Esther 4:17

17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.

Esther 4:17 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 4:17

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 Midrash F5 they were the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of Nisan.


FOOTNOTES:

F5 Midrash Esther, fol. 94. 4.

Esther 4:17 In-Context

15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai:
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!"
17 So Mordecai went his way and did according to all that Esther commanded him.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Septuagint adds a prayer of Mordecai here.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.