Esther 7:4

Esther 7:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.
• New International Version (NIV)For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king."
• New King James Version (NKJV)For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”

Context of Esther 7:4

2This was the second day that they ate a special meal together. While they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, ‘Queen Esther, what do you want me to do for you? I will give you whatever you want. Even if you want half of my kingdom, I will give it to you.’ 3Queen Esther replied, ‘Sir, I hope that you are pleased with me. If you agree, I ask you to save my life. Also save the lives of my people. That is what I ask you to do. Someone has sold me and my people as if we are animals. Now they will kill us and completely destroy us all. If we had been sold to become slaves, I would not have spoken to the king. It would not have been important enough for that.’ 5Then King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, ‘Who is this man? Who would even think of anything like that? Where is he?’ 6Esther replied, ‘The enemy of our people is this wicked man Haman!’ Then Haman became very afraid, as he sat there with the king and the queen.

Esther 7:4 word by word

כִּ֤י נִמְכַּ֙רְנוּ֙ אֲנִ֣י וְעַמִּ֔י לְהַשְׁמִ֖יד לַהֲר֣וֹג וּלְאַבֵּ֑ד וְ֠אִלּוּ לַעֲבָדִ֨ים וְלִשְׁפָח֤וֹת נִמְכַּ֙רְנוּ֙ הֶחֱרַ֔שְׁתִּי כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין הַצָּ֛ר שֹׁוֶ֖ה בְּנֵ֥זֶק הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For we are soldמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
• I and my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• to be destroyedשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045
• to be slainהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
• and to perishאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• But ifאִלּוּ'illû · ifH432
• for bondmenעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• and bondwomenשִׁפְחָהshiphchâh · maidservantH8198
• I had held my tongueחָרֵשׁchârash · be quietH2790
• although the enemyצַרtsar tsâr · distressH6862
• could not countervailשָׁוָהshâvâh · be likeH7737
• the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• damageנֶ֫זֶקnêzeq · injuryH5143

Cross-references for Esther 7:4

• Esther 3:9If you agree, we should send out a command to destroy them. Then I will give 350 tons of silver to the king, so that your officers can do this work.’
• Esther 4:7Mordecai told Hathach everything that had happened. He told Hathach how much money Haman would pay to the king when people destroyed all the Jews.
• Deuteronomy 28:68The Lord told you that you must never travel on the road back to Egypt. But he will send you back to Egypt in ships. In Egypt, you will try to sell yourselves to your enemies, as slaves. But no one will agree to buy you.
• 1 Samuel 22:23Please stay here with me. Do not be afraid. Saul wants to kill you and he wants to kill me too. You will be safe with me.’
• Esther 3:13Men delivered the letters to all the regions of the kingdom. Haman's command said that on the 13th day of the 12th month (Adar) people should completely destroy and kill all the Jews. They should kill old people and young people, women and children. Then they should take all the Jews' valuable things for themselves.
• Esther 8:11The king's new law said this: The Jewish people who lived in every city could fight against anyone who attacked them. They could join together to keep themselves safe. If an army of any kind attacked them, the Jews could kill and destroy them completely, as well as their women and children. They could take away their enemies' things for themselves.
• Psalms 44:22But, because we are your people, God, people try to kill us all the time. They think that we are like sheep and we are ready to be killed.
• Genesis 37:26Judah said to his brothers, ‘We could kill our brother and then hide his body. But then we will not get anything for ourselves.
• Joshua 9:23Because you told lies to us, you will always have to be our servants. You will cut wood and you will fetch water to serve our God.’
• Nehemiah 5:5Now we have to sell our sons and daughters as slaves so that we can pay back the money. But we are from the same human family as those other Jews. Our children are not different from their children. Already some of our daughters have become slaves. Our fields and vineyards now belong to other people, so we are helpless to do anything.’
• Joel 3:6You sold the people from Judah and Jerusalem to the Greek people. You wanted to send them a long way from their own country.
• Amos 2:6The Lord says, ‘The people in Israel have done more and more wrong things. So I will certainly punish them. They sold people that did not do wrong things. They sold them for silver. And they sold poor people for only the price of shoes.
• Esther 7:6Esther replied, ‘The enemy of our people is this wicked man Haman!’ Then Haman became very afraid, as he sat there with the king and the queen.

Commentaries on Esther 7:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4To be destroyed, to be slain - She here repeats the words which Haman put into the decree. See Esther 3:13. Could not countervail the king's damage - Even the ten thousand talents of silver could not be considered as a compensation to the state for the loss of a whole nation of people throughout all their generations.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The king now learned, perhaps for the first time, that his favorite was a Jewess. Although the enemy … - i. e. “although the enemy (Haman) would not (even in that case) compensate (by his payment to the treasury) for the king‘s loss of so many subjects.”Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4my life...and the lives of my people: The statement that someone wanted to kill the queen and her family likely surprised and shocked the king. my people and I have been sold: Esther carefully mentioned the large sum Haman paid the king to approve the decree (Esther 3:8–11). She also used the exact words from Haman’s decree, stating its purpose was to destroy, kill, and annihilate (see Esther 3:13). If we had merely been sold as menservants and…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-64. we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed--that is, by the cruel and perfidious scheme of that man, who offered an immense sum of money to purchase our extermination. Esther dwelt on his contemplated atrocity, in a variety of expressions, which both evinced the depth of her own emotions, and were intended to awaken similar feelings in the king's breast. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue--Though a great calamity…Read the comment

Topics related to Esther 7:4

• Readings, Select
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Banquet
• Esther
• Countervail
• Damage
• Esther, Book of
• Peace

Commentaries on Esther 7

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings