Esther 4:4

4 So Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and told her. Then the queen was grieved exceedingly, and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai and to take away his sackcloth from him; but he did not receive it.

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 and came before the king’s gate; for no one was allowed to enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.

3 And in each province, wherever the king’s commandment and his law came, there was great mourning among the Jews and fasting and weeping and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 So Esther’s maids and her eunuchs came and told her. Then the queen was grieved exceedingly, and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai and to take away his sackcloth from him; but he did not receive it.

5 Then Esther called for Hatach, one of the king’s eunuchs, whom he had appointed to attend her, and sent him to Mordecai, to know what it was and why it was.

6 So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the plaza of the city, which was before the king’s gate.