Outloud Bible Project Podcast · Mike Domeny

Esther 5-10: Happy Purim!

March 2, 2026·20 min·2 clips

Esther reveals to the king that Haman plans to annihilate the Jews, causing Haman to beg for his life.

1. The Outloud Bible Project podcast, hosted by Mike Dominey with his wife Kelsey voicing Esther, reads chapters 5–10 of the Book of Esther from the New English Translation. 2. Mike Dominey is the primary host; his wife Kelsey serves as a guest voice actor for Esther's dialogue, a format the show uses periodically. 3. The episode asks how a person of faith navigates life when God's visible presence or name is entirely absent — the core theological question embedded in the Book of Esther. 4. The episode was released on March 2nd, which Mike notes coincidentally fell on the Jewish feast of Purim that year — the exact holiday the Book of Esther establishes. 5. Esther implements a two-banquet strategy: she invites King Ahasuerus and Haman to a first banquet but declines to make her request, instead inviting them again the next day — building anticipation and loyalty before her disclosure. 6. On the night between the two banquets, the king is unable to sleep and has historical records read to him, discovering that Mordecai had once exposed an assassination plot against him but was never rewarded. 7. Haman arrives at the palace intending to ask the king to hang Mordecai on a 75-foot gallows he has already built, but the king asks Haman what should be done for a man the king wishes to honor — Haman assumes he means himself and proposes a royal procession. 8. The king then orders Haman to lead Mordecai through the city on a royal horse calling 'So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor' — forcing Haman to publicly honor the man he had planned to execute. 9. At the second banquet, Esther reveals that she is Jewish and that an edict has condemned her people 'to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation'; when the king demands to know who is responsible, she names Haman directly. 10. The king orders Haman hanged on the 75-foot gallows Haman had constructed for Mordecai — a reversal of fortune the text presents as justice. 11. Mordecai is elevated to second-in-command of the Persian Empire, given Haman's estate and the king's signet ring, and allowed to write a counter-edict permitting Jews throughout 127 provinces to defend themselves on the 13th of Adar. 12. The Jews defeat their enemies throughout the empire, killing 500 men in Susa and 75,000 adversaries across the provinces, without confiscating property. 13. Mordecai and Esther institute the annual feast of Purim — named for the 'pur' (lot) Haman cast to choose the date of destruction — to be observed on the 14th and 15th of Adar with feasting, joy, gift-giving, and charity to the poor. 14. Mike observes that God's name does not appear anywhere in the entire Book of Esther — a textual fact he invites listeners to verify themselves. 15. Despite God's textual absence, Mike argues the story shows him 'connecting dots and positioning people in the right times at the right place for the benefit of his people' — Esther's placement as queen, Mordecai's earlier act of loyalty, Haman's downfall. 16. Mike frames this as theological comfort for times when God is not visible in expected ways: the absence of his name in the text does not mean his absence from events. 17. The episode moves between dramatic narration — Kelsey voicing Esther with emotional delivery — and Mike's brief reflective commentary at the end, creating a rhythm of story and interpretation. 18. The tone is reverent and warm, with light encouragement for listeners to download an Echo Discipleship Guide from outloudbible.com to go deeper with application steps. 19. Christians and Jews interested in the narrative arc of Esther and its connection to the Purim celebration will find the full reading plus theological reflection accessible. 20. Listeners who want academic historical analysis of the Persian period or critical scholarship on Esther's authorship and historicity should look elsewhere.

As heard by us

Esther's story is presented as a call to take a concrete next step.

Outloud Bible Project frames Esther as an invitation to understand the Bible and then act on it. Mike Dominey hosts the episode, with Kelsey voicing Esther, and their back-and-forth keeps the tone easy to follow.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for Esther, courage, and a nudge to act on what you hear.

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