Esther 4:14

Esther 4:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
• English Standard Version (ESV)For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
• New Living Translation (NLT)If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”

Context of Esther 4:14

12When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” 15Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Esther 4:14 word by word

כִּ֣י אִם־הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי֮ בָּעֵ֣ת הַזֹּאת֒ רֶ֣וַח וְהַצָּלָ֞ה יַעֲמ֤וֹד לַיְּהוּדִים֙ מִמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר וְאַ֥תְּ וּבֵית־אָבִ֖יךְ תֹּאבֵ֑דוּ וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For if thou altogetherחָרֵשׁchârash · be quietH2790
• at this timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• shall there enlargementרֶ֫וַחrevach · spaceH7305
• and deliveranceהַצָּלָהhatstsâlâh · deliveranceH2020
• ariseעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: riseH5975
• to the Jewsיְהוּדִיyehûdîy · JewH3064
• from anotherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
• placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• but thou and thy father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• shall be destroyedאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• and who knowethיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• whether thou art comeנָגַעnâga‛ · to touchH5060
• to the kingdomמַלְכוּתmalkûth malkûth malkûyâh · royaltyH4438

Cross-references for Esther 4:14

• Genesis 22:14So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
• Numbers 23:22God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.
• Deuteronomy 32:26I said I would scatter them and erase their name from human memory,
• 1 Samuel 12:22For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.
• Isaiah 54:17no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 30:11I am with you and will save you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’
• Jeremiah 33:24“Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation.
• Jeremiah 46:28Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, for I am with you,” declares the Lord. “Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”
• Amos 9:8“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth. Yet I will not totally destroy the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord.
• Matthew 16:18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
• Matthew 24:22“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.
• Ezra 9:9Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
• Job 9:18He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.
• Esther 2:7Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
• Judges 14:15On the fourth day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Coax your husband into explaining the riddle for us, or we will burn you and your father’s household to death. Did you invite us here to steal our property?”
• Judges 15:6When the Philistines asked, “Who did this?” they were told, “Samson, the Timnite’s son-in-law, because his wife was given to his companion.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

Commentaries on Esther 4:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise - He had a confidence that deliverance would come by some means; and he thought that Esther would be the most likely; and that, if she did not use the influence which her providential station gave her, she would be highly culpable. And who knoweth whether thou art come - As if he had said, "Is it likely that Divine providence would have so distinguished thee, and raised thee from a state of abject…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14From another place - i. e. “from some other quarter.” Mordecai probably concluded from the prophetic Scriptures that God would NOT allow His people to be destroyed before His purposes with respect to them were accomplished, and was therefore satisfied that deliverance would arise from one quarter or another. Thou and thy father‘s house shall be destroyed - i. e. “a divine vengeance will overtake thee and thine, if thou neglectest thy plain duty.” Though…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-17Verses 5-17 We are prone to shrink from services that are attended with peril or loss. But when the cause of Christ and his people demand it, we must take up our cross, and follow him. When Christians are disposed to consult their own ease or safety, rather than the public good, they should be blamed. The law was express, all knew it. It is not thus in the court of the King of kings: to the footstool of his throne of grace we may always come boldly, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-14Do not imagine...you alone will escape: Mordecai did not back down or excuse her because of the danger. He reminded her that staying silent would be more dangerous. relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place: Mordecai knew God's promises and understood that God would not allow his chosen people to be destroyed (see Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 28:14; Isaiah 60:1–5). perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?: Esther's…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1413-14. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther--His answer was to this effect, that Esther need not indulge the vain hope she would, from her royal connection, escape the general doom of her race--that he (Mordecai) confidently believed God would interpose, and, if not through her, by some other deliverer, save His people; but that the duty evidently devolved on her, as there was great reason to believe that this was the design of Providence in her…Read the comment

Topics related to Esther 4:14

• Faith
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Enlarge; Enlargement
• Esther, Book of

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