Esther 2:23

Esther 2:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
• New International Version (NIV)And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when an inquiry was made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

Context of Esther 2:23

21In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those who kept the door, were angry, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. 22And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it to Esther the queen; and Esther informed the king of it in Mordecai’s name. And when enquiry was made of the matter, it was discovered; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

Esther 2:23 word by word

וַיְבֻקַּ֤שׁ הַדָּבָר֙ וַיִּמָּצֵ֔א וַיִּתָּל֥וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֖ם עַל־עֵ֑ץ וַיִּכָּתֵ֗ב בְּסֵ֛פֶר דִּבְרֵ֥י הַיָּמִ֖ים לִפְנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ פRead the interlinear

• enquiryבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• matterדָּבָרdâbâr · word: deedH1697
• discoveredמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• bothשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• hangedתָּלָהtâlâh · to hangH8518
• treeעֵץ‛êts · tree: stakeH6086
• writtenכָּתַבkâthab · to writeH3789
• bookסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: bookH5612
• chroniclesיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428

Cross-references for Esther 2:23

• Esther 5:14Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends to him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou to the king that Mordecai may be hanged on it: then go thou in merrily with the king to the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.
• Esther 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified.
• Genesis 40:19Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.
• Deuteronomy 21:22And if a man shall have committed a sin worthy of death, and he must be put to death, and thou shalt hang him on a tree:
• Joshua 8:29And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his body down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones, that remaineth to this day.
• Esther 6:1In that night the king could not sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
• Malachi 3:16Then they that feared the LORD spoke often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

Commentaries on Esther 2:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23It was found out - It was proved against them, in consequence of which they were hanged. Perhaps the words עץ על ויתלו vaiyittalu al ets, they were hung upon wood or a tree, may refer to their being impaled. A pointed stake is set upright in the ground, and the culprit is taken, placed on the sharp point, and then pulled down by his legs till the stake that went in at the fundament passes up through the body and comes out by the side of the neck. A most…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Both hanged on a tree - i. e. “crucified” or “impaled” the ordinary punishment of rebels and traitors in Persia. The book of the chronicles - Ctesias drew his Persian history from them, and they are often glanced at by Herodotus.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-23Verses 21-23 Good subjects must not conceal any bad design they know of against the prince, or the public peace. Mordecai was not rewarded at the time, but a remembrance was written. Thus, with respect to those who serve Christ, though their recompence is not till the resurrection of the just, yet an account is kept of their work of faith and labour of love, which God is not unrighteous to forget. The servant of God must be faithful to every trust, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23hanged on the gallows: Thought this phrase has often been translated as hanged on a gallows, inscriptions from ancient Persia show that impalement was a common execution method. Xerxes’ father, Darius I, claimed he impaled 3,000 Babylonians when he conquered Babylon. Sometimes, authorities executed criminals first and then displayed them on a stake, as with the execution of Haman’s sons (Esther 9:5–14). This was all recorded, but Mordecai was not rewarded…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 21-2321. In those days ... two of the king's chamberlains ... were wroth and sought to lay hand on the king, &c.--This secret conspiracy against the king's life probably arose out of revenge for the divorce of Vashti, in whose interest, and at whose instigation, these eunuchs may have acted. Through the vigilance of Mordecai, whose fidelity, however, passed unnoticed, the design was frustrated, while the conspirators were condemned to be executed and as the…Read the comment

Topics related to Esther 2:23

• Bigthan
• Citizens
• Conspiracy
• Gallows
• Loyalty
• Mordecai
• Punishment
• Teresh
• Treason

In the dictionaries

• Bigthan
• Chronicles, Books of
• Esther, Book of
• Inquisition

Commentaries on Esther 2

• 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