Esther 4:13 (ASV)

Passage

Then Mordecai bade them return answer unto Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king`s house, more than all the Jews.

Nearby Context

Esther 4:11 All the king`s servants, and the people of the king`s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except those to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.

Esther 4:12 And they told to Mordecai Esther`s words.

Esther 4:13 Then Mordecai bade them return answer unto Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king`s house, more than all the Jews.

Esther 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father`s house will perish: and who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Esther 4:15 Then Esther bade them return answer unto Mordecai,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mordecai", "bade", "return", "answer", "esther", "think", "thyself", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mordecai" and "bade", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "And they told to Mordecai Esther s..." into verse 14's "For if thou altogether holdest thy peace...", so "mordecai" and "bade" belong inside that flow. In Esther context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mordecai" and "bade" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.