Esther 8:1-9

1 In that day king Ahasuerus gave to Esther, the queen, the house of Haman, enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai entered in before the face of the king; for Esther acknowledged to him, that he was her father's brother. (On that day, King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai went in before the king, for Esther had told him, that he was her father's nephew.)
2 Therefore the king took (off) the ring, which he had commanded to be received (back) from Haman, and he gave it to Mordecai. And Esther ordained Mordecai to be sovereign over her household (And Esther ordained Mordecai to be the ruler over Haman's household).
3 And Esther was not appeased with these things, and felled down to the feet of the king, and wept, and spake to him, and prayed, that he should command the malice of Haman of (the kindred of) Agag, and his worst casts, which he had thought out against the Jews, to be made void. (But Esther was not yet appeased with these things, and she fell down at the king's feet, and wept, and spoke to him, and begged him, that he would command that the malice of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, and his evil plans, that he had plotted against the Jews, be stopped.)
4 And the king by custom held forth the golden rod of the king with his hand, by which the token of his mercy was showed. And then Esther rose up, and stood before the king, (And, as by custom, the king held forth the king's gold sceptre with his hand, by which the token of his mercy was shown. And then Esther rose up, and stood before the king,)
5 and said, If it pleaseth the king, and if I have found grace before his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech, that the eld letters of Haman, the traitor, and enemy of Jews, by which he had commanded them to perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended by new letters; (and she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his eyes, and if my prayer is not seen to be contrary to him, I beseech thee, that the old letters of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, by which he had commanded that all the Jews perish in all the provinces of the king, be amended with new letters;)
6 for how shall I be able to suffer the death, and the slaying, of my people? (for how shall I be able to endure the slaughter, and the death, of my own people?)
7 And king Ahasuerus answered to Esther, the queen, and to Mordecai, the Jew, and said, I have granted the house of Haman to Esther, the queen, and I commanded him to be hanged on the cross, for-thy that he was hardy to set hand against the Jews. (And King Ahasuerus answered to Queen Esther, and to Mordecai, the Jew, and said, I have given Haman's house to Queen Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows, because he was so foolhardy as to put his hand against the Jews, that is, to threaten their lives.)
8 Therefore write ye to [the] Jews, as it pleaseth to you, by the name of the king, and aseal ye the letters with my ring. For this was the custom, that no man durst against-say the letters, that were sent in the king's name, and were sealed with his ring. (And so now write ye to the Jews, what pleaseth you, in the name of the king, and seal ye the letters with my ring. For it is the law, that no one can revoke the orders, that were sent before in the king's name, and were sealed with his ring, or his signet.)
9 And when the arrayers of the king's letters, and his writers, were called; it was then the time of the third month, that is called Sivan, that is, June, in the three and twentieth day of the month; letters were written, as Mordecai would, to [the] Jews, and to [the] princes, and to procurators, and to judges, that were sovereigns over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces, from India unto Ethiopia, they were written to that province and to that province, to that people and to that people, by their languages and by their letters, and (also) to the Jews, (by their language and by their letters,) (so) that they (all) might read and hear them. (And when the king's writers, or his royal secretaries, were called; it was then the third month, that is called Sivan, or June, on the twenty-third day of the month; letters were written, as Mordecai directed, to the Jews, and to the princes, or the leaders, and to the procurators, and the judges, who were the rulers over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia, yea, they were written to this province and to that province, to this people and to that people, to each in their own language and writing, and to the Jews in their own language and writing, so that they all might read and hear them.)

Esther 8:1-9 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 8

This chapter relates the gifts Ahasuerus gave to Esther and Mordecai, Es 8:1,2, the suit Esther made to him to reverse the letters for the destruction of the Jews, Es 8:3-6, which, though it could not be formally granted, was in effect done by letters sent to the Jews, giving them power to rise in their own defence, and slay their enemies, Es 8:7-14, the consequence of which, and the advancement of Mordecai, were matter of great joy to the Jews, Es 8:15-17.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.