Esther 9:3

Est 9:3 And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them.

Ver. 3. And all the rulers of the provinces … helped the Jews] Heb. Gave them a lift, sc. over the brook, the brake, or whatsoever lay in their way of deliverance. This they did out of their respect to the king, rather than for any great goodwill to the Jews, who were generally hated for their religion, and wished out of the world. Sit divus mode non sit virus, Let god be, only not let poison be, said the Roman emperor of his brother, whom he maliciously murdered.

, Because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them] But much more, because God himself over awed them, and dispirited them {See Trapp on "Est 9:2"} How else should he appear to be the God of the spirits of all flesh, and that in the thing wherein people deal proudly he was above them? Exo 18:11. How should they come to know themselves to be but men, Psa 9:20, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit, &c., Isa 31:3; if he did not otherwhiles make their hearts heartless, Hos 7:11, their hands feeble, Jer 6:24 Isa 13:7 Eze 21:7, their eyes fail, Deu 28:28, their knees knock together, as Belshazzar’s did, Dan 5:6. How else would they ever be brought to bring presents unto him that ought to be feared, Psa 76:7-8, and to say unto him, Lord, be not thou a terror to me? &c., Jer 17:17. If Mordecai be feared, it is because God hath put a majesty upon him, and made him dreadful, as Abraham likewise was to Abimelech, Gen 21:22-23, David to Saul, 1Sa 18:29, the Baptist to Herod, our Saviour to the Pharisees, Mar 11:18, Paul and Silas to their persecutors, Act 16:27, &c. And this the Lord still doth, that he may dwell upon earth, Psa 68:18, sc. in his faithful worshippers, which wicked men would not suffer, if not thus reined in and restrained. And, secondly, that praise may wait for him in Zion, and unto him may the vow be performed, Psa 65:1.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Est 9:3-4. All the rulers of the provinces, &c., and officers of the king — Hebrews and those that did the king’s business; that is, not only the chief persons, signified by the foregoing words, but all the king’s other ministers or officers, of what quality soever; helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them — He having manifestly the countenance both of God and the king. For Mordecai was great — The greatest in place, and power, and favour with the king, both for his near relation to the queen, and for the good service he had done for the king himself, in preserving his life, and managing his affairs; and for those excellent abilities and virtues which the king discovered in him. And his fame went throughout all the provinces — He was not only great in the king’s house, and caressed by the courtiers, as many are who have no intrinsic worth to support their reputation; but his fame for wisdom and virtue went out from thence throughout all the king’s dominions, and in all places he was extolled as a great man, and as one that was waxing greater and greater. Hence all, even the king’s officers, saw it to be their interest to help his friends.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9:3-4 People saw that Mordecai was the man in charge, so they knew it would not be wise to oppose him.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Did them honor, and showed them friendship.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. And all the rulers of the provinces] Mordecai being raised to the highest confidence of the king, and to have authority over the whole realm, these officers assisted the Jews, no doubt, with the troops under their command, to overthrow those who availed themselves of the former decree to molest the Jews. For it does not appear that the Jews slew any person who did not rise up to destroy them. See Es 9:5.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) Helped.—Literally, lifted up. The same Hebrew verb is rendered furthered (Ezr_8:36).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. they that did the king’s business] See on Est_3:9.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And all the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies, and officers of the king, blessed the Jews,.... Countenanced them and encouraged them, and gave them all assistance in their power; extolled them, as the word signifies, lifted them up, and spoke well of them, or praised them, as the Targum:

because the fear of Mordecai was upon them; he being now chief minister, they might fear, if they took part with the enemies of the Jews against them, they might be turned out of their places.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

All the rulers ... helped the Jews - i. e. the Persians, who formed the standing army which kept the Empire in subjection, and were at the disposal of the various governors of provinces, took the Jews’ side. The enemies of the Jews (e. g. Est 9:16) were almost entirely to be found among the idolatrous people of the subject nations, for whose lives neither the Persians generally, nor their monarchs, cared greatly.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Extolled. Protestants, "helped." Septuagint, "the king’s secretaries honoured the Jews." (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And officers of the king, Heb. and all them that did the king’s business, i.e. not only the chief persons designed by the foregoing words, but all his other ministers or officers, of what quality soever.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. The rulers of the provinces — Called princes in the common version of Est_1:3, though the Hebrew word is the same in each passage.

Lieutenants — Satraps. See on Ezr_8:36.

Deputies — Governors or prefects. See on Ezr_5:3.

Officers of the king — Hebrew, Doers of the business that pertained to the king. See note on Est_3:9.

Helped the Jews — To what extent is not stated. They probably facilitated the Jews in their preparations to defend themselves.

Because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them — They were men of artful policy, careful to keep in favour with the highest minister of the royal court; and because the prime minister was now a Jew, they feared to take sides with the Jews’ enemies.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the rulers of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the deputies. Compare Est_3:12 and Est_8:9, where the same enumeration is made, though not quite in the same order. And officers of the king. Literally, "they who did the work of the king." The Septuagint renders by basilikoi grammateiv, "royal scribes;" but officials of all classes seem to be intended. Helped the Jews. Rather, "upheld, supported" Active physical help does not seem to be meant, but rather the moral aid and support that a government easily gives to the side which it favours in a civil disturbance. The fear of Mordecai fell upon them. It would give the sense better to translate "had fallen."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

provincial governors

"governors of the provinces"

the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them

Fear falling on people represents people becoming afraid. AT: "they had become afraid of Mordecai" (See: Metaphor)

was great in the king's house

"was very important in the king's palace"

his fame spread throughout all the provinces

Fame spreading through places represents people in those places learning about how great he was. AT: "throughout the provinces people learned about how great he was" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

administration

Mordecai

Jew

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

and those that conduct the king’s affairs those who were appointed to conduct the king’s affairs.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.