TRV
Translation
King James Version
So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
Complete Jewish Bible
Couriers riding fast horses used in the king's service left quickly, pressed by the king's order; and the decree was issued in Shushan the capital.
Berean Standard Bible
The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.
American Standard Version
So the posts that rode upon swift steeds that were used in the king’s service went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment; and the decree was given out in Shushan the palace.
World English Bible Messianic
So the couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. The decree was given out in the citadel of Susa.
Geneva Bible (1599)
So the postes rode vpon beasts of price, and dromedaries, and went forth with speede, to execute the Kings commandement, and the decree was giuen at Shushan the palace.
Young's Literal Translation
The runners, riding on the dromedary, and the mules, have gone out, hastened and pressed by the word of the king, and the law hath been given in Shushan the palace.
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Commentary on Esther 8 verses 3–14
3 ¶ And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
4 Then the king held out the golden sceptre toward Esther. So Esther arose, and stood before the king,
5 And said, If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces:
6 For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
7 Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.
8 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.
9 Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.
10 And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
11 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,
12 Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.
13 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 So the posts that rode upon mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. And the decree was given at Shushan the palace.
Haman, the chief enemy of the Jews, was hanged, Mordecai and Esther, their chief friends, were sufficiently protected; but many others there were in the king's dominions that hated the Jews and desired their ruin, and to their rage and malice all the rest of that people lay exposed; for the edict against them was still in force, and, in pursuance of it, their enemies would on the day appointed fall upon them, and they would be deemed as rebels against the king and his government if they should offer to resist and take up arms in their own defence. For the preventing of this,
I. The queen here makes intercession with much affection and importunity. She came, a second time, uncalled into the king's presence (Est 8:3), and was as before encouraged to present her petition, by the king's holding out the golden sceptre to her, Est 8:4. Her petition is that the king, having put away Haman, would put away the mischief of Haman and his device against the Jews, that that might not take place now that he was taken off. Many a man's mischief survives him, and the wickedness he devised operates when he is gone. What men project and write may, after their death, be either very profitable or very pernicious. It was therefore requisite in this case that, for the defeating of Haman's plot, they should apply to the king for a further act of grace, that by another edict he would reverse the letters devised by Haman, and which he wrote (she does not say which the king consented to and confirmed with his own seal; she leaves it to his own conscience to say that), by which he took an effectual course to destroy the Jews in all the king's provinces, Est 8:5. If the king were indeed, as he seemed to be, troubled that such a decree was made, he could not do less than revoke it; for what is repentance, but undoing, to the utmost of our power, what we have done amiss? 1. This petition Esther presents with much affection: She fell down at the king's feet and besought him with tears (Est 8:3), every tear as precious as any of the pearls with which she was adorned. It was time to be earnest when the church of God lay at stake. Let none be so great as to be unwilling to stoop, none so merry as to be unwilling to weep, when thereby they may do any service to God's church and people. Esther, though safe herself, fell down, and begged with tears for the deliverance of her people. 2. She expresses it with great submission, and a profound deference to the king and his wisdom and will (Est 8:5): If it please the king and if I have found favour in his sightand again, "If the thing itself seem right and reasonable before the king, and if I that ask it be pleasing in his eyes, let the decree be reversed." Even when we have the utmost reason and justice on our side, and have the clearest cause to plead, yet it becomes us to speak to our superiors with humility and modesty, and all possible expressions of respect, and not to talk like demandants when we are supplicants. There is nothing lost be decency and good breeding. As soft answers turn away wrath, so soft askings obtain favour. 3. She enforces her petition with a pathetic plea: "For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come upon my people? Little comfort can I have of my own life if I cannot prevail for theirs: as good share in the evil myself as see it come upon them; for how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred, that are dear to me?" Esther, a queen, owns her poor kindred, and speaks of them with a very tender concern. Now it was that she mingled her tears with her words, that she wept and made supplication; we read of no tears when she begged for her own life, but, now that she was sure of that, she wept for her people. Tears of pity and tenderness are the most Christ-like. Those that are truly concerned for the public would rather die in the last ditch than live to see the desolations of the church of God and the ruin of their country. Tender spirits cannot bear to think of the destruction of their people and kindred, and therefore dare not omit any opportunity of giving them relief.
II. The king here takes a course for the preventing of the mischief that Haman had designed. 1. The king knew, and informed the queen, that, according to the constitution of the Persian government, the former edict could not be revoked (Est 8:8): 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 6:15. This is so far from bespeaking the wisdom and honour of the Medes and Persians that really it bespeaks their pride and folly, and consequently their shame. It is ridiculous in itself for any man, or company of men, to pretend to such an infallibility of wisdom as to foresee all the consequences of what they decree; and therefore it is unjust, and injurious to mankind, to claim such a supremacy of power as to make their decrees irrevocable, whether the consequences prove good or bad. This savours of that old presumption which ruined us all: We will be as gods. Much more prudent is that proviso of our constitution, that no law can, by any words or sanctions whatsoever, be made unrepealable, any more than any estate unalienable. Cujus est instruere, ejus est destruere - the right to enact implies the right to repeal. It is God's prerogative not to repent, and to say what can never be altered or unsaid. 2. Yet he found an expedient to undo the devices of Haman, and defeat his design, by signing and publishing another decree to authorize the Jews to stand upon their defence, vim vi repellere, et invasorem occidere - to oppose force to force, and destroy the assailant. This would be their effectual security. The king shows them that he had done enough already to convince them that he had a concern for the Jewish nation, for he had ordered his favourite to be hanged because he laid his hand upon the Jews (Est 8:7), and he therefore would d the utmost he could to protect them; and he leaves it as fully with Esther and Mordecai to use his name and power for their deliverance as before he had left it with Haman to use his name and power for their destruction: "Write for the Jews as it liketh you (Est 8:8), saving only the honour of our constitution. Let the mischief be put away as effectually as may be without reversing the letters." The secretaries of state were ordered to attend to draw up this edict on the twenty-third day of the third month (Est 8:9), about two months after the promulgation of the former, but nine months before the time set for its execution: it was to be drawn up and published in the respective languages of all the provinces. Shall the subjects of an earthly prince have his decrees in a language they understand? and shall God's oracles and laws be locked up from his servants in an unknown tongue? It was to be directed to the proper officers of every province, both to the justices of peace and to the deputy-lieutenants. It was to be carefully dispersed throughout all the king's dominions, and true copies sent by expresses to all the provinces. The purport of this decree was to commission the Jews, upon the day which was appointed for their destruction, to draw together in a body for their own defence. And, (1.) To stand for their life, that, whoever assaulted them, it might be at their peril. (2.) They might not only act defensively, but might destroy, and slay, and cause to perish, all the power of the people that would assault them, men, women, and children (Est 8:11), and thus to avenge themselves on their enemies (Est 8:13), and, if they pleased, to enrich themselves by their enemies, for they were empowered to take the spoil of them for a prey. Now, [1.] This showed his kindness to the Jews, and sufficiently provided for their safety; for he latter decree would be looked upon as a tacit revocation of the former, though not in expression. But, [2.] It shows the absurdity of that branch of their constitution that none of the king's edicts might be repealed; for it laid the king here under a necessity of enacting a civil war in his own dominions, between the Jews and their enemies, so that both sides took up arms by his authority, and yet against his authority. No better could come of men's pretending to be wise above what is given them. Great expedition was used in dispersing this decree, the king himself being in pain lest it should come too late and any mischief should be done to the Jews by virtue of the former decree before the notice of this arrived. It was therefore by the king's commandment, as well as Mordecai's, that the messengers were hastened and pressed on (Est 8:14), and had swift beasts provided them, Est 8:10. It was not a time to trifle when so many lives were in danger.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 3–14. Public domain.
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Rabanus MaurusAD 856
EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 11
The fact that this earthly king sends his couriers to gather the Jews in each place and to assemble them in a single location so that they may fight for their lives and destroy all their enemies with their children and women and houses signifies that through his preachers our king, the absolute ruler of heaven and earth, orders the true Jews and his confessors among all the Gentiles, after they have gathered in the unity of society and peace, to fight for the salvation of their souls and to condemn their enemies both visible and invisible, namely the false Jews, who belong to the synagogue of Satan, and the unredeemed pagan and heretics, and the unclean spirits with all their impieties.
Rabanus MaurusAD 856
Commentary on Esther
Moreover, what follows next—“And the king’s edict was published in Shushan”— means that the domain of the heavenly king rules over and governs the entire world: “everything has been placed under his jurisdiction, and there is no one who can resist his will” (Esther 13); and our mundane ambitions are laid low by his power. So it makes sense that according to the text the king’s edict was also published in Shushan, since “Shushan” means riding or conveying. In the end, the arrogance of the world is bested by the power of God; which is why the Savior says to his disciples in the Gospel: “in the world, you will face repression; but take heart, for I have conquered the world” (John 16).
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Esther 8:14 vividly portrays the immediate and urgent dissemination of King Ahasuerus's counter-decree throughout the vast Persian Empire. Following Haman's downfall and Mordecai's elevation, this new edict granted the Jewish people the right to defend themselves against their enemies, effectively reversing the genocidal decree previously issued. The verse emphasizes the extraordinary speed and efficiency with which these life-saving instructions were dispatched by royal couriers, riding the swiftest animals, highlighting the critical race against time to avert the impending catastrophe and ensure the survival of God's people.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: Esther 8:14 serves as the climactic culmination of the narrative's turning point, immediately following the detailed account of the new decree's content. Chapters 6 and 7 meticulously chronicle Haman's dramatic fall from power and subsequent execution, while the initial verses of chapter 8 describe Esther and Mordecai's fervent plea to King Ahasuerus for a means to counteract Haman's irreversible edict. Since Persian law prohibited the outright revocation of a sealed royal decree, the new edict (detailed in Esther 8:9-13) empowered the Jews to defend themselves, destroy their attackers, and plunder their goods on the very day previously appointed for their annihilation. Therefore, verse 14 is not merely a descriptive detail but a crucial narrative pivot, demonstrating the immediate and forceful implementation of this life-saving measure, ensuring its widespread knowledge and enforcement before the day of destruction arrived. Its swiftness deliberately mirrors, yet dramatically reverses, the rapid dispatch of Haman's original decree in Esther 3:15.
Historical & Cultural Context: The Persian Empire, stretching across 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia as noted in Esther 1:1, was renowned for its sophisticated and highly efficient postal system. This system, often lauded by ancient historians like Herodotus, utilized royal couriers ("posts") and a network of relay stations to ensure rapid communication across its immense territories. The specific mention of "mules and camels" reflects the practical realities of ancient travel and the strategic deployment of animals best suited for speed and endurance across diverse geographical terrains. A king's commandment in Persia, once sealed with the royal signet ring, was considered immutable and absolute, underscoring the immense legal and administrative authority behind this counter-decree. The urgency depicted in the verse is thus not a mere literary embellishment but a historically accurate reflection of the operational capacity and the binding legal gravity of the Persian administrative system, now providentially employed for the salvation of God's people.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several overarching themes within the book of Esther. Foremost is the theme of Divine Providence, where God's unseen hand orchestrates human events, even through secular means and the actions of pagan rulers, to protect His covenant people. The swiftness of the decree's dispersal, mirroring but now counteracting the earlier dispatch of Haman's evil edict, highlights God's ability to turn the enemy's own systems and plots against them. It also underscores the central theme of Reversal of Fortune, a dominant motif in Esther, where the Jews' imminent doom is miraculously transformed into triumph and vindication. The intense urgency conveyed by "hastened and pressed on" emphasizes the Critical Importance of Timely Action in the face of existential threat, both for the human agents involved and as a reflection of the divine imperative for deliverance. Finally, it speaks to the Power and Authority of Royal Decrees, which in this instance, became the instrument of salvation rather than destruction, echoing the sovereign power of God's own word, which "shall not return to me void" (Isaiah 55:11).
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Esther 8:14 masterfully employs several literary devices to convey its profound message of urgency and reversal. Imagery is prominent, painting a vivid picture of royal couriers on swift mules and camels, symbolizing speed, efficiency, and the vast reach of the empire. The powerful phrase "hastened and pressed on" functions as a striking instance of Emphasis and Repetition, underscoring the critical urgency of the mission. This urgency is further highlighted through a dramatic Contrast with the earlier, equally swift dispatch of Haman's destructive decree in Esther 3:15, creating a profound Reversal of Fortune where the very same system of communication now serves as an instrument of salvation rather than destruction. The entire scene serves as a form of Foreshadowing, hinting at the imminent deliverance and triumph of the Jewish people, which will culminate in the events of Esther 9. The narrative's focus on human action and royal decrees, while seemingly secular, subtly points to the underlying Divine Providence at work, orchestrating these human efforts for a supernatural outcome.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Esther 8:14 powerfully illustrates the theme of divine providence, even in a book where God's name is conspicuously absent. The extraordinary speed and efficiency with which the life-saving decree is dispatched, mirroring the earlier swiftness of Haman's destructive edict, points to a higher hand at work. God, though unseen, is actively orchestrating events, turning the very mechanisms of the enemy's plot into instruments of salvation for His people. This verse underscores that God's purposes are not thwarted by human wickedness but can even utilize human systems and authority to bring about His perfect will. It is a testament to His sovereignty, demonstrating that He can "turn the heart of the king wherever he wills" (Proverbs 21:1). The urgency of the messengers also serves as a spiritual parallel, reminding believers of the critical importance of swiftly proclaiming God's truth and acting upon His commands, especially when spiritual dangers loom. Just as the couriers obeyed the king's command without delay, so too are God's heavenly hosts described as "mighty in strength, who do His word, obeying the voice of His word!" (Psalm 103:20).
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Esther 8:14 offers profound lessons for contemporary believers, emphasizing the critical nature of timely and diligent action. The urgency with which the counter-decree was dispatched speaks to the imperative of prompt response in our own lives, particularly concerning matters of spiritual and communal well-being. Just as the Jewish people's survival depended on the swift delivery and acceptance of this new word, so too does our spiritual vitality often hinge on our prompt and obedient response to God's revealed truth. This verse encourages us to be diligent and "hastened and pressed on" in our pursuit of righteousness, in sharing the good news of the Gospel, and in defending truth against error and spiritual darkness. It also serves as a powerful reminder that God can use unexpected means—even secular systems, political authorities, and human efforts—to accomplish His sovereign purposes. We are called to trust in His providential hand, even when His presence seems hidden or His methods unconventional, and to act with courage and conviction, knowing that our efforts, when aligned with His will, can be instruments of profound change and deliverance for ourselves and for others.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What was the significance of the "mules and camels" in Esther 8:14?
Answer: The mention of "mules and camels" is highly significant because these were the fastest and most reliable animals for long-distance travel across the diverse terrains of the vast Persian Empire. Mules were known for their speed and sure-footedness in mountainous regions and along rugged paths, while camels were indispensable for their endurance and ability to traverse arid deserts. Their strategic use underscores the extreme urgency and critical importance of the mission, as the king and his administrators deployed the best available resources to ensure the swiftest possible dissemination of the life-saving decree to all 127 provinces (as noted in Esther 1:1). This detail highlights the practical and historical accuracy of the narrative, emphasizing the critical race against time to counter Haman's earlier destructive edict, which had also been rapidly dispatched (Esther 3:13).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Esther 8:14, with its depiction of a life-saving decree dispatched with utmost urgency by royal couriers, powerfully foreshadows the ultimate "decree" of salvation delivered by God Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. Just as the Jewish people faced an imminent threat of annihilation under a decree of death, humanity was under the condemnation of sin, a decree of spiritual death whose "wages is death" (Romans 6:23). Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, came not merely as a messenger but as the living embodiment of God's counter-decree—the Gospel of grace and redemption. His life, atoning death, and glorious resurrection constitute the ultimate reversal of fortune for humanity, offering deliverance from sin's power and the gift of eternal life to all who believe (John 3:16). The swiftness and compulsion of the couriers in Esther find their spiritual parallel in the urgency of the Great Commission, where believers are "hastened and pressed on" to proclaim this good news to "all nations" (Matthew 28:19-20). The authority of the Persian king's commandment is infinitely surpassed by the divine authority of Christ, who declared, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18). Thus, Esther 8:14, though a historical narrative, points us to the supreme act of divine intervention and the urgent, authoritative, and life-giving message of the Gospel, delivered by the ultimate King.