Esther 7 · Verse 3

Esther 7:3

Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
Esther 7:3, King James Version

Esther 7:3 in other translations

BSBQueen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my request.
WEBThen Esther the queen answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.
ASVThen Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
YLTAnd Esther the queen answereth and saith, ‘If I have found grace in thine eyes, O king, and if to the king it be good, let my life be given to me at my petition, and my people at my request;
DARBYAnd Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found grace in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request;
BBEThen Esther the queen, answering, said, If I have your approval, O king, and if it is the king's pleasure, let my life be given to me in answer to my prayer, and my people at my request:
WebsterThen Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it shall please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:

What does Esther 7:3 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 Let my life be given me - This was very artfully, as well as very honestly, managed; and was highly calculated to work on the feelings of the king. What! is the life of the queen, whom I most tenderly love, in any kind of danger?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Esther 7:1-6

If the love of life causes earnest pleadings with those that can only kill the body, how fervent should our prayers be to Him, who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell! How should we pray for the salvation of our relatives, friends, and all around us! When we petition great men, we must be cautious not to give them offence; even just complaints must often be kept back. But when we approach the King of kings…

Read the full comment on Esther 7:1-6 →

Esther 7:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתַּ֨עַןva.Ta.'anand she answeredH6030
אֶסְתֵּ֤ר'es.TerEstherH635
הַמַּלְכָּה֙ha.mal.Kahthe queenH4436
וַתֹּאמַ֔רva.to.Marand she saidH559
אִם\־'im-ifH518
מָצָ֨אתִיma.Tza.tiI have foundH4672
חֵ֤ןchenfavorH2580
בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙be.'ei.Nei.khain view yourH5869
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְha.Me.lekhO kingH4428
וְאִם\־ve.'im-and ifH518
עַל\־'al-[is] onH5921
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
ט֑וֹבTovgoodH2896
תִּנָּֽתֶן\־ti.na.ten-let it be givenH5414
לִ֤יlito me
נַפְשִׁי֙naf.Shilife myH5315
בִּשְׁאֵ֣לָתִ֔יbish.'E.la.Tifor petition myH7596
וְעַמִּ֖יve.'a.Miand people myH5971
בְּבַקָּשָׁתִֽי\׃be.va.ka.sha.Tifor request myH1246

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Esther 7:3

  • Jeremiah 38:26

    Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.

  • Job 2:4

    And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

  • Esther 7:7

    And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.

  • Psalms 122:6-9

    Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good.

  • 2 Kings 1:13

    And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.

  • 1 Kings 20:31

    And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.

  • Esther 4:8

    Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.

  • Esther 5:8

    If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
let my life.
7; 1Ki 20:31; 2Ki 1:13; Job 2:4; Jer 38:26
my people.
4:8; Ps 122:6-9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Esther 7:2

    And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.

  • Esther 7:3

    Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:

  • Esther 7:4

    For 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 tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.

Read all of Esther 7

Esther 7:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces la reina Esther respondió y dijo: Oh rey, si he hallado gracia en tus ojos, y si al rey place, séame dada mi vida por mi petición, y mi pueblo por mi demanda.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et la reine Esther répondit et dit: Si j’ai trouvé faveur à tes yeux, ô roi, et si le roi le trouve bon, qu’à ma demande il m’accorde ma vie, et mon peuple à ma requête!
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da antwortete die Königin Esther und sprach: Wenn ich Gnade gefunden habe in deinen Augen, o König, und wenn es den König gut dünkt, so möge mir mein Leben geschenkt werden um meiner Bitte willen, und mein Volk um meines Begehrs willen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ad quem illa respondit: Si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis o rex, et si tibi placet, dona mihi animam meam pro qua rogo, et populum meum pro quo obsecro.