When Mordecai learned all that had been done, he tore his garments and clothed himself in sackcloth and ashes. He went into the middle of the city and cried out with a loud and bitter cry.

Haman restrained himself, went to his house, and sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh.

Haman told himself, "Whom would the king desire to honor more than me?" Haman answered the king, "For a man whom the king desires to honor,