Esther 7:1-4

Esther’s Petition to the King

Then the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen. 2 And the king said to Esther on the second day also ¹as they drank their wine at the feast, “^aWhat is ²your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be given you. And what is ³your request? ^bEven to half of the kingdom it shall be done.” 3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “^aIf I have found favor in your eyes, O king, and if it seems good to the king, let my life be given to me as ¹my petition, and my people as ²my request; 4 for ^awe have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, ^bto be killed, and to be caused to perish. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the ¹adversity would not be worth the ²annoyance to the king.”