Esther 8:5

5 and said, If it pleaseth the king, and if I have found grace before his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech, that the eld letters of Haman, the traitor, and enemy of Jews, by which he had commanded them to perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended by new letters; (and she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech thee, that the old letters of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, by which he had commanded that all the Jews perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended with new letters;)

Esther 8:5 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 8:5

And said, if it please the king, and if I have found favour in
his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing
in his eyes
This heap of phrases, which signify much the same thing, are used to work upon the king's affections, and to show how submissive she was to his will:

let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of
Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which
are in all the king's provinces.
She wisely takes no notice of any concern the king had in them, but suggests as that she looked upon them as forged by Haman, who put the king's name and seal to them, without his knowledge and consent.

Esther 8:5 In-Context

3 And Esther was not appeased with these things, and felled down to the feet of the king, and wept, and spake to him, and prayed, that he should command the malice of Haman of (the kindred of) Agag, and his worst casts, which he had thought out against the Jews, to be made void. (But Esther was not yet appeased with these things, and she fell down at the king's feet, and wept, and spoke to him, and begged him, that he would command that the malice of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, and his evil plans, that he had plotted against the Jews, be stopped.)

4 And the king by custom held forth the golden rod of the king with his hand, by which the token of his mercy was showed. And then Esther rose up, and stood before the king, (And, as by custom, the king held forth the king's gold sceptre with his hand, by which the token of his mercy was shown. And then Esther rose up, and stood before the king,)

5 and said, If it pleaseth the king, and if I have found grace before his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech, that the eld letters of Haman, the traitor, and enemy of Jews, by which he had commanded them to perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended by new letters; (and she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech thee, that the old letters of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, by which he had commanded that all the Jews perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended with new letters;)

6 for how shall I be able to suffer the death, and the slaying, of my people? (for how shall I be able to endure the slaughter, and the death, of my own people?)

7 And king Ahasuerus answered to Esther, the queen, and to Mordecai, the Jew, and said, I have granted the house of Haman to Esther, the queen, and I commanded him to be hanged on the cross, for-thy that he was hardy to set hand against the Jews. (And King Ahasuerus answered to Queen Esther, and to Mordecai, the Jew, and said, I have given Haman's house to Queen Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows, because he was so foolhardy as to put his hand against the Jews, that is, to threaten their lives.)