The Meaning of Esther 6:6 Explained

Esther 6:6

KJV: So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?

YLT: And Haman cometh in, and the king saith to him, 'What -- to do with the man in whose honour the king hath delighted?' And Haman saith in his heart, 'To whom doth the king delight to do honour more than myself?'

Darby: So Haman came in. And the king said to him, What is to be done with the man whom the king delights to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to me?

ASV: So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman said in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honor more than to myself?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

So Haman  came in.  And the king  said  unto him, What shall be done  unto the man  whom the king  delighteth  to honour?  Now Haman  thought  in his heart,  To whom would the king  delight  to do  honour  more  than to myself? 

What does Esther 6:6 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 6:6 mean?

So came in Haman and asked him the king what shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor and thought in his heart Whom would delight to honor more than me
וַיָּבוֹא֮ הָמָן֒ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מַה־ לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת בָּאִ֕ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ חָפֵ֣ץ ؟ בִּיקָר֑וֹ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר בְּלִבּ֔וֹ לְמִ֞י יַחְפֹּ֥ץ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת יְקָ֖ר יוֹתֵ֥ר מִמֶּֽנִּי

וַיָּבוֹא֮  So  came  in 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הָמָן֒  Haman 
Parse: 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.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  and  asked 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת  shall  be  done 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
בָּאִ֕ישׁ  for  the  man 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
חָפֵ֣ץ  delights 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָפֵץ 
Sense: to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with.
؟ בִּיקָר֑וֹ  to  honor 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יְקָר  
Sense: price, value, preciousness, honour, splendour, pomp.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  and  thought 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
בְּלִבּ֔וֹ  in  his  heart 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
לְמִ֞י  Whom 
Parse: Preposition-l, Interrogative
Root: מִי  
Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
יַחְפֹּ֥ץ  would  delight 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָפֵץ 
Sense: to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with.
יְקָ֖ר  honor 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְקָר  
Sense: price, value, preciousness, honour, splendour, pomp.
יוֹתֵ֥ר  more  than 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄותֵר  
Sense: superiority, advantage, excess adv.
מִמֶּֽנִּי  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.