If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.
If it pleases the king, let it be written as law that they may be destroyed. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the officials who carry out this business, to be put into the king's treasury.
Haman is offering the king a massive bribe to legalize the destruction of the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire.
📚 Historical Context
In the Book of Esther, set in the Persian Empire during the reign of King Ahasuerus, Haman, a high-ranking official and Agagite, harbors deep animosity toward the Jews because Mordecai, a Jewish exile, refuses to bow to him as demanded by Persian custom. Haman proposes a decree to annihilate all Jews in the empire and offers to pay ten thousand talents of silver from his own funds to the king's treasuries to cover the costs of this genocide, reflecting the bureaucratic and financial mechanisms of the Persian administration. This plot underscores the historical vulnerability of the Jewish people in exile, facing threats from powerful figures in a foreign land.
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