American Standard Version
Esther 4:1
1Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
Esther 4:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;
- New International Version (NIV)When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
- English Standard Version (ESV)When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
- New King James Version (NKJV)When Mordecai learned all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city. He cried out with a loud and bitter cry.
Context of Esther 4:1
Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 2and he came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter within the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Read all of Esther 4Esther 4:1 word by word
וּמָרְדֳּכַ֗י יָדַע֙ אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר נַעֲשָׂ֔ה וַיִּקְרַ֤ע מָרְדֳּכַי֙ אֶת־בְּגָדָ֔יו וַיִּלְבַּ֥שׁ שַׂ֖ק וָאֵ֑פֶר וַיֵּצֵא֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הָעִ֔יר וַיִּזְעַ֛ק זְעָקָ֥ה גְדֹלָ֖ה וּמָרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
- whenאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
- Mordecaiמׇרְדֳּכַיmordekay · MordecaiH4782
- knewיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
- clothesבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- putלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
- sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
- ashesאֵ֫פֶר'êpher · ashesH665
- wentיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- criedזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
- bitterמַרmar mârâh · bitterH4751
Cross-references for Esther 4:1
- Esther 3:8And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.
- 2 Samuel 1:11Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
- Job 1:20Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped;
- Jonah 3:4And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
- Acts 14:14But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their garments, and sprang forth among the multitude, crying out
- Esther 4:3And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
- Joshua 7:6And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.
- 2 Samuel 13:19And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colors that was on her; and she laid her hand on her head, and went her way, crying aloud as she went.
- Job 2:8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes.
- Job 42:6Wherefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.
- Isaiah 58:5Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?
- Ezekiel 27:30and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads; they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
- Daniel 9:3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
- Jonah 3:6And the tidings reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
- Matthew 11:21Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
- Genesis 27:34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
Commentaries on Esther 4:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Mordecai rent his clothes - He gave every demonstration of the most poignant and oppressive grief. Nor did he hide this from the city; and the Greek says that he uttered these words aloud: , A people are going to be destroyed, who have done no evil!Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The Jews lament their danger. (1-4) Esther undertakes to plead for the Jews. (5-17) Verses 1-4 Mordecai avowed his relation to the Jews. Public calamities, that oppress the church of God, should affect our hearts more than any private affliction, and it is peculiarly distressing to occasion sufferings to others. God will keep those that are exposed to evil by the tenderness of their consciences.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1Mordecai's intense reaction showed deep sorrow and mourning (see 2 Samuel 1:11; Ezra 9; Jonah 3:5–9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-141-2. When Mordecai perceived all that was done--Relying on the irrevocable nature of a Persian monarch's decree (Da 6:15), Hamman made it known as soon as the royal sanction had been obtained; and Mordecai was, doubtless, among the first to hear of it. On his own account, as well as on that of his countrymen, this astounding decree must have been indescribably distressing. The acts described in this passage are, according to the Oriental fashion…Read the comment
Topics related to Esther 4:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Esther 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries