Esther 5:13
in Esther 5Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
KJV
Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.
⋯
This verse in Esther 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseYet all this availeth me nothing - Pride will ever render its possessor unhappy. He has such a high opinion of his own worth, that he conceives himself defrauded by every one who does not pay him all the respect and homage which he conceives to be his due. The soul was made for God, and nothing but God can fill it and make it happy. Angels could not be happy in glory, when they had cast off their allegiance to their Maker.
This site's exposition
Yet none of this satisfies me
Haman sums up his day: "Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate". Every honor he owns is cancelled by the one man. Wealth, promotion and a queen's favor cannot outweigh one unbending posture at a gate.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. 7 Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Such torment did his envy and malice bring upon him. Sitting - Enjoying that honour and privilege without disturbance, and denying me the worship due to me by the king's command. Thus tho' proud men have much to their mind, if they have not all to their mind, it is nothing.
Yet all this availeth me nothing,.... Is not equal or sufficient for me; it gives me no satisfaction and contentment: so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate: not rising up to bow unto him; this single circumstance spoiled all his joy and pleasure.
He took notice of his own riches and honours, the numerousness of his family, and the high posts to which he was advanced, that he was the darling of the prince and the idol of the court; and yet all this avails him nothing as long as Mordecai is unhanged.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
[This] is meaningless to me. I do not care for all the honor that I have.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| זֶ֕ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| אֵינֶ֥נּוּ | ʾeinenu | not it | H369 → | 789 times |
| שֹׁוֶ֖ה | shoveh | [is] adequate | H7737 → | 21 times |
| לִ֑י | li | for me | ||
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | at any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֵ֗ת | ʾet | time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | when | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| רֹאֶה֙ | roeh | [am] seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מָרְדֳּכַ֣י | maredokhai | Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֔י | haiyehudi | the Jew | H3064 → | 75 times |
| יוֹשֵׁ֖ב | yoshev | sitting | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּשַׁ֥עַר | beshaar | at [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
זֶ֕הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
אֵינֶ֥נּוּnot it
ʾeinenuH369 →789 times
שֹׁוֶ֖ה[is] adequate
shovehH7737 →21 times
לִ֑יfor me
li
בְּכָל־at any
bekholH3605 →5413 times
עֵ֗תtime
ʾetH6256 →296 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhen
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
רֹאֶה֙[am] seeing
roehH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מָרְדֳּכַ֣יMordecai
maredokhaiH4782 →60 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֔יthe Jew
haiyehudiH3064 →75 times
יוֹשֵׁ֖בsitting
yoshevH3427 →1079 times
בְּשַׁ֥עַרat [the] gate of
beshaarH8179 →374 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Ecclesiastes 1:2“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!”
it leads to
- Psalms 144:4
Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
- Romans 8:20
For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope
- Ecclesiastes 5:10
He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
- Psalms 39:5–6
You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
- Ecclesiastes 12:8
“Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile!”
- Psalms 144:4
Through
Ecclesiastes 1:14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 2:11
Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to…
- Ecclesiastes 2:17
So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26
To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over…
- Ecclesiastes 2:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Esther

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
