Revised Literal Translation
Esther 4:1
1When 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;
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
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; 2And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into 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
- 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 3:8And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all 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 mantle, 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 14:14Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, 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 Yhwh until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
- 2 Samuel 13:19And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.
- Job 2:8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
- Job 42:6Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
- Isaiah 58:5Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Yhwh?
- Ezekiel 27:30And shall cause their voice to be heard against 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 3:6For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he 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, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
- Genesis 27:34And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding 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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries