Esther 3:3

Complete Jewish Bible

The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordekhai, "Why don't you obey the king's order?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The members of the royal staff at the King’s Gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?”

Hebrew Names Version
Then the king's servants, who were in the king's gate, said to Mordekhai, Why disobey you the king's mitzvah?

King James Version
Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

English Standard Version
Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you transgress the king's command?"

New Century Version
Then the royal officers at the king's gate asked Mordecai, "Why don't you obey the king's command?"

New English Translation
Then the servants of the king who were at the king's gate asked Mordecai, "Why are you violating the king's commandment?"

Amplified Bible
Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why are you disregarding the king's command?"

New American Standard Bible
Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why are you violating the king's command?"

World English Bible
Then the king's servants, who were in the king's gate, said to Mordecai, Why disobey you the king's commandment?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the Kings seruants which were at the Kings gate, said vnto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the Kings commandement?

Legacy Standard Bible
So the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you trespass against the king's command?"

Berean Standard Bible
Then the royal servants at the King's Gate asked Mordecai, "Why do you disobey the command of the king?"

Contemporary English Version
When the other officials asked Mordecai why he disobeyed the king's command,

Darby Translation
Then the king's servants, who were in the king's gate, said to Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

Easy-to-Read Version
Then the king's leaders at the gate asked Mordecai, "Why don't you obey the king's command to bow down to Haman?"

George Lamsa Translation
Then the kings servants who were at the kings gate said to Mordecai, Why do you transgress the kings commandment?

Good News Translation
The other officials in the royal service asked him why he was disobeying the king's command;

Lexham English Bible
And the king's servants who were at the gate of the king said to Mordecai, "Why are you transgressing the command of the king?"

Literal Translation
And the king's servants who were at the gate of the king said to Mordecai, Why do you disobey the king's command?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then the kynges seruauntes which were in the kynges gate, sayde vnto Mardocheus: Why transgressest thou the kynges commaundement?

American Standard Version
Then the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

Bible in Basic English
Then the king's servants who were in the king's house said to Mordecai, Why do you go against the king's order?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then the kinges seruauntes whiche were in the kinges gate, said vnto Mardocheus: Why transgressest thou the kinges commaundement?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai: 'Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?'

King James Version (1611)
Then the kings seruants, which were in the kings gate, sayd vnto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the kings commandement?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they in the king’s palace said to Mardochaeus, Mardochaeus, why dost thou transgress the commands of the king?

English Revised Version
Then the king's servants, that were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
`To whom the children of the kyng seiden, that saten bifore at the yatis of the paleis, Whi kepist `thou not the comaundementis of the kyng, othere wise than othere men?

Update Bible Version
Then the king's slaves, that were in the king's gate, said to Mordecai, Why do you transgress the king's commandment?

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the king's servants who [were] in the king's gate, said to Mordecai, Why dost thou transgress the king's commandment?

New King James Version
Then the king's servants who were within the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you transgress the king's command?"

New Living Translation
Then the palace officials at the king's gate asked Mordecai, "Why are you disobeying the king's command?"

New Life Bible
Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why are you not obeying the king?"

New Revised Standard
Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why do you disobey the king's command?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said the king's servants who were in the king's gate unto Mordecai, -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king’s servants that were chief at the doors of the palace, said to him: Why dost thou alone not observe the king’s commandment?

Revised Standard Version
Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mor'decai, "Why do you transgress the king's command?"

Young's Literal Translation
And the servants of the king, who [are] in the gate of the king, say to Mordecai, `Wherefore [art] thou transgressing the command of the king?'

THE MESSAGE
Some time later, King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, making him the highest-ranking official in the government. All the king's servants at the King's Gate used to honor him by bowing down and kneeling before Haman—that's what the king had commanded. Except Mordecai. Mordecai wouldn't do it, wouldn't bow down and kneel. The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordecai about it: "Why do you cross the king's command?" Day after day they spoke to him about this but he wouldn't listen, so they went to Haman to see whether something shouldn't be done about it. Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw for himself that Mordecai didn't bow down and kneel before him, he was outraged. Meanwhile, having learned that Mordecai was a Jew, Haman hated to waste his fury on just one Jew; he looked for a way to eliminate not just Mordecai but all Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. In the first month, the month of Nisan, of the twelfth year of Xerxes, the pur—that is, the lot—was cast under Haman's charge to determine the propitious day and month. The lot turned up the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. Haman then spoke with King Xerxes: "There is an odd set of people scattered through the provinces of your kingdom who don't fit in. Their customs and ways are different from those of everybody else. Worse, they disregard the king's laws. They're an affront; the king shouldn't put up with them. If it please the king, let orders be given that they be destroyed. I'll pay for it myself. I'll deposit 375 tons of silver in the royal bank to finance the operation." The king slipped his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, archenemy of the Jews. "Go ahead," the king said to Haman. "It's your money—do whatever you want with those people." The king's secretaries were brought in on the thirteenth day of the first month. The orders were written out word for word as Haman had addressed them to the king's satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people. They were written in the script of each province and the language of each people in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring. Bulletins were sent out by couriers to all the king's provinces with orders to massacre, kill, and eliminate all the Jews—youngsters and old men, women and babies—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar, and to plunder their goods. Copies of the bulletin were to be posted in each province, publicly available to all peoples, to get them ready for that day. At the king's command, the couriers took off; the order was also posted in the palace complex of Susa. The king and Haman sat back and had a drink while the city of Susa reeled from the news.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, "Why are you transgressing the king's command?"

Contextual Overview

¹ Some time later King Achashverosh began to single out Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi for advancement; eventually he gave him precedence over all his fellow officers. ² All the king's servants at the King's Gate would kneel and bow down before Haman, because the king had so ordered. But Mordekhai would neither kneel nor bow down to him. ³ The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordekhai, "Why don't you obey the king's order?" ⁴ But after they had confronted him a number of times without his paying attention to them, they told Haman, in order to find out whether Mordekhai's explanation that he was a Jew would suffice to justify his behavior. ⁵ Haman was furious when he saw that Mordekhai was not kneeling and bowing down to him. ⁶ However, on learning what people Mordekhai belonged to, it seemed to him a waste to lay hands on Mordekhai alone. Rather, he decided to destroy all of Mordekhai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole of Achashverosh's kingdom.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Why: Esther 3:2, Exodus 1:17, Matthew 15:2, Matthew 15:3

Reciprocal: Esther 2:19 - sat in the king's gate Esther 6:6 - To whom

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
The man replied, "The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate."

Genesis 3:13
Adonai , God, said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me, so I ate."

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pain in childbirth. You will bring forth children in pain. Your desire will be toward your husband, but he will rule over you."

Genesis 3:17
To Adam he said, "Because you listened to what your wife said and ate from the tree about which I gave you the order, ‘You are not to eat from it,' the ground is cursed on your account; you will work hard to eat from it as long as you live.

Genesis 20:6
God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in doing this, your heart has been pure; and I too have kept you from sinning against me. This is why I didn't let you touch her.

1 Chronicles 16:22
"Don't touch my anointed ones or do my prophets harm!"

Job 1:11
But if you reach out your hand and touch whatever he has, without doubt he'll curse you to your face!"

Job 2:5
But if you reach out your hand and touch his flesh and bone, without doubt he'll curse you to your face!"

Job 19:21
"Pity me, friends of mine, pity me! For the hand of God has struck me!

1 Corinthians 7:1
Now to deal with the questions you wrote about: "Is it good for a man to keep away from women?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate,.... Observing the behaviour of Mordecai towards Haman from time to time:

said unto Mordecai, why transgressest thou the king's commandment? of giving reverence to Haman, which they knew he could not be ignorant of.