Esther 8:8
in Esther 8Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Write ye also to the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring; for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.
KJV
Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.
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This verse in Esther 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseMay no man reverse - Whatever had passed the royal signet could never be revoked; no succeeding edict could destroy or repeal a preceding one: but one of a similar nature to the Jews against the Persians, as that to the Persians was against the Jews, might be enacted, and thus the Jews be enabled legitimately to defend themselves; and, consequently, placed on an equal footing with their enemies.
This site's exposition
write in the king’s name
The king states: "a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked". Esther asked at verse 5 that Haman's letters be revoked, and the law forbids it. The king allows a second decree in his name and seal.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
The letters themselves are written in the name of the king and then sealed with his ring, because the teaching of the Gospels—which are preached throughout the world in the name of Christ—are declared everywhere to be confirmed by the seal of the Holy Spirit, …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Reverse - For this reason he could not recall the former letters, because they were irrevocable by the law of the Medes and Persians. How much more prudent is our constitution, that no law whatever can be established as to be unrepealable? It is God's prerogative, not to repent, and to say what can never be altered.
): What is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may not, under any pretence whatsoever, be reversed. This was a fundamental article of their magna charta, that no law or decree, when once it had passed the royal assent, could be repealed or recalled, no judgment vacated, no attainder reversed, Dan. vi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Write ye also for the Jews as it liketh you,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Write ... as it liketh you ... - (See the Est 1:19 note. Practically, Ahasuerus reversed the “device” of Haman).
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְ֠אַתֶּם | veatem | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| כִּתְב֨וּ | kitvu | write | H3789 → | 224 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִ֜ים | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
| כַּטּ֤וֹב | katov | according to the good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בְּעֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ | beeineikhem | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| בְּשֵׁ֣ם | beshem | in [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְחִתְמ֖וּ | vechitmu | and seal [it] | H2856 → | 26 times |
| בְּטַבַּ֣עַת | betabaat | with [the] signet-ring of | H2885 → | 49 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כְתָ֞ב | khetav | a writing | H3791 → | 17 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נִכְתָּ֣ב | nikhtav | [is] written | H3789 → | 224 times |
| בְּשֵׁם־ | beshem- | in [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְנַחְתּ֛וֹם | venachtom | and it is sealed | H2856 → | 26 times |
| בְּטַבַּ֥עַת | betabaat | with [the] signet-ring of | H2885 → | 49 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| לְהָשִֽׁיב׃ | lehashiv | to revoke | H7725 → | 1056 times |
וְ֠אַתֶּםand you
veatemH859 →1094 times
כִּתְב֨וּwrite
kitvuH3789 →224 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַיְּהוּדִ֜יםthe Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
כַּטּ֤וֹבaccording to the good
katovH2896 →538 times
בְּעֵֽינֵיכֶם֙in view your
beeineikhemH5869 →887 times
בְּשֵׁ֣םin [the] name of
beshemH8034 →864 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְחִתְמ֖וּand seal [it]
vechitmuH2856 →26 times
בְּטַבַּ֣עַתwith [the] signet-ring of
betabaatH2885 →49 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כְתָ֞בa writing
khetavH3791 →17 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
נִכְתָּ֣ב[is] written
nikhtavH3789 →224 times
בְּשֵׁם־in [the] name of
beshem-H8034 →864 times
הַמֶּ֗לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְנַחְתּ֛וֹםand it is sealed
venachtomH2856 →26 times
בְּטַבַּ֥עַתwith [the] signet-ring of
betabaatH2885 →49 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
לְהָשִֽׁיב׃to revoke
lehashivH7725 →1056 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
Esther 3:12On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 21:8
Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.
- Esther 1:22
He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his…
- 1 Kings 21:8
Through
Esther 1:19So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:28
So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.
- Esther 3:9
If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”
- Daniel 6:17
A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel…
- Esther 8:5
“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order…
- Daniel 6:8–15
Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
- 1 Samuel 15:28
Through
Esther 8:5“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order…
it leads to
- Esther 7:3
Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my…
- Esther 7:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther.