambiguously. Readers should see how the story’s pace quickens: once the magnitude of the evil is felt, the narrative rushes toward exposure and judgment, making the coming reversal feel both inevitable and just.
v.4for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king’s damage.
v.5This passage
v.6And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Job 9:24
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covereth the faces of the judges thereof: Ifit benothe, who then is it?
- Genesis 27:33
And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
- Acts 5:3
But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?