_A.M. 3494. B.C. 510._ The Jews fast and mourn, Esther 4:1. Esther is informed of the design, Esther 4:4. Mordecai presses her to intercede with the king, Esther 4:10. She desires all the Jews to keep a solemn fast, Esther 4:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And put on sackcloth with ashes_ That is, he put on a garment of sackcloth or hair, and sprinkled ashes upon his head. _And cried with a loud and bitter cry_ To express his deep sense of the mischief coming upon his people. It was bravely done thus publicly to espouse what he knew to be a righteous... [ Continue Reading ]
_And came even before the king's gate_ That his cry might come to the ears of Esther: _for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth_ He durst not take his place in the gate, nor sit there as he had hitherto done, because none that were in mourning might come thither, lest it shou... [ Continue Reading ]
_And many lay in sackcloth and ashes_ All day long they fasted, and wept, and lamented; and in the night many lay, not in their beds, but in sack or haircloth strewed with ashes.... [ Continue Reading ]
_So Esther's maids came and told it her_ Namely, that Mordecai appeared before the king's gate in sackcloth. _Then was the queen exceedingly grieved_ Imagining some mischief had befallen him, and not yet knowing what it was; _and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai_ That so he might be capable of re... [ Continue Reading ]
_And of the sum of money_, &c. Namely, the ten thousand talents he had offered to procure the king's consent to their destruction. _And to charge her_, &c. Not only in his own name, to whom she had manifested singular respect, but also in the name of the great God.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whosoever shall come into the inner court_ Within which the king's residence and throne were; _who is not called_ This was decreed to maintain both the majesty and the safety of the king's person; and by the contrivance of the greater officers of state, that few or none might have access to the kin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Think not with thyself_ Flatter not thyself with a vain hope, that because thou art in the king's house, and an eminent member of his family, even the queen, that thou shalt be spared, or find any greater privilege in his house than the Jews do abroad. Thou art a Jew, and if the rest be cut off tho... [ Continue Reading ]
_And fast ye for me_ And pray, which was the main business, to which fasting was only a help; _and neither eat nor drink three days_ Namely, in such a manner as you used to do. Abstain from all set meals, and all pleasant food, and, as much as possible, from all food, for that space of time, in toke... [ Continue Reading ]