Esther 4:1

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 Living Translation (NLT)When Mordecai learned about all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on burlap and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail.

Context of Esther 4:1

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. 2He went as far as the front of the king’s gate, for no one might enter the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• When Mordecaiמׇרְדֳּכַיmordekay · MordecaiH4782
• perceivedיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• all that was doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• rentקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• his clothesבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
• and put onלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• sackclothשַׂקώaq · sackclothH8242
• with ashesאֵ֫פֶר'êpher · ashesH665
• and went outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• into the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• and criedזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
• with a loudגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• and a bitterמַרmar mârâh · bitterH4751
• cryזְעָקָהza‛aq ze‛âqâh · outcryH2201

Cross-references for Esther 4:1

• Esther 3:8Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain.
• 2 Samuel 1:11Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.
• Job 1:20Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
• Jonah 3:4And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
• Acts 14:14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out
• Esther 4:3And in every province where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
• Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.
• 2 Samuel 13:19Then Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly.
• Job 2:8And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
• Job 42:6Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
• Isaiah 58:5Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord?
• Ezekiel 27:30They will make their voice heard because of you; They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads; They will roll about in ashes;
• Daniel 9:3Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
• Jonah 3:6Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
• Matthew 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
• Genesis 27:34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—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

• Ashes
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Mordecai
• Dress
• Sackcloth
• Bitter; Bitterness
• Esther, Book of
• Gesture

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