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14 Haman’s[a] wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows 75 feet[b] high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.”[c]

It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.

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Footnotes

  1. Esther 5:14 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  2. Esther 5:14 tn Heb “50 cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about 75 feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”
  3. Esther 5:14 tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”

14 His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits,[a](A) and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled(B) on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.

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Footnotes

  1. Esther 5:14 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters