"Whom The King Delighteth To Honor"
Context: Ahasuerus, reigning monarch from India to Ethiopia, unable to sleep one evening, orders his book of chronicles read to him. Hearing of the bravery of Mordecai in reporting a plot of two of the king's eunuchs against his life, Ahasuerus ascertains from his servants that Mordecai has never been honored for this service. Haman, a recently appointed court official, happens just to have entered the palace with the intention of petitioning the king to hang Mordecai, who, being a strict Jew, refuses to bow down as Haman passes. The king summons Haman, intending discreetly to seek his advice for honoring Mordecai:
. . . What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself:
And Haman answered. . . .
Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head:
. . . that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him. . . .
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