The Meaning of Esther 6:4 Explained

Esther 6:4

KJV: And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

YLT: And the king saith, 'Who is in the court?' -- and Haman hath come in to the outer court of the house of the king, to say to the king to hang Mordecai on the tree that he had prepared for him --

Darby: And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak to the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

ASV: And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king's house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the king  said,  Who [is] in the court?  Now Haman  was come  into the outward  court  of the king's  house,  to speak  unto the king  to hang  Mordecai  on the gallows  that he had prepared  for him. 

What does Esther 6:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Esther 6:1-14 - Gratitude For A Forgotten Service
There was a divine providence in this royal sleeplessness. On the very next night Haman would be hanging on the gallows, and it would be too late for him to render this honor to the hated Jew. Therefore, on this night the king must be reminded of a forgotten incident, must ask if the chivalrous informant had been rewarded, and must, through Haman, decree his splendid reward. When we are suffering indignity at the hand of our enemies, who seem to pass out of our lives without making reparation, let us turn to this story, and remember that as honor came to Mordecai through Haman, so honor and reparation shall accrue through the very circumstances and people that seem most threatening. The wrath of man is made to praise God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Esther 6

1  Xerxes, reading of the good service done by Mordecai, takes care for his reward
4  Haman, coming to ask that Mordecai might be hanged,
10  gives counsel that he might do him honor
12  Complaining of this, his friends tell him of his final destiny

What do the individual words in Esther 6:4 mean?

So said the king who [is] in the court now Haman had [just] entered court of palace of the king the outer to suggest that the king hang - Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מִ֣י ؟ בֶחָצֵ֑ר וְהָמָ֣ן בָּ֗א לַחֲצַ֤ר בֵּית־ הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הַחִ֣יצוֹנָ֔ה לֵאמֹ֣ר לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לִתְלוֹת֙ אֶֽת־ מָרְדֳּכַ֔י עַל־ הָעֵ֖ץ אֲשֶׁר־ הֵכִ֥ין לֽוֹ

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר  So  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
؟ בֶחָצֵ֑ר  [is]  in  the  court 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: חָצֵר 
Sense: court, enclosure.
וְהָמָ֣ן  now  Haman 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: הָמָן  
Sense: chief minister of Ahasuerus, enemy of Mordecai and the Jews, who plotted to kill the Jews but, being foiled by Esther, was hanged, with his family, on the gallows he had made for Mordecai.
בָּ֗א  had  [just]  entered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לַחֲצַ֤ר  court 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common singular construct
Root: חָצֵר 
Sense: court, enclosure.
בֵּית־  of  palace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙  of  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
הַחִ֣יצוֹנָ֔ה  the  outer 
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular
Root: חִיצֹון  
Sense: outer, external, outward.
לֵאמֹ֣ר  to  suggest 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לַמֶּ֔לֶךְ  that  the  king 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
לִתְלוֹת֙  hang 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: תָּלָה  
Sense: to hang.
אֶֽת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מָרְדֳּכַ֔י  Mordecai 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָרְדֳּכַי  
Sense: cousin and adoptive father of queen Esther; son of Jair of the tribe of Benjamin; deliverer under Divine providence of the children of Israel from the destruction plotted by Haman the chief minister of Ahasuerus; institutor of the feast of Purim.
הָעֵ֖ץ  the  gallows 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
אֲשֶׁר־  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הֵכִ֥ין  he  had  prepared 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כּוּן 
Sense: to be firm, be stable, be established.
לֽוֹ  for  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular