Esther 4:3 (ASV)

Passage

And in every province, whithersoever the king`s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Nearby Context

Esther 4:1 Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;

Esther 4:2 and he came even before the king`s gate: for none might enter within the king`s gate clothed with sackcloth.

Esther 4:3 And in every province, whithersoever the king`s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 4:4 And Esther`s maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he received it not.

Esther 4:5 Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the king`s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and charged him to go to Mordecai, to know what this was, and why it was.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "province", "whithersoever", "king", "commandment", "decree", "came", "great", and "mourning". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "province" and "whithersoever", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "and he came even before the king..." into verse 4's "And Esther s maidens and her chamberlains...", so "province" and "whithersoever" 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 "province" and "whithersoever" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.