New English Translation
Esther 8:10
10Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift.
Esther 8:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
- New International Version (NIV)Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king's signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king's service, bred from the royal stud,
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.
Context of Esther 8:10
8Now you write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded. 9The king’s scribes were quickly summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. They wrote out everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers on horses, who rode royal horses that were very swift. 11The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves – to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, and to confiscate their property. 12This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus – namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar).
Read all of Esther 8Esther 8:10 word by word
וַיִּכְתֹּ֗ב בְּשֵׁם֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹ֔שׁ וַיַּחְתֹּ֖ם בְּטַבַּ֣עַת הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַיִּשְׁלַ֣ח סְפָרִ֡ים בְּיַד֩ הָרָצִ֨ים בַּסּוּסִ֜ים רֹכְבֵ֤י הָרֶ֙כֶשׁ֙ הָֽאֲחַשְׁתְּרָנִ֔ים בְּנֵ֖י הָֽרַמָּכִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he wroteכָּתַבkâthab · to writeH3789
- in the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- Ahasuerus’אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ'ăchashvêrôsh 'achashrôsh · AhasuerusH325
- nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- and sealedחָתַםchâtham · to sealH2856
- ringטַבַּ֫עַתţabba‛ath · ringH2885
- and sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- lettersסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: documentH5612
- byיָדyâd · hand: byH3027
- postsרוּץrûts · to run: runH7323
- on horsebackסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
- ridersרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
- on mulesרֶ֫כֶשׁrekesh · steedH7409
- camelsאֲחַשְׁתְּרָן'ăchashtârân · royalH327
- youngבֵּןbên · son: young animalH1121
- dromedariesרַמָּךְrammâk · mareH7424
Cross-references for Esther 8:10
- 1 Kings 21:8She wrote out orders, signed Ahab’s name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth’s city.
- Ecclesiastes 8:4Surely the king’s authority is absolute; no one can say to him, “What are you doing?”
- Daniel 4:1(3:31) “King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and language groups that live in all the land: Peace and prosperity!
- Esther 3:13Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.
- 2 Chronicles 30:6Messengers delivered the letters from the king and his officials throughout Israel and Judah. This royal edict read: “O Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so he may return to you who have been spared from the kings of Assyria.
- Job 9:25“My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness.
- Jeremiah 51:21I used you to smash horses and their riders. I used you to smash chariots and their drivers.
- Isaiah 60:6Camel caravans will cover your roads, young camels from Midian and Ephah. All the merchants of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing praises to the Lord.
- Isaiah 66:20They will bring back all your countrymen from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers.
- Jeremiah 2:23“How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to the gods called Baal.’ Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path.
Commentaries on Esther 8:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10On mules, camels, and young dromedaries - What these beasts were is difficult to say. The word רכש rechesh, which we translate mules, signifies a swift chariot horse. The strange word אחשתרנים achashteranim is probably a Persian word, but perhaps incurably corrupted. The most likely derivation is that of Bochart, from the Persian akhash, huge, large, rough, and aster, a mule; large mules. The words הרמכים בני beney harammachim, the sons of mares, which we…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Riders on mules, camels and young dromedaries - Most moderns translate “riders upon coursers and mules, the offspring of mares;” but the words translated “mules” and “mares,” are of very doubtful signification, since they scarcely occur elsewhere. The real meaning of the clause must remain doubtful; perhaps the true translation is, “riders upon coursers of the king‘s stud, offspring of high-bred steeds.” So Esther 8:14.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-14Verses 3-14 It was time to be earnest, when the church of God was at stake. Esther, though safe herself, fell down and begged for the deliverance of her people. We read of no tears when she begged for her own life, but although she was sure of that, she wept for her people. Tears of pity and tenderness are the most Christ-like. According to the constitution of the Persian government, no law or decree could be repealed or recalled. This is so far from…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. sent ... by posts ... and riders on ... camels, and young dromedaries--The business being very urgent, the swiftest kind of camel would be employed, and so the word in the original denotes the wind-camel. Young dromedaries also are used to carry expresses, being remarkable for the nimbleness and ease of their movements. Animals of this description could convey the new rescript of Ahasuerus over the length and breadth of the Persian empire in time to…Read the comment
Topics related to Esther 8:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Esther 8
- 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
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