Haman's Plot

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on The Chosen People. 00:00:02 Speaker 2: It is the Jews, my king. Their laws are different from everyone else's, and they don't obey the king's laws. It is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If the king approves, let an order be drawn up authorizing their destruction. 00:00:20 Speaker 1: The city of Susa stirred with whispers, but at the city gate, whispers had turned to wails. 00:00:28 Speaker 3: Was it my defiance of Haman that condemned us all? Did my boldness doom countless lives? 00:00:36 Speaker 2: After years of hiding. 00:00:37 Speaker 3: My heritage, did my stubbornness give a madman the excuse he craved? Or would he have sought blood regardless? 00:00:47 Speaker 4: Then what should I do? If I stay silent, I may save my own life. But what of my cousin? What of my people? Could I truly live with myself if I don't try to go before my husband and beg him to change his mind? You were placed here for such a time as this. 00:01:10 Speaker 1: Esther's breath trembled in her chest. She felt the weight of nations on her shoulders. Haman's head buzzed with wine and self-importance. The queen herself had invited him to dine twice. No man was closer to the throne than he. Every noble and attendant in Persia bowed low in his presence, their admiration like incense rising before him. He burst through the palace doors into the cool night air. The moon climbed high over the city, and people still milled about, enjoying the relief from the day's heat. Every guard, scribe and courtier he passed stooped low, as they should. He drank in their reverence like fine wine, but as he neared the city gate, his steps slowed. There sat Mordecai, sackcloth still draped his shoulders, ash smeared across his brow, both signs of mourning for his pitiful people. But his posture was straight, his gaze calm and unyielding. 00:02:29 Speaker 2: And still you do not bow. 00:02:33 Speaker 1: Mordecai met his gaze, steel forged in desperation and faith. 00:02:39 Speaker 3: Why would I bow now? 00:02:41 Speaker 2: My posture will not change our fate. 00:02:45 Speaker 1: Haman's eyes darkened, his fury sparking, but instead of lashing out, a slow, cruel smile curled across his face. His right hand clenched around the heavy signet ring, the engraved gold biting into his palm. With a single twist, pressed into warm wax, he could end this man's life. He could end thousands. He had done it before. He would do it again. 00:03:13 Speaker 2: Oh, but there are a hundred different ways a condemned man can die. Do not fret, Mordecai, the Jew. You will not need to wait long to meet your fate. 00:03:28 Speaker 1: Mordecai remained motionless, his haunted eyes steady. Any other man might have shivered at the sight, but not Haman. Instead, it stoked the fire already smoldering in his veins. He spun on his heel and stormed toward the stables, striking the slow-moving stable boy across the ear as he brought his horse around. Once mounted, He drove his heels into the horse's sides. It shrieked and bolted beneath him, tearing down the streets, scattering nighttime stragglers in his wake. As he rode, Haman muttered darkly. 00:04:08 Speaker 5: He must be made an example. His death must be public and, most importantly, brutal. Let all Jews know my word sealed with the king's ring is law. I will not be mocked. I will not be undermined. 00:04:28 Speaker 1: At his estate, he barked orders for his friends to be summoned despite the late hour. Within minutes, they gathered in his grand dining room. Haman twisted the king's signet ring on his finger, admiring the power it represented. Servants poured wine. Laughter rang out. but it was forced and shallow. Haman regaled them, clinging to the illusion of control and his own self-importance. 00:04:57 Speaker 2: I alone dined with the king and queen today. I alone am invited again tomorrow. Ah, no man is more honored. Hear, hear! 00:05:10 Speaker 6: Among the great! 00:05:12 Speaker 2: A toast. 00:05:12 Speaker 3: He is second only to the king, but his wine is second to none. 00:05:19 Speaker 1: Laughter followed, but Haman's smile faltered, and the mood in the room shifted dangerously. The memory of Mordecai gnawed at him. He slammed his goblet down, wine sloshing over the rim. 00:05:35 Speaker 2: Yet none of it satisfies, as long as that Jew sits at the gate. 00:05:44 Speaker 1: His wife, Zeresh, leaned forward and grasped his forearm, her voice soothing and her eyes full of manic devotion. 00:05:53 Speaker 7: Then remove him. Do it tomorrow before the queen's banquet so you can put the matter from your mind. You are Lord Haman. You hold the king's signet ring and speak with his authority. Have a gallows built tomorrow, high enough for all of Susa to see. Hang him there in the morning and go to the banquet with peace in your heart. 00:06:18 Speaker 1: The friends nodded in agreement. The suggestion pleased Haman. His eyes glittered with malice. I will see that it is done. Before dawn, the hammers rang out. Workers gathered heavy timbers, building a gallows that reached toward the sky, 75 feet high, casting long shadows over the sleeping city. The birds had not yet begun to sing, but the sound of iron striking wood echoed across Susa, a grim herald of what was to come. That same night, the night of Queen Esther's banquet, the palace was quiet. but King Xerxes could not sleep. He tossed and turned beneath fine linen sheets, but the weight of luxury offered no comfort. His mind churned. Perhaps it was too much wine, too much excess, some other reason, the hand of fate decreeing that sleep evade him on this night of all nights. Outside his windows, the faint clang of hammers echoed in the distance, her gallows rising in the darkness. though he knew nothing of it yet. He sat up with a groan and shouted for attendance. 00:07:36 Speaker 6: Bring the royal records. Read them to me. 00:07:41 Speaker 1: The scribe arrived, looking sleep-deprived, but dutifully unrolled a few scrolls by candlelight. His voice droned on, listing victories, tributes, taxes, until a line caught the king's ear. 00:07:56 Speaker 7: On the seventh day of the month, Two royal guards conspired against the king. 00:08:00 Speaker 4: The plot was uncovered and reported by Mordecai. 00:08:03 Speaker 1: Xerxes held up a hand to stop the scribe from going further, as he recalled this event from five years ago. 00:08:10 Speaker 7: Ah, yes. 00:08:14 Speaker 6: The man Mordecai found a way to get a message to me through Esther. 00:08:19 Speaker 1: Xerxes smiled at the thought of Esther. 00:08:22 Speaker 6: My young queen is full of surprises, isn't she? I must remember to thank her for her role in uncovering that plot when I see her this evening, when she makes her request. What honor or reward was given to the man? 00:08:37 Speaker 1: The scribe shuffled anxiously through the scrolls, his brow furrowing. None, my king. 00:08:45 Speaker 4: Nothing has been recorded about a reward. 00:08:47 Speaker 1: Xerxes scowled, perplexed, and ran a hand through his hair. 00:08:52 Speaker 6: That will not stand. A man saves the king's life and is forgotten. I cannot abide such an oversight. Inviting the wrath of the gods, no less. It is most fortuitous that I found such an error. 00:09:08 Speaker 1: King Xerxes then dismissed the scribe and summoned his attendants to help him dress. He knew there would be no finding sleep after such a discovery. And beyond the palace walls, the sound of hammers continued. 00:09:23 Speaker 2: Steady. 00:09:24 Speaker 5: Ominous. 00:09:27 Speaker 1: At dawn, Haman swept into the palace courtyard, his mind set and his heart straining at the thought of revenge with cruel satisfaction. Today, Mordecai would hang, and he would arrive at the queen's banquet with peace in his heart and vengeance in his hand. But before he could summon the royal guards to command them to carry out the execution, A voice called from the palace steps. It was his old friend, or pawn, Memucan. There was a curiously devious smile across his face, which Haman mistook as admiration. 00:10:05 Speaker 2: Ah, Lord Haman, my old friend.' The king has been notified of your arrival at court. 00:10:14 Speaker 3: He wishes you to attend to him right away. 00:10:18 Speaker 2: He has specifically sought out your advice over all others. 00:10:23 Speaker 1: Haman nodded graciously to Mamukon, more for show than earnest respect for the man. Haman had long considered the old eunuch to have served his purpose on his rise to the top, but was needed no more. The king's eunuch was just one of many discarded by Haman on his ruthless ascent. Haman sighed. His plans of execution would have to wait. 00:10:50 Speaker 2: Of course, I won't keep him waiting. Did he tire of your advice, Lord Mimucan? It appears he requires the advice of a real man, after all. 00:11:00 Speaker 1: Haman watched with vindictive delight as Mimucan's smile tightened with restraint at the slight. Haman laughed as he brushed past. Moments later, Haman stood at the door of the king's audience chamber... and saw the king accepting a silver goblet and plucking grapes from the vine on a gilded tray. Zerxes fumbled for the golden scepter leaning against his throne and hastily extended it toward Haman. Haman straightened his robes and entered the king's chamber, bowing deeply, his smile fixed and smug. The king sat forward. his expression thoughtful, almost eager. 00:11:47 Speaker 6: Tell me, Aman, what should be done for the man the king delights to honor? 00:11:53 Speaker 1: Haman's heart surged. Today was really turning around from the night before. His breath quickened as he drew closer to the throne. 00:12:03 Speaker 2: How else would the king honor me? What other honor could he bestow upon me that I don't already have? For who else could it be? Who else would the king wish to honor but me? 00:12:15 Speaker 1: But aloud he chose his words with care, adopting what he assumed sounded like plausible humility, savoring each suggestion. 00:12:25 Speaker 2: Ah, well, for the man the king wants to honor, he should bring a royal garment that the king himself has worn, and a horse the king himself has ridden, adorned with a royal crown on his head, eh? put the garment and the horse under the charge of one of the king's most noble officials. Have them clothe the man the king wants to honor. Parade him on the horse through the city square. Call out before him, this is what is done for the man the king wants to honor. 00:13:05 Speaker 1: Xerxes smiled, pleased. 00:13:07 Speaker 6: Excellent, Harry, and do just as you proposed. For Mordecai the Jew who sits at the city gate. Take my own garment and a horse from my stables for him. 00:13:18 Speaker 3: And you. 00:13:20 Speaker 6: You should be the man who leads the honorary parade. For who is more noble or respected than you? Do not delay. And do not leave out anything you suggested. 00:13:31 Speaker 4: I love it. 00:13:32 Speaker 3: Go. 00:13:33 Speaker 1: The words struck like a hammer blow. Haman's vision blurred. His stomach twisted. His mouth went dry. He struggled to breathe, to respond, but the weight of humiliation pinned him to the floor. But then he remembered himself and where he was. He bowed before his king. He could do nothing else. 00:13:57 Speaker 2: Yes, my king. 00:14:01 Speaker 1: A short while later, the streets of Susa buzzed with whispers. Crowds pressed in. leaning against market stalls and stone walls, craning their necks to see the spectacle. And there it was, Haman, the king's highest official, walking ahead of the royal horse, leading it by gilded reins. The whispers turned to gasps. The very man who had sought Mordecai's death was now parading him through the city streets. Everyone knew by now The towering gallows outside Haman's estate had been built for Mordecai, and now Haman walked ahead of the king's own horse with his enemy seated high above in glory. Haman's robes dragged in the dust, while Mordecai's were pristinely spread across the horse's hindquarters. Haman's face burned hot with humiliation, and though it felt like swallowing glass, he forced himself to cry out the very words he had offered so confidently that morning. 00:15:13 Speaker 2: This is what is done for the man the king delights to honour. 00:15:17 Speaker 1: Street after street, corner after corner, he repeated it until the words lost meaning, until his voice was raw, until he felt empty and exposed. Mordecai, on the other hand, sat tall atop the king's own horse, draped in royal robes, his posture straight, his expression calm and composed. He did not gloat. He did not glance down at Haman. He did not have to. His gaze remained fixed ahead, dignified, resolute. Now, confident at this reversal of fate, that the god of his people was working out his people's rescue. Children whispered. Merchants stared. The mighty Haman was reduced to a herald for the man he despised. Haman could feel the weight of every gaze, every whisper scraped against his pride like a blade. Afterward, Haman returned home in silence, his head covered in shame, his expression hollow. The grand estate that once echoed with laughter and celebration now felt cold and cavernous. Servants hurried past with lowered eyes. The wine sat untouched. His wife, Zeresh, and his closest friends gathered, but the confidence that once filled their voices had vanished after what they had witnessed in the streets. They had seen him, the king's highest official, reduced to a herald for the man he despised. No one spoke. At last, Zeresh broke the silence. Her voice was low, cold, and weighted with something deeper than fear, superstition. 00:17:16 Speaker 7: If Mordecai is of the Jewish people, and you have already begun to fall before him, then this is not chance. This is something greater. You will not overcome him. Your downfall has already begun. 00:17:33 Speaker 1: Her words hung in the air like a curse, like fate. In that moment, Haman knew. The winds had shifted, and the rope he had ordered was tightening around his own neck. Outside, the gallows loomed in the midday sun, a monument to pride, an omen of doom. The trap was set. but not for the man it was built for. This PrayDogCon production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Schelleberger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, You can hear more Prey.com productions on the Prey.com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review.