(KJV) Esther 81

<< Esther 7 Esther 9 >>

⥃Esther Appeals for the Jews

[1] On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house2 of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before3 the king; for Esther had told what he [was] unto her. [2] And the king took off his ring4, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set5 Mordecai over the house of Haman.

[3] And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell6 down at his feet, and besought him with tears7 to put away the mischief8 of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. [4] Then the king held out9 the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king, [5] And said, If i10t please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing [seem] right before the king, and I [be] pleasing11 in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters12 devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote13 to destroy the Jews which [are] in all the king’s provinces: [6] For how14 can I endure to see15 the evil16 that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?

⥃The Decree of Xerxes

[7] [¶]Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold17, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged18 upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. [8] Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name19, and seal [it] with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse20. [9] Then were the king’s21 scribes called at that time in the third month, that [is], the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth [day] thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants22, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which [are] from India23 unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according24 to their language. [10] And he wrote in the king25 Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed [it] with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts26 on horseback, [and] riders on mules27, camels28, [and] young dromedaries29: [11] Wherein the king granted the Jews which [were] in every city to gather30 themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy31, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, [both] little ones and women, and [to take] the spoil32 of them for a prey, [12] Upon one day33 in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, [namely], upon the thirteenth34 [day] of the twelfth month, which [is] the month Adar. [13] The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province [was] published35 unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves36 on their enemies. [14] [So] the posts that rode upon mules [and] camels went out, being hastened37 and pressed on by the king’s commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan38 the palace.

[15] And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel39 of blue40 and white, and with a great crown41 of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city42 of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. [16] The Jews43 had light44, and gladness, and joy, and honour. [17] And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast45 and a good day. And many of the people46 of the land became Jews; for the fear47 of the Jews fell upon them.

<< Esther 7 Esther 9 >>

  1. Esth 8:1, Mordecai is advanced; Esth 8:3, Esther makes suit to reverse Haman’s letters; Esth 8:7, Ahasuerus grants to the Jews to defend themselves; Esth 8:15, Mordecai’s honour, and the Jews’ joy. ↩

  2. Job 27:16-17; Ps 39:6, Ps 49:6-13; Prov 13:22, Prov 28:8; Eccl 2:18-19; Luke 12:20 ↩

  3. Esth 1:14, Esth 2:7, Esth 2:15 ↩

  4. Esth 3:10; Gen 41:42; Isa 22:19-22; Luke 15:22 ↩

  5. 2Sam 9:7-10; Ps 37:34; Eccl 2:18, Eccl 2:19-26, Eccl 5:13-14; Dan 2:48 ↩

  6. 1Sam 25:24; 2Kgs 4:27 ↩

  7. Heb. she wept and besought him, Isa 38:2; Hos 12:4; Heb 5:7 ↩

  8. Esth 3:8-15, Esth 7:4 ↩

  9. Esth 4:11, Esth 5:2 ↩

  10. Esth 7:3; Exod 33:13, Exod 33:16; 1Sam 20:29 ↩

  11. Esth 2:4, Esth 2:17 ↩

  12. Heb. device, Esth 3:12-13 ↩

  13. or, who wrote ↩

  14. Gen 44:34; Jer 4:19, Jer 9:1; Luke 19:41-42; Rom 9:2-3, Rom 10:1 ↩

  15. Heb. be able that I may see ↩

  16. Esth 7:4; Neh 2:3 ↩

  17. Esth 8:1; Prov 13:22 ↩

  18. Esth 7:10; Gal 3:13 ↩

  19. Esth 3:12; 1Kgs 21:8 ↩

  20. No, not the king himself; and this was the reason that the king was forced not to reverse, but to give a contradictory decree; that if the Jews, pursuant to the first decree, were assaulted, they might legitimately, by virtue of the second, defend themselves, slay their enemies, and even take the spoil. Esth 8:5, Esth 1:19; Dan 6:8, Dan 6:12-15; 2Tim 2:19; Heb 6:17-18 ↩

  21. Esth 3:12 ↩

  22. Esth 1:1, Esth 1:22, Esth 3:12-13; Dan 6:1 ↩

  23. The Hebrew word Hoddo, in Syriac, Hendoo, and in Arabic, Hind, is rendered India by all the versions. India, or Hindostan, is a large country of the south of Asia, extending from north to south about 2,400 miles, and from east to west 1,800, between 8 degrees and 35 degrees n lat. and 68 degrees and 92 degrees e long.; being bounded on the west by the Indus, east by the Birman empire and Thibet, north by the Indian Caucasus, and south by the Indian Ocean. It is probable, however, that all the country east of the Indus was anciently called India. ↩

  24. Esth 1:22, Esth 3:12; 2Kgs 18:26; Dan 4:1; 1Cor 14:9-11 ↩

  25. 1Kgs 21:8; Eccl 8:4; Dan 4:1 ↩

  26. Esth 3:13; 2Chr 30:6; Job 9:25; Jer 51:21 ↩

  27. Rechesh, in Syriac, rechesha, probably denotes a swift horse. ↩

  28. Achashteranim, from the Persian akhash, large, and aster, a mule, probably, as Bochart supposes, denotes a large mule. ↩

  29. Beney harammachim, "the sons of mares," as the word ramakat denotes in Arabic; probably an expletive of the preceeding word. Isa 60:6, Isa 66:20; Jer 2:23 ↩

  30. Esth 9:2-16 ↩

  31. Ps 37:14-15, Ps 68:3, Ps 137:8, Ps 146:6-9; Ezek 39:10 ↩

  32. Esth 3:13, Esth 9:10, Esth 9:15-16; Isa 10:6 ↩

  33. Esth 9:1; Exod 15:9-10; Judg 1:6-7 ↩

  34. Esth 3:13-15 ↩

  35. Heb. revealed ↩

  36. Judg 16:28; Ps 37:14-15, Ps 68:23, Ps 92:10-11, Ps 149:6-9; Luke 18:7; Rev 6:10 ↩

  37. 1Sam 21:8; Eccl 9:10 ↩

  38. Esth 1:2, Esth 2:3, Esth 3:15; Neh 1:1; Dan 8:2 ↩

  39. Esth 5:1, Esth 6:8, Esth 6:11; Gen 41:42; Matt 6:29, Matt 11:8; Luke 16:19 ↩

  40. or, violet, Esth 1:6 ↩

  41. Mordecai was now made the chief minister, or vizier, instead of Haman; and was accordingly invested with the "royal apparel," in conformity to the custom of the East. So we are informed, in the History of the Revolt of Ali Bey, that on the election of a new sheikh bellet, or chief of the country, in Egypt, the pasha who approves of him invests him with a robe of valuable fur. Perhaps the crown was one of the insignia of the office of vizier. Concerning the blue, fine linen, and purple; see note on Exod 25:4, and see note on Exod 39:27. ↩

  42. Haman was too proud to be popular. Few lamented his fall. Esth 3:15; Prov 29:2 ↩

  43. Esth 4:1-3, Esth 4:16; Ps 30:5-11 ↩

  44. That is, prosperity and hope. The dark cloud which had so long hung over them was dispelled; and again the sunshine of prosperity beamed upon them. Esth 9:17; Ps 18:28, Ps 97:11; Prov 4:18-19, Prov 11:10; Isa 30:29-30, Isa 35:10 ↩

  45. Esth 9:17, Esth 9:19, Esth 9:22; 1Sam 25:8; Neh 8:10 ↩

  46. Ps 18:43; Zech 8:20-23 ↩

  47. Esth 9:2; Gen 35:5; Exod 15:16; Deut 2:25, Deut 11:25 ↩