Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Esther 9:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse reports Mordecai's growing fame and power throughout the provinces
Read It With
- Esther 9:1–10
Read Esther 9:1–10 together. This verse reports Mordecai's growing fame and power throughout the provinces Read Esther 9:1–10 as one complete Esther scene: On the day enemies hoped to overpower the Jews, the situation reverses. Jews gather against those seeking their hurt, officials support them from fear of Mordecai, and they kill enemies in Shushan including Haman's ten sons. The text describes severe domination yet stresses that they do not take spoil.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The scene fulfills the book's central reversal while confronting readers with the cost and ethical danger of survival through imperial force. Within that movement, this verse reports Mordecai's growing fame and power throughout the provinces
Read Esther 9:1–10 together
Why these verses belong together: The appointed day, explicit reversal of hoped-for power, Jewish gathering, official support, Mordecai's growing influence, killings in Shushan, the named sons of Haman, and refusal of spoil form the first battle report; verse 11 brings the casualty count to the king.
Verse 1. 1 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have power over them, (though it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them;)
Verse 2. 2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.
Verse 3. 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.
Verse 4. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces: for this man Mordecai waxed greater and greater.
Verse 5. 5 Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.
Verse 6. 6 And in Shushan the palace the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men.
Verse 7. 7 And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,
Verse 8. 8 And Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
Verse 9. 9 And Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,
Verse 10. 10 The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, slew they; but on the spoil laid they not their hand.
What Remains True
Within Esther's story, this verse reports Mordecai's growing fame and power throughout the provinces
How It Can Shape Life
- Evaluate a leader's growth by the safety and peace it produces, not fame alone.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Esther 9:1–10 — The threatened people gain the upper handSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Esther 9:1–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Esther
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated roots, Persian terms, clause relationships, names, and translation controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Esth.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 9:1–10
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Esther with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Material lexical, grammatical, textual, Persian-setting, literary, and translation notes within the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Esther PDF, printed pp. 792–793, translation and translator notes on 9:1–10
Open source ↗