And came even before the king's gate ,.... Or court, that Esther might if possible be made acquainted with this dreadful calamity coming upon her people: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth : or appear in such a dress at court, where nothing was admitted to damp the pleasures of it. read more
And in every province whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came ,.... For destroying the Jews on such a day, in every place where they were to be found: there was great mourning among the Jews, and weeping, and wailing ; which continued all day: and many lay in sackcloth and ashes : all night; made use of no other bed to lie on, nor clothes to cover them with. read more
So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her ,.... 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 ;... read more
Before the king ' s gate - He could not enter into the gate, of the place where the officers waited, because he was in the habit of a mourner; for this would have been contrary to law. read more
Fasting , and weeping , and wailing - How astonishing, that in all this there is not the slightest intimation given of praying to God! read more
Sent raiment - She supposed that he must have been spoiled of his raiment by some means; and therefore sent him clothing. read more
The cry of a doomed people. The decree against the Jews was not yet known in the palace; Esther herself was not yet informed of it. And the signs of sorrow and mourning were prohibited within the royal precincts; nothing of ill omen was suffered to come before the king and his household. But in the city evil tidings (which ever travel fast) soon came abroad. 1. THE FIRST NOTE OF LAMENTATION WAS UTTERED BY MORDECAI . The rending of clothes in grief was practised by the... read more
Distress. We have a very vivid picture, in these few touches, of a nation's exceeding sorrow. We are reminded of ― I. THE HEARTLESSNESS AND IMPOTENCE OF TYRANNY IN REGARD TO IT . The king could cheerfully speak the word which caused the calamity, and then, when its sorrow surged up to his palace wall, shut his doors against the entrance of any sign of it; "for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth" ( Esther 4:2 ). The tyrant first becomes... read more
An unyielding grief. I. THE SUFFERING CAUSED BY ONE EVIL ACT CANNOT BE ESTIMATED . It was easy for Haman to draw up the instrument of destruction, and for the king to let him affix his signet to it, and then for both to sit down to drink; but very soon through that easily-performed act thousands of families were plunged into an agony of terror and grief. One sin committed lightly may extend widely, and descend to many generations in its disastrous effects. There is no... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Esther 4:1-4
Here we have an account of the general sorrow that there was among the Jews upon the publishing of Haman's bloody edict against them. It was a sad time with the church. 1. Mordecai cried bitterly, rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth, Est. 4:1, 2. He not only thus vented his grief, but proclaimed it, that all might take notice of it that he was not ashamed to own himself a friend to the Jews, and a fellow-sufferer with them, their brother and companion in tribulation, how despicable and how... read more