Esther 4:11 kjv
All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
Esther 4:11 nkjv
"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days."
Esther 4:11 niv
"All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."
Esther 4:11 esv
"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law ? to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days."
Esther 4:11 nlt
"All the king's officials and even the people in the provinces know that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him for thirty days."
Esther 4 11 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exod 28:43 | "They shall be upon Aaron and his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister... that they die not." | Divine law on unauthorized access |
| Lev 16:2 | "Tell Aaron your brother not to come at all times into the Most Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat." | Strict limits on priestly access to God |
| Num 4:15 | "...afterward the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die." | Penalty for touching sacred things |
| Deut 17:6 | "On the testimony of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death..." | Law governing death penalties |
| 1 Sam 2:30 | "...for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." | Favor/disfavor from sovereign |
| Prov 16:14 | "A king's wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it." | King's power over life and death |
| Prov 20:2 | "The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life." | Danger of offending a king |
| Prov 21:1 | "The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes." | God's ultimate sovereignty over kings |
| Dan 2:9 | "...there is but one decree for you, for you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me..." | Unyielding royal decrees |
| Matt 10:28 | "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." | Fear of earthly rulers vs. God |
| John 14:6 | "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”" | Only one way to approach God |
| Acts 26:15 | "...and suddenly a light from heaven shone around me, brighter than the sun..." | Encounter with ultimate sovereign |
| Heb 4:16 | "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." | New Covenant access to God's throne |
| Heb 7:19 | "for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." | Superior access through Christ |
| Heb 10:19-20 | "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh," | New access through Christ's sacrifice |
| Heb 12:28-29 | "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." | God's holy presence demands reverence |
| 1 Pet 2:9 | "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;" | Access for all believers as priests |
| Rev 1:6 | "and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." | Believers granted royal access |
| Rev 5:8 | "Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." | Direct access for prayer to the King |
| Rev 22:4 | "They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads." | Full communion in God's presence |
| Gen 1:26 | "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea..." | Dominion and authority granted by God |
| Exod 10:28 | "Then Pharaoh said to him, 'Get away from me! Take heed to yourself that you see my face no more, for in the day you see my face you shall die!'” | Similar risk approaching a powerful ruler |
Esther 4 verses
Esther 4 11 Meaning
Esther 4:11 conveys a grave and established law of the Persian court: anyone, male or female, who entered the king's inner presence unsummoned faced immediate execution. The only exception to this law was if the king, by his own initiative, extended his golden scepter, symbolizing his favor and granting permission to live. Esther relayed this unyielding truth, adding her perilous personal situation: she herself had not been called into the king's presence for a significant period of thirty days, making an unscheduled approach extremely risky and likely fatal.
Esther 4 11 Context
Esther 4:11 is Esther's direct reply to Mordecai's plea for her to intercede with King Ahasuerus on behalf of the Jewish people, who are facing extermination by Haman's decree. The preceding verses (Esther 4:1-9) describe Mordecai's mourning, his sending of Hatach to Esther, and Esther's initial attempts to help him from afar. This verse reveals the extreme peril of her situation and why she hesitated to immediately confront the king. It establishes the high stakes and the life-threatening consequences of approaching the monarch without his express invitation. This knowledge highlights the profound courage Esther would eventually exhibit, driven by Mordecai's challenging words in the subsequent verse (Esther 4:14), urging her to consider if her royal position was divinely appointed for "such a time as this." Historically, Persian monarchs like Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) maintained a strict, even fearful, court protocol to protect their persons and assert their absolute authority, making uninvited appearances a direct challenge to their sovereignty.
Esther 4 11 Word analysis
- All the king's servants: Hebrew: כָּל־עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ (kol-'avde hammelech). Refers to all royal officials and eunuchs who were part of the court system. Their knowledge of this law highlights its universality within the palace.
- and the people of the king's provinces: Hebrew: וְעַם־מְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ (ve'am-medinōth hammelech). This specifies that even common citizens throughout the vast Persian Empire were aware of this stern regulation. It was a well-known, foundational law of the kingdom.
- know that for any man or woman who approaches the king: Hebrew: יוֹדְעִים אֲשֶׁר כָּל־אִישׁ וְאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר יָבוֹא אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ (yōde'īm 'asher kol-'ish ve'ishāh 'asher yāvo' el-hammelech). This emphasizes the strict equality of the law's application, regardless of gender or social standing. "Approaches" implies physically entering his immediate presence.
- in the inner court: Hebrew: אֶל־הֶחָצֵר הַפְּנִימִית (el-heḥatzēr happĕnīmīth). This was the most sacred and restricted part of the palace, where the king conducted his affairs and met with select individuals. Entry here without summons was a direct violation of royal protocol.
- without being summoned: Hebrew: אֲשֶׁר לֹא־נִקְרָא (asher lo'-niqrā'). This is the critical condition. It underlines the king's absolute power and control over who could gain an audience.
- there is but one law: Hebrew: דָּתוֹ אַחַת (datō 'achath). This signifies the absolute, unwavering, and singular nature of the decree. It was not open to interpretation or exception by anyone but the king himself. "One law" emphasizes its unalterable status within the Persian legal system, contrasting sharply with the later divine command for Esther.
- to be put to death: Hebrew: לְהָמִית (lehāmīth). The penalty was execution. This indicates the ultimate severity and finality of violating this law.
- unless the king extends to him the golden scepter: Hebrew: כִּי אִם־הוֹשִׁיט לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת־שַׁרְבִיט הַזָּהָב (ki 'im-hoshīṭ lo hammalach 'eth-sharbiṭ hazzahav). This highlights the only path to life: the king's sovereign act of grace and mercy. The scepter (שַׁרְבִּיט, sharbiṭ) was a symbol of royal authority and dominion. Gold (זָהָב, zahav) signified its preciousness and the king's supreme power.
- so that he may live: Hebrew: וְחָיָה (veḥayah). The direct consequence of the king's mercy—life, granted solely by his will.
- But I have not been summoned to come to the king: Hebrew: וַאֲנִי לֹא נִקְרֵאתִי לָבוֹא אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ (va'anī lo' niqrēthi lāvo' el-hammelech). Esther’s personal predicament, highlighting her lack of favor or attention from the king, making her unsummoned approach particularly dangerous.
- for thirty days: Hebrew: שְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם (sheloshim yom). This period suggests either disfavor, the king's general busyness, or his lack of interest in Esther specifically at that time, which adds to the urgency and risk of her potential approach. It's a significant duration, indicating she wasn't routinely visiting him.
Esther 4 11 Bonus section
- Hidden Providence: While God is not named in the Book of Esther, the king's specific act of extending the scepter is the pivot point for Esther's survival and thus for the Jewish people. This detail, specified here, hints at divine orchestration. God could move the heart of even an absolute pagan monarch (Prov 21:1) to show grace at the crucial moment, despite His name not being explicitly stated in the narrative.
- Parallel to Accessing God: This verse offers a stark contrast to how believers approach God under the New Covenant. The Persian court demanded specific summons and threatened death; the New Testament encourages bold, confident access to God's "throne of grace" through Christ (Heb 4:16). The "golden scepter" symbolizes the King's mercy, a concept paralleled in God's willingness to save through Christ's atoning sacrifice.
- Esther as a "Type" of Intercessor: Esther's willingness to risk her life by approaching the king unsummoned for her people prefigures Christ's intercessory work. Jesus, the perfect Mediator, approached God the Father on behalf of humanity, not "without being summoned" but as the appointed One, to obtain life for those condemned by the law of sin and death.
- The Power of Decrees: The irrevocability of the king's law (once decreed, a Persian law could not be changed, Esther 8:8) mirrored the seriousness of divine decrees. Yet, just as the king could grant mercy, God, too, exercises His sovereign will in grace.
Esther 4 11 Commentary
Esther 4:11 lays bare the immense and immediate peril Esther faced in considering Mordecai's appeal. It underscores the absolute monarchy of the Persian king, whose power over life and death was total and undisputed. The law, known to all, reveals a profound cultural chasm between their system of governance and the access to God through Christ presented in the New Testament. Esther's hesitancy was not a lack of faith but a realistic assessment of the mortal danger. This verse sets the stage for her profound act of courage, framed by the knowledge that to act meant certain death unless the king intervened directly. It implicitly contrasts the earthly king's restrictive and fearful court with the grace and openness of God's throne in heaven. The thirty-day absence further accentuates her vulnerability and the unique burden she bore, being asked to confront death for her people.