Esther 4:17-5:1

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 4:17

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... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:1-17

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:4-17

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 4:13-17

A bold faith. I. DIFFICULTIES DO NOT DAUNT THE STRONG . Mordecai quite understood the force of the twofold barrier to Esther's appealing to the king. Yet if it had been a hundredfold he would have urged her to face it. Neither a legal folly nor any amount of personal risk could justify irresolution or inaction when a whole people might be saved by a bold attempt. Obstacles that seem insurmountable in ordinary times dwindle much in presence of great emergencies. II. IF ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:15-17

Resolving to run risks. Deep and intense, if not prolonged, must have been the struggle in the breast of the beautiful queen of Persia. The doom that awaited her if she was unfavourably received was terrible, and would be immediately executed. She had not only to do that which was "not according to the law" ( Esther 4:16 ), but also to ask a great boon of the king, to bring before him her Jewish extraction, and to measure her influence against that of the great favourite. She did not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 4:17

Mordecai … did according to all that Esther had commanded . i.e. gathered the Jews together, and proclaimed a three days fast. Though without authority, he would naturally, under the circumstances, have sufficient influence over his countrymen to induce them to do his bidding. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Esther 4:1-17

Esther agrees to help the Jews (4:1-17)Mordecai realized that the Jews’ only hope now lay with Esther, who, shut up in the women’s quarters of the palace, had not heard of the decree till Mordecai told her. He added that her duty now was to ask the king to cancel the decree (4:1-9).Esther pointed out that this was not as easy as Mordecai thought, for even the queen risked her life in making a request of the king (10-11). But Mordecai believed that God would not allow the Jewish people to be... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Esther 4:17

went his way = passed over: i.e. over the river Ulai, on which Shushan is built, to the Jewish quarter, to accomplish his part of the compact. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Esther 4:4-17

A. Mordecai’s Instruction 4:4-17Mordecai’s mourning may have been the only thing that disturbed Esther. She may have known nothing about the decree. On the other hand, she may have known of both, and concluded that since the king did not know that she was a Jewess, she would be safe (Esther 4:13). However, Mordecai implied that Hathach knew she was a Jewess (Esther 4:13, cf. Esther 4:9), and probably others did as well.Several students of Esther have pointed out that Mordecai does not come... read more

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