Esther 7:4
New International Version
For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.”

New Living Translation
For my people and I have been sold to those who would kill, slaughter, and annihilate us. If we had merely been sold as slaves, I could remain quiet, for that would be too trivial a matter to warrant disturbing the king.”

English Standard Version
For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”

Berean Standard Bible
For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.”

King James Bible
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.

New King James Version
For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”

New American Standard Bible
for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed, and eliminated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have kept silent, because the distress would not be sufficient reason to burden the king.”

NASB 1995
for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.”

NASB 1977
for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.”

Legacy Standard Bible
for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be caused to perish. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the adversity would not be worth the annoyance to the king.”

Amplified Bible
for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed and wiped out of existence. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for our hardship would not be sufficient to burden the king [by even mentioning it].”

Christian Standard Bible
For my people and I have been sold to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and extermination. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

American Standard Version
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's damage.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Because we have been sold, I and my people, for slaughter, and for the sword and to destruction, and if it is that we would be purchased and we were sold as Servants and Maids, I would have been quiet, but the enemy does not cease to do harm to the King!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For both I and my people are sold for destruction, and pillage, and slavery; both we and our children for bondmen and bondwomen: and I consented not to it, for the slanderer is not worthy of the king's palace.

Contemporary English Version
because a reward has been promised to anyone who kills my people. Your Majesty, if we were merely going to be sold as slaves, I would not have bothered you."

Douay-Rheims Bible
For we are given up, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. And would God we were sold for bondmen and bondwomen: the evil might be borne with, and I would have mourned in silence: but now we have an enemy, whose cruelty redoundeth upon the king.

English Revised Version
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's damage.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You see, we-my people and I-have been sold so that we can be wiped out, killed, and destroyed. If our men and women had only been sold as slaves, I would have kept silent because the enemy is not worth troubling you about, Your Majesty."

Good News Translation
My people and I have been sold for slaughter. If it were nothing more serious than being sold into slavery, I would have kept quiet and not bothered you about it; but we are about to be destroyed--exterminated!"

International Standard Version
Indeed, I and my people have been sold to be annihilated, killed, and destroyed. If we had just been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because the trouble wouldn't have been sufficient to bother the king."

JPS Tanakh 1917
for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, for the adversary is not worthy that the king be endamaged.'

Literal Standard Version
for we have been sold, I and my people, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy; and if for menservants and for maidservants we had been sold I had kept silent—but the adversity is not equal to the loss of the king.”

Majority Standard Bible
For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.”

New American Bible
For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed, and annihilated. If we were only to be sold into slavery I would remain silent, for then our distress would not have been worth troubling the king.”

NET Bible
For we have been sold--both I and my people--to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation! If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king."

New Revised Standard Version
For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; but no enemy can compensate for this damage to the king.”

New Heart English Bible
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondservants and bondmaids, I would have held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's loss."

Webster's Bible Translation
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bond-men and bond-women, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.

World English Bible
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for male and female slaves, I would have held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king’s loss.”

Young's Literal Translation
for we have been sold, I and my people, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy; and if for men-servants and for maid-servants we had been sold I had kept silent -- but the adversity is not equal to the loss of the king.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Esther Pleads for Her People
3Queen 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 request. 4For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.” 5Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”…

Cross References
Luke 12:45
But suppose that servant says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and he begins to beat the menservants and maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk.

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."

Esther 3:13
And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews--young and old, women and children--and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.

Esther 7:5
Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, "Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?"

Esther 8:6
For how could I bear to see the disaster that would befall my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?"

Esther 9:25
But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Daniel 6:2
and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.


Treasury of Scripture

For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for slaves and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage.

we are sold.

Esther 3:9
If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.

Esther 4:7,8
And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them…

Deuteronomy 28:68
And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

to be destroyed, etc.

Esther 3:13
And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.

Esther 8:11
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,

Psalm 44:22,23
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter…

But if we.

Genesis 37:26-28
And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? …

Deuteronomy 28:68
And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.

Joshua 9:23
Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.

the enemy.

Esther 7:6
And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.

Esther 3:9
If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries.

Jump to Previous
Adversary Although Annihilated Annihilation Bondmaids Bondmen Bond-Men Bondservants Bondwomen Bond-Women Cut Damage Death Destroyed Destruction Distress Disturbing Enemy Female Held Justify Kept Killed King's Loss Male Men-Servants Peace Perish Price Quiet Silent Slain Slaughter Slaves Sold Tongue Trouble Women Women-Servants Worthy
Jump to Next
Adversary Although Annihilated Annihilation Bondmaids Bondmen Bond-Men Bondservants Bondwomen Bond-Women Cut Damage Death Destroyed Destruction Distress Disturbing Enemy Female Held Justify Kept Killed King's Loss Male Men-Servants Peace Perish Price Quiet Silent Slain Slaughter Slaves Sold Tongue Trouble Women Women-Servants Worthy
Esther 7
1. Esther, entertaining the king and Haman, pleads for her own life, and her people's.
5. She accuses Haman.
7. The king in his anger, understanding of the gallows Haman had made for Mordecai,
10. causes Haman to be hanged thereon.














(4) We are sold.--See above, Esther 3:9.

To be destroyed. . . .--Literally, to destroy and to kill, and to cause to perish. The identical words used in the king's proclamation for the destruction of the Jews. Herein Esther at once makes confession of her nationality, and relying on the king's still recent gratitude to one of the race, aided by his present cordiality to herself, she risks, as indeed she can no longer help doing, the fate of herself and her race on the momentary impulse of her fickle lord. Happily for her, God has willed that these, perhaps at any other time untrustworthy grounds of reliance, shall suffice. The "hearts of kings are in His rule and governance," and now the heart of one is "disposed and turned, as it seemeth best to His godly wisdom."

Although the enemy. . . .--The meaning of this clause is not quite clear. The literal translation is, although (or because) the enemy is not equal to (i.e., does not make up for) the king's hurt. This may mean (a) that Haman, though willing to pay a large sum into the royal treasury, cannot thereby make up for the loss which the king must incur by wholesale massacre being carried on in his realm; or (b) "were we merely to be sold into slavery, instead of being killed outright, I should have said nothing, because the enemy was not one worth the king's while to trouble himself about." We prefer the former view. The word "enemy" is that translated adversary, in Esther 7:6, and properly means one who oppresses, afflicts, distresses. The word which is, literally, equal to, comparable with, has already occurred in Esther 3:8; Esther 5:13.

Verse 4. - For we are sold, I and my people. Haman has paid our price, has given ten thousand talents for us, and you, O king, have sold us to him. The reproach is covert, but clearly contained in the words; and so the king must have understood Esther. To be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. The use of three synonyms for one and the same thing is not mere verbiage, but very expressive. "We are sold, all of us, to be overwhelmed in one universal, promiscuous, unsparing destruction." Although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. "Although, even in that case, the enemy (Haman) could not (by the payment that he has made) compensate the king for the damage that he would suffer by losing so many subjects." So Gesenius, Rambach, Dathe, and others. But it is simpler, and Perhaps better, to understand the passage as Bertheau does: "for the enemy (Haman) is not worthy to vex the king," or "is not worth vexing the king about."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּ֤י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

my people
וְעַמִּ֔י (wə·‘am·mî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

and I
אֲנִ֣י (’ă·nî)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

have been sold out
נִמְכַּ֙רְנוּ֙ (nim·kar·nū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - first person common plural
Strong's 4376: To sell

to destruction,
לְהַשְׁמִ֖יד (lə·haš·mîḏ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 8045: To be exterminated or destroyed

death,
לַהֲר֣וֹג (la·hă·rō·wḡ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent

and annihilation.
וּלְאַבֵּ֑ד (ū·lə·’ab·bêḏ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 6: To wander away, lose oneself, to perish

If
וְ֠אִלּוּ (wə·’il·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 432: If, though

we had merely been sold
נִמְכַּ֙רְנוּ֙ (nim·kar·nū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - first person common plural
Strong's 4376: To sell

as menservants
לַעֲבָדִ֨ים (la·‘ă·ḇā·ḏîm)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

and maidservants,
וְלִשְׁפָח֤וֹת (wə·liš·p̄ā·ḥō·wṯ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 8198: Maid, maidservant

I would have held my peace,
הֶחֱרַ֔שְׁתִּי (he·ḥĕ·raš·tî)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2790: To cut in, engrave, plow, devise

because
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

no
אֵ֥ין (’ên)
Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

such distress
הַצָּ֛ר (haṣ·ṣār)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 6862: Narrow, a tight place, a pebble, an opponent

would justify
שֹׁוֶ֖ה (šō·weh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7737: To level, equalize, to resemble, to adjust

burdening
בְּנֵ֥זֶק (bə·nê·zeq)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5143: Injury, damage

the king.”
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king


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OT History: Esther 7:4 For we are sold I and my (Est Esth. Es)
Esther 7:3
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