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Esther Chapter
Ten
New King James Version
(NKJV)
Esther 10:1.
And
King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the
sea.
YLT 1And the king Ahasuerus
setteth a tribute on the land and the isles of the sea;
And the King
Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
Which include all his
dominions, both on the continent, and on the sea, the Aegean sea; though Aben
Ezra thinks it regards such as were not under his government, but stood in fear
of him, of whom he demanded tribute. If Ahasuerus was Xerxes, perhaps his
exchequer might be drained by his wars with the Grecians, which put him upon
this; though some understand this of his renewing the taxes and tribute, which
he remitted upon his marriage with Esther, Esther 2:18.
Esther 10:2.
2 Now all the acts of his
power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the
king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Media and Persia?
YLT 2and all the work of his
strength, and his might, and the explanation of the greatness of Mordecai with
which the king made him great, are they not written on the book of the
Chronicles of Media and Persia?
And all the
acts of his power, and of his might,....
As Xerxes was a very
mighty and powerful prince:
and the
declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him;
the history of that, and
which tended not a little to the greatness, dignity and prosperity of the king
himself, and his whole kingdom:
are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
to which the reader is
referred by the writer of this book, the which were in being in his times, but
now lost: had they been preserved, they might have been of great use to lead
into the history of the Medes and Persians, which for want of them is very dark
and intricate; the writer of this book having nothing further to do with it,
than as it related to the affairs of the Jews.
Esther 10:3.
3 For Mordecai the Jew was
second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the
multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to
all his countrymen.[a]
YLT 3For Mordecai the Jew [is]
second to king Ahasuerus, and a great man of the Jews, and accepted of the
multitude of his brethren, seeking good for his people, and speaking peace to
all his seed.
For Mordecai
the Jew was next unto Ahasuerus,....
The second man in the
kingdom, the principal of the counsellors, and prime minister of state:
and great among
the Jews;
highly respected by them,
in great honour and esteem with them, for which there was great reason:
and accepted of
the multitude of his brethren;
or of many, of most, of
the greatest part of them; for, let a man be ever so deserving, there are some
that will envy his greatness, cavil at everything done by him, and speak evil of
him without any just reason:
seeking the
wealth of his people;
their good, their welfare
and happiness, temporal and spiritual:
and speaking
peace to all his seed;
not only to his family,
but to all the Jews who were of the same seed with him, the seed of Abraham;
either speaking to them in an humble and condescending manner, being very
humane, affable, and courteous; or speaking for them to the king, asking of him
for them what might conduce to their peace, prosperity, and happiness. No
mention is made in this history of the death and burial either of Mordecai or
Esther; but the author of Cippi Hebraici saysF26P. 70. Ed.
Hottinger. , that Mordecai was buried in the city of Shushan, and that all the
Jews in those parts assemble at his grave on the day of Purim, and sing songs,
playing on tabrets and pipes, rejoicing that there was a miracle wrought; and
the same writer saysF1Ib. p. 64. , they do the like at that time at
the grave of Esther, half a mile from Tzephat, read this book that bears her
name, eat, drink, and rejoice. Benjamin of Tudela saysF2Itinerar. p.
96. , they were both buried before a synagogue, at a place called Hamdan.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Esther 10:3
Literally seed. Septuagint and Vulgate add a dream of Mordecai here;
Vulgate adds six more chapters.