Esther 4:3

3 And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, ¹with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them ²lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 4:3 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 4:3

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 4:3 In-Context

1 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.

2 He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth.

3 And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.

5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.

Cross References

• 1. ver. 16; Esther 9:31
• 2. Daniel 9:3; [Isaiah 58:5]