Esther 4:11 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Esther 4:5-17

So strictly did the laws of Persia confine the wives, especially the king's wives, that it was not possible for Mordecai to have a conference with Esther about this important affair, but divers messages are here carried between them by Hatach, whom the king had appointed to attend her, and it seems he was one she could confide in. I. She sent to Mordecai to know more particularly and fully what the trouble was which he was now lamenting (Est. 4:5) and why it was that he would not put off his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Esther 4:11

All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces do know ,.... Not only the princes and courtiers, but all the king's subjects, the meanest of them; there is scarce a person throughout the whole empire, to whom the following law is not known; this is said, to show how notorious it was: that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death ; according to the former Targum, Human got... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 4:11

Into the inner court - We have already seen that the Persian sovereigns affected the highest degree of majesty, even to the assuming of Divine honors. No man nor woman dared to appear unveiled before them, without hazarding their lives; into the inner chamber of the harem no person ever entered but the king, and the woman he had chosen to call thither. None even of his courtiers or ministers dared to appear there; nor the most beloved of his concubines, except led thither by himself,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:1-17

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:4-12

Sympathy. Mordecai's strange appearance at the king's gate made a stir in the palace. It was seen by Esther's "maids and chamberlains," and by them it was described to the queen. When Esther heard of the condition of the man whom she loved as a parent she was "exceedingly grieved." Then she took such measures as she could to show how much she felt and suffered with Mordecai. Let us learn from her conduct— I. THAT IN TIMES OF TRIAL THE SYMPATHY OF THOSE WHOM WE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:4-17

GRIEF OF ESTHER . HER COMMUNICATIONS WITH MORDECAI . SHE CONSENTS TO RISK MAKING AN APPEAL TO THE KING ( Esther 4:4-17 ). Esther, in the seclusion of the harem, knew nothing of what the king and Haman had determined on. No one in the palace suspected how vitally she was concerned in the matter, since none knew that she was a Jewess, and state affairs are not commonly discussed between an Oriental monarch and a young wife. It was known, however, that she took... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:11

All the king's servants seems to mean here "all the court," "all those in the immediate service of the king." The inner court . The palace had, as it would seem, only two courts, the "outward court" of Esther 6:4 , and the "inner court" of the present passage. There is one law of his to put him to death . Rather, "there is one law for him. 'Whoever he be, there is one and the same law regarding him—he must suffer death. Herodotus excepts six persons from the operation of this law,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:11

The golden sceptre. The superstitious reverence which surrounded the throne of Ahasuerus is manifest from the whole tenor of this narrative. Capricious and absolute, his frown was feared as the most awful of earthly ills; and his smile was sought, with abject slavishness and adulation, as the herald of honour, riches, end power. Even his wife could not approach unbidden into the presence of the "great king," save at the peril of her life. When he was pleased to stretch forth the golden... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Esther 4:11

The golden scepter - In all the numerous representations of Persian kings at Persepolis the monarch holds a long tapering staff (probably the scepter of Esther) in his right hand. It was death to intrude on the privacy of the Persian king uninvited. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Esther 4:11

Esther 4:11. Whosoever shall come into the inner court Within which the king’s residence and throne were; who is not called This was decreed to maintain both the majesty and the safety of the king’s person; and by the contrivance of the greater officers of state, that few or none might have access to the king but themselves and their friends. I have not been called, &c. Which gives me just cause to fear that the king’s affections are alienated from me, and that neither my person nor... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Esther 4:5-17

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Esther 4:11

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 4:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:1-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:4-12

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:4-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:11

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Esther 4:11

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Esther 4:11

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