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Esther Chapter
Four
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Esther 4:1. When Mordecai
learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and
ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and
bitter cry.
YLT 1And Mordecai hath known all
that hath been done, and Mordecai rendeth his garments, and putteth on
sackcloth and ashes, and goeth forth into the midst of the city and crieth -- a
cry loud and bitter,
When Mordecai
perceived all that was done,....
By the king, at the
instigation of Haman, against the Jews; which he came to the knowledge of,
either by some of the conflicts or by common fame, or on the sight of the
edicts which were published in Shushan; though the Jews think it was made known
to him in a supernatural way, either by Elijah, as the former TargumF24So
Midrash Esther, fol. 94. 1. , or by the Holy Ghost, as the latter:
Mordecai rent
his clothes:
both behind and before,
according to the same Targum; and this was a custom used in mourning, not only
with the Jews, but with the Persians also, as HerodotusF25Thalia,
sive, l. 3. c. ----. Urania, sive, l. 8. c. 99. relates:
and put on
sackcloth with ashes;
upon his head, as the
former Targum; which was usual in mourning, even both; Job 2:12
and went out
into the midst of the city;
not Elam the province, as
Aben Ezra, but the city Shushan:
and cried with
a loud and bitter cry;
that all the Jews in the
city might be alarmed by it, and inquire the reason of it, and be affected with
it; and a clamorous mournful noise was used among the Persians, as well as
others, on sad occasionsF26Calliope, sive, l. 9. c. 24. .
Esther 4:2. 2 He
went as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the
king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
YLT 2and he cometh in unto the
front of the gate of the king, but none is to come in unto the gate of the king
with a sackcloth-garment.
And came even
before the king's gate,....
Or court, that Esther
might if possible be made acquainted with this dreadful calamity coming upon
her people:
for none might
enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth:
or appear in such a dress
at court, where nothing was admitted to damp the pleasures of it.
Esther 4:3. 3 And
in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was
great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay
in sackcloth and ashes.
YLT 3And in every province and
province, the place where the word of the king, even his law, is coming, a
great mourning have the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and lamenting:
sackcloth and ashes are spread for many.
And in every
province whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came,....
For destroying the Jews on
such a day, in every place where they were to be found:
there was great
mourning among the Jews, and weeping, and wailing;
which continued all day:
and many lay in
sackcloth and ashes:
all night; made use of no
other bed to lie on, nor clothes to cover them with.
Esther 4:4. 4 So
Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was deeply
distressed. Then she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and take his sackcloth
away from him, but he would not accept them.
YLT 4And young women of Esther
come in and her eunuchs, and declare [it] to her, and the queen is exceedingly
pained, and sendeth garments to clothe Mordecai, and to turn aside his
sackcloth from off him, and he hath not received [them].
So Esther's
maids and her chamberlains came and told it her,....
Her maids of honour and
eunuchs that attended her, which they might tell her merely as a piece of news,
there being something shocking in it to tender minds; or perhaps nothing more than
that Mordecai was in sackcloth; and they might have observed, by some incident
or another, that there was some connection between Mordecai and Esther, and
that she had a peculiar respect for him:
then was the
queen exceedingly grieved;
even though she might not
know the whole of the matter; but perceiving whatever it was it greatly
affected Mordecai, with whom she sympathized:
and she sent
raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him;
that so he might appear at
court, and she get better intelligence of the cause of all this:
but he received
it not;
refusing to be comforted,
or appear cheerful under such melancholy circumstances.
Esther 4:5. 5 Then
Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs whom he had appointed
to attend her, and she gave him a command concerning Mordecai, to learn what
and why this was.
YLT 5And Esther calleth to
Hatach, of the eunuchs of the king, whom he hath stationed before her, and
giveth him a charge for Mordecai, to know what this [is], and wherefore this
[is].
Then called
Esther for Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to
attend upon her,....
Which, according to the
Targum, was DanielF1So Midrash Esther, fol. 94. 3. & Jarchi in
Dan. iv. 5. ; but it is not likely that Daniel should have lived to this time;
however, this officer was not only intrusted with the care of the queen by the
king, but she had also an high opinion of him, and therefore employed him in
this affair:
and gave a
commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was;
what was the reason of his
appearing in sackcloth, and why he did not receive the clothes she sent him.
Esther 4:6. 6 So
Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the
king’s gate.
YLT 6And Hatach goeth out unto
Mordecai, unto a broad place of the city, that [is] before the gate of the
king,
So Hatach went
forth to Mordecai, unto the street of the city,....
Where he was, in a public
manner, expressing his grief and sorrow:
which was
before the king's gate:
that led to the royal
palace.
Esther 4:7. 7 And
Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the sum of money that Haman
had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries to destroy the Jews.
YLT 7and Mordecai declareth to
him all that hath met him, and the explanation of the money that Haman said to
weigh to the treasuries of the king for the Jews, to destroy them,
And Mordecai
told him of all that had happened unto him,....
How that, for refusing to
reverence Haman, he was incensed against him, and against all the Jews for his
sake; and had vowed revenge on them, and had formed a scheme for the ruin of
them:
and of the sum
of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews,
to destroy them
the 10,000 talents of
silver he proposed to pay into the king's exchequer in lieu of the Jews'
tribute; which Mordecai observes, to show how bent he was upon the destruction
of the Jews, and cared not what it cost him to gain his point; and perhaps
Mordecai as yet might not know that the king had remitted it.
Esther 4:8. 8 He
also gave him a copy of the written decree for their destruction, which was
given at Shushan, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her, and
that he might command her to go in to the king to make supplication to him and
plead before him for her people.
YLT 8and the copy of the writing
of the law that had been given in Shushan to destroy them he hath given to him,
to shew Esther, and to declare [it] to her, and to lay a charge on her to go in
unto the king, to make supplication to him, and to seek from before him, for
her people.
Also he gave
him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy
them,....
Which had now been
published in the city; by which means Mordecai had had a sight of it, and had
transcribed it; see Esther 3:14
to show it unto
Esther, and to declare it unto her;
what Haman intended
against the people of the Jews; as the Targum adds:
and to charge
her;
in his name; whose charges
she had always regarded, both before and since she was queen; or in the name of
God:
that she should
go in unto the king to make supplication unto him, and to make request before
him for her people;
signifying there was a
necessity of doing it speedily, and of urging her request with great
earnestness and importunity, since it was not the life of a single person, but
the lives of a body of people, and her own, that lay at stake.
Esther 4:9. 9 So
Hathach returned and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
YLT 9And Hatach cometh in and
declareth to Esther the words of Mordecai,
And Hatach came
and told Esther the words of Mordecai.
Both the case of the Jews,
and the cause of it, and what he would have her do at this critical juncture.
Esther 4:10. 10 Then
Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai:
YLT 10and Esther speaketh to
Hatach, and chargeth him for Mordecai:
Again Esther
spake unto Hatach,....
For there was no other way
of corresponding and conversing but by an eunuch; the wives of kings being
altogether under their watch and care:
and gave him
commandment unto Mordecai;
to go unto him, and what
he should say to him from her, which is as follows.
Esther 4:11.
11 “All
the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or
woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he
has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king
holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been
called to go in to the king these thirty days.”
YLT 11`All servants of the king,
and people of the provinces of the king, do know that any man and woman, who
cometh in unto the king, unto the inner court, who is not called -- one law
[of] his [is] to put [them] to death, apart from him to whom the king holdeth
out the golden sceptre, then he hath lived; and I -- I have not been called to
come in unto the king these thirty days.'
All the king's
servants and the people of the king's provinces do know,....
Not only the princes and
courtiers, but all the king's subjects, the meanest of them; there is scarce a
person throughout the whole empire, to whom the following law is not known;
this is said, to show how notorious it was:
that whosoever,
whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not
called, there is one law of his to put him to death;
according to the former
Targum, Human got this law to be made now, to prevent any application to the
king about this affair; but then it would not have been so universally known as
before declared; and it appears that there was such a law among the Medes, made
by Dejoces, that none should go into the king's presence, but all should be
done by messengersF2Herodot. Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 99. ; and this was
altered among the Persians, for the seven princes that slew Smerdis made an
agreement, that whoever of them was chosen king, the rest should have the
liberty of going unto him when they pleased, without a messenger to introduce
themF3Herodot. Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 84. ; it seems by this account
it was death to go into the inner parlour, where the king usually was, without
leave, or being called; this was made both for the king's safety, and for awe
and reverence of his majesty, and to prevent any insinuations into him by ill-designing
persons:
except such to
whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live;
which, whether he would or
not, was very precarious; so that a person ran a great risk to go in uncalled:
but I have not
been called to go in unto the king these thirty days;
which looked as if the
king had not that fond affection for her he formerly had; and therefore there
was greater danger in going in to him uncalled, and the less hope of success.
Esther 4:12. 12 So
they told Mordecai Esther’s words.
YLT 12And they declare to
Mordecai the words of Esther,
And they told
to Mordecai Esther's, words.
The messengers she sent to
him.
Esther 4:13. 13 And
Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that
you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.
YLT 13and Mordecai speaketh to
send back unto Esther: `Do not think in thy soul to be delivered [in] the house
of the king, more than all the Jews,
Then Mordecai
commanded to answer Esther,....
Gave in charge to the
messengers what they should say to Esther from him, by way of reply:
think not with
thyself that thou shall escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews;
signifying that her being
queen, and in the king's palace, would be no protection to her; and she would
be no safer there than the Jews elsewhere, since they had no greater enemies
any where than in the king's court; and it was or would be known of what nation
she was, and therefore must not expect to escape the fury of the enemy.
Esther 4:14. 14 For
if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise
for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish.
Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as
this?”
YLT 14but if thou keep entirely
silent at this time, respite and deliverance remaineth to the Jews from another
place, and thou and the house of thy fathers are destroyed; and who knoweth
whether for a time like this thou hast come to the kingdom?'
For if thou
altogether holdest thy peace at this time,....
And will not speak to the
king in favour of the Jews, because of the danger she would be exposed to in
doing it:
then shall
there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;
Mordecai seemed confident
of it, that by some means or another the Jews would be delivered; if not
through the intercession of Esther, yet from some other quarter, or by some
other hand:
but thou and
thy father's house shall be destroyed;
for such neglect of the
people of God when in distress, want of pity to them, and not exerting herself
as she might in their behalf; so that seeing she and her family must perish, it
was better to perish in a good cause than in a bad one:
and who knoweth
whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
he intimates that he
believed that the providence of God had raised her to that dignity, that she
might be an instrument of saving his people in the time of their distress; and
this he said to encourage her to make the experiment.
Esther 4:15. 15 Then
Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
YLT 15And Esther speaketh to send
back unto Mordecai:
Then Esther
bade them return Mordecai this answer.
Which follows, and was
sent by the messengers she sent the above to him.
Esther 4:16. 16 “Go,
gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat
nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And
so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I
perish!”
YLT 16`Go, gather all the Jews who
are found in Shushan, and fast for me, and do not eat nor drink three days, by
night and by day; also I and my young women do fast likewise, and so I go in
unto the king, that [is] not according to law, and when I have perished -- I
have perished.'
Go, gather
together all the Jews that are present in Shushan,....
To acquaint them with what
follows; but not to continue in a body together, which might cause suspicion of
an ill design in them; according to the latter Targum, 12,000 chosen priests
were found in it; but that must be an exaggeration of their number; it can
hardly be thought there were so many Jews in all there:
and fast ye for
me;
that is, pray for her,
that she might have courage to go in to the king, and meet with success; for
prayer was the principal thing, fasting only an accessory to it, and as fitting
for it, and expressive of affliction and humiliation of soul:
and neither eat
nor drink three days,
night nor day; it was to
be a continued fast unto the third day; as Aben Ezra interprets it, they were
not to eat at evening, but fast two whole days, and two whole nights, until the
third day came, on which Esther went in to the king, Esther 5:1.
I also and my
maidens will fast likewise;
in the same manner and as
long; these maids of honour were either proselytes, perhaps of her making, or
Jewish ladies, she being allowed by the king to choose whom she pleased:
and so will I
go in unto the king, which is not according to the law;
or "afterwards",
or "and then"F4ובכן "et
postea", Noldius, p. 198. No. 899. so the Targum, και τοτε, Sept.
"et tune", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "tum", Tigurine
version. when they, and she and her maids, had fasted and prayed so long, then
she was determined in the strength of the Lord to go into the king's presence
with her petition, though it was contrary to law:
and if I
perish, I perish;
signifying, that she
readily and cheerfully risked her life for the good of her people; and if such
was the pleasure of God, that she should lose it, she was content, and
acquiesced in his will, leaving herself entirely in his hands, to dispose of
her as he thought fit.
Esther 4:17. 17 So
Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.[a]
YLT 17And Mordecai passeth on,
and doth according to all that Esther hath charged upon him.
So Mordecai
went his way,....
About the business he was
directed to; the word used having sometimes the signification of passing over
or transgressing, Jarchi interprets it of Mordecai's transgressing the command,
by fasting on a festival; the letter being written on the thirteenth of Nisan, Esther 3:12, the
next day was the passover, on which he supposes the fast began; and the three
days were, the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth of the month, and belonged
to the feast of the passover and of unleavened bread; so the Targum:
and did
according to all that Esther had commanded him;
got the Jews together, and
kept a fast three days; according to the MidrashF5Midrash Esther,
fol. 94. 4. they were the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of Nisan.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Esther 4:17
Septuagint adds a prayer of Mordecai here.