Esther 4:4

4 Then Esther's maidens and her eunuchs came and told her, and the queen writhed in great anguish. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai that he might remove his sackcloth from him, but he did not accept them.

Esther 4:4 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 4:4

So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her,
&c.] 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 4:4 In-Context

2 He went as far as the king's gate, for no one was to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth.

3 In each and every province where the command and decree of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

4 Then Esther's maidens and her eunuchs came and told her, and the queen writhed in great anguish. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai that he might remove his sackcloth from him, but he did not accept them.

5 Then Esther summoned Hathach from the king's eunuchs, whom the king had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was.

6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai to the city square in front of the king's gate.