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Esther 3:8

in Esther 3

Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.

KJV

And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.

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This verse in Esther 3

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Their laws are diverse from all people - Such they certainly were; for they worshipped the true God according to his own laws; and this was not done by any other people then on the face of the earth.

This site's exposition

a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed

on Esther 3:8-9

Haman’s case to the king is built on half-truths dressed as policy: a people scattered and dispersed, laws diverse from every other people, a refusal to keep the king’s laws, therefore no profit in letting them live. He never names the people, and the king never asks, agreeing to a destruction he has not troubled himself to identify. Ten thousand talents of silver is offered to the king’s treasuries, a sum the commentators reckon among the largest named in the ancient world, buying a decree with money that will, by the book’s own reversal, end in Mordecai’s hands instead.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And Haman said unto King Ahasuerus, Or "had said" (r), as some choose to render it; nor indeed is it likely that Haman should cast lots to know when would be a proper time to destroy the Jews, until he had got leave of the king to do it: there is a certain people scattered abroad, and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; for, though many of the Jews returned to their own land, on the proclamation of Cyrus, yet others remained, being well settled as to worldly things, and not having that zeal for God and his worship as became them, and not caring to be at the trouble and expense of such a journey, and especially those of the ten tribes; now Haman, through contempt of them, mentions them not by name, only describes them as a scattered insignificant people: and their laws are different from all people; concerning their diet and observation of days, and other things; so Empedocles, an Heathen, observes (s) of the Jews, that they were a separate people from all others in those things; for he says,"they separated not only from the Romans, but even from all men; for, having found out an unmixed way of living, they have nothing common with men, neither table nor libations, nor prayers, nor sacrifices, but are more separate from us than the Susians or Bactrians, or the more remote Indians:" neither keep they the king's laws; and, no doubt, he had a special respect to the non-observance of the king's command to give him reverence; and in like manner the Jews are represented by Heathen writers, as by Tacitus (t), Juvenal (u), and others: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them; that is, to dwell in his dominions; he got nothing by them, and they might be prejudicial to his subjects, and poison them with their notions; and since they were not obedient to the laws of the kingdom, it was not fit and equitable that they should be continued […]

The words behind it

27 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • הָמָן֙Haman

    hamanH2001 →54 times

  • לַמֶּ֣לֶךְto the king

    lamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁAhasuerus

    ʾachashverooshH325 →31 times

  • יֶשְׁנ֣וֹthere it

    yeshnoH3426 →

  • עַם־[is] a people

    ʾam-H5971 →1873 times

  • אֶחָ֗דone

    ʾechadH259 →971 times

  • מְפֻזָּ֤רscattered

    mefuzarH6340 →

  • וּמְפֹרָד֙and separated

    umeforadH6504 →

  • בֵּ֣יןamong

    beinH996 →

  • הָֽעַמִּ֔יםthe peoples

    haamimH5971 →1873 times

  • בְּכֹ֖לin all

    bekholH3605 →5413 times

  • מְדִינ֣וֹת[the] provinces of

    medinotH4082 →53 times

  • מַלְכוּתֶ֑ךָkingdom your

    malkhutekhaH4438 →91 times

  • וְדָתֵיהֶ֞םand laws their

    vedateihemH1881 →22 times

  • שֹׁנ֣וֹת[are] differing

    shonotH8138 →21 times

  • מִכָּל־from every

    mikolH3605 →5413 times

  • עָ֗םpeople

    ʾamH5971 →1873 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • דָּתֵ֤י[the] laws of

    dateiH1881 →22 times

  • הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֵינָ֣םnot they

    ʾeinamH369 →789 times

  • עֹשִׂ֔ים[are] doing

    ʾosimH6213 →2628 times

  • וְלַמֶּ֥לֶךְand for the king

    velamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֵין־not

    ʾein-H369 →789 times

  • שֹׁוֶ֖ה[is] appropriate

    shovehH7737 →21 times

  • לְהַנִּיחָֽם׃to let remain them

    lehanichamH5117 →142 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Ezra 4:12–15Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem. And they are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city, restoring its walls, and repairing its foundations.7 worksActs 16:20–21They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil6 worksDaniel 6:5Finally these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel, unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”6 worksActs 16:21by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”6 worksEsther 2:10Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.5 works1 Thessalonians 2:15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Peter 1:1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the elect who are exiles of the Dispersion throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, chosen4 worksJames 1:1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.4 worksZechariah 7:14But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”3 worksJohn 7:35At this, the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go that we will not find Him? Will He go where the Jews are dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?3 worksDeuteronomy 4:27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.3 worksJeremiah 50:17Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”3 worksLeviticus 26:33But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.3 worksNumbers 23:9For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.3 worksDaniel 6:13Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”3 worksEphesians 2:14For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility3 worksMicah 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.3 worksEzekiel 11:16Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 4:27

    Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 28:62–64

      You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

    • Leviticus 26:33

      But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.

    • Ezekiel 12:15

      And they will know that I am the LORD, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them throughout the countries.

  • Through

    Zechariah 7:14

    But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 28:64

      Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you…

    • Jeremiah 23:19

      Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.

    • Deuteronomy 28:33

      A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.

    • Jeremiah 5:15

      Behold, I am bringing a distant nation against you, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know and whose…

  • Through

    John 7:35

    At this, the Jews said to one another, “Where does He intend to go that we will not find Him? Will He go where the Jews are dispersed among the Greeks, and teach the…

    it leads to

    • James 1:1

      James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

Where this verse is studied

About Esther

Esther Before the King, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Esther Before the King, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Esther: the study guide →Read Esther 3 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

Read on in Esther 3 →