Esther 3:6
in Esther 3And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
KJV
And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had shewed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
⋯
This verse in Esther 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
To destroy all the Jews - In the East massacres of a people, a race, a class, have at all times been among the incidents of history, and would naturally present themselves to the mind of a statesman. The Magophonia, or the great massacre of the Magi at the accession of Darius Hystaspis, was an event not then fifty years old, and was commemorated annually. A massacre of the Scythians had occurred about a century previously.
This site's exposition
When Haman saw that Mordecai
on Esther 3:5-7
Haman "was filled with rage," and when he learns Mordecai's people he "scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone". In Nisan, "the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman," and it fell on Adar, eleven months away. The long delay gives the rescue its time.
This site's exposition
And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s
Wesley reads the scorn as pride: Haman judged vengeance on Mordecai alone beneath his rank. His plan to destroy a people had precedent in Persia. Barnes points to the Magophonia, the massacre of the Magi at the accession of Darius, an event under fifty years old and kept every year.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Nothing else is symbolized by the arrogant Haman than the opulence of the powerful of this world who take advantage of the benefits conceded to them by divine mercy. They despise allowing their neighbors, who are given to them as companions by nature, to have …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Scorn - He thought that vengeance was unsuitable to his quality. Destroy - Which he attempted, from that implacable hatred which, as an Amalekite, he had against them; from his rage against Mordecai; and from Mordecai's reason of this contempt, because he was a Jew, which as he truly judged, extended itself to all the Jews, and would equally engage them all in the same neglect.
8 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone,....
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּ֣בֶז | vaiyivez | and he despised | H959 → | |
| בְּעֵינָ֗יו | beeinav | in view his | H5869 → | 887 times |
| לִשְׁלֹ֤ח | lishloch | to stretch out | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יָד֙ | yad | a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בְּמָרְדֳּכַ֣י | bemaredokhai | on Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| לְבַדּ֔וֹ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִגִּ֥ידוּ | higidu | people had told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַ֣ם | ʾam | [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מָרְדֳּכָ֑י | maredokhai | Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
| וַיְבַקֵּ֣שׁ | vayvakesh | and he sought | H1245 → | 225 times |
| הָמָ֗ן | haman | Haman | H2001 → | 54 times |
| לְהַשְׁמִ֧יד | lehashmid | to annihilate | H8045 → | 90 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֛ים | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | [were] in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַלְכ֥וּת | malkhut | [the] kingdom of | H4438 → | 91 times |
| אֲחַשְׁוֵר֖וֹשׁ | ʾachashveroosh | Ahasuerus | H325 → | 31 times |
| עַ֥ם | ʾam | [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מָרְדֳּכָֽי׃ | maredokhai | Mordecai | H4782 → | 60 times |
וַיִּ֣בֶזand he despised
vaiyivezH959 →
בְּעֵינָ֗יוin view his
beeinavH5869 →887 times
לִשְׁלֹ֤חto stretch out
lishlochH7971 →845 times
יָד֙a hand
yadH3027 →1618 times
בְּמָרְדֳּכַ֣יon Mordecai
bemaredokhaiH4782 →60 times
לְבַדּ֔וֹto only him
levadoH905 →200 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִגִּ֥ידוּpeople had told
higiduH5046 →370 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַ֣ם[the] people of
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
מָרְדֳּכָ֑יMordecai
maredokhaiH4782 →60 times
וַיְבַקֵּ֣שׁand he sought
vayvakeshH1245 →225 times
הָמָ֗ןHaman
hamanH2001 →54 times
לְהַשְׁמִ֧ידto annihilate
lehashmidH8045 →90 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֛יםthe Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּכָל־[were] in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
מַלְכ֥וּת[the] kingdom of
malkhutH4438 →91 times
אֲחַשְׁוֵר֖וֹשׁAhasuerus
ʾachashverooshH325 →31 times
עַ֥ם[the] people of
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
מָרְדֳּכָֽי׃Mordecai
maredokhaiH4782 →60 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
Revelation 12:12Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short…
it leads to
- Isaiah 49:13
Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.
- Revelation 8:13
And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead, calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded…
- Revelation 18:20
Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.
- Psalms 96:11–13
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea resound, and all that fills it.
- Revelation 10:6
And he swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything in it, the earth and everything in it, and the sea and everything in it: “There will be no…
- Isaiah 49:13
Through
Psalms 83:4saying, “Come, let us erase them as a nation; may the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:2
There is no longer praise for Moab; in Heshbon they devise evil against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from nationhood.’ You too, O people of Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will…
- Jeremiah 11:19
For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from…
- Esther 3:6–9
And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of…
- Jeremiah 48:2
Where this verse is studied
About Esther
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 6 and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).