Esther 4:1 (GNV)

Passage

Now when Mordecai perceiued all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackecloth and ashes, and went out into the middes of the citie, and cryed with a great crye, and a bitter.

Nearby Context

Esther 4:1 Now when Mordecai perceiued all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackecloth and ashes, and went out into the middes of the citie, and cryed with a great crye, and a bitter.

Esther 4:2 And he came euen before the Kings gate, but he might not enter within the Kings gate, being clothed with sackecloth.

Esther 4:3 And in euery prouince, and place, whither the Kings charge and his commission came, there was great sorowe among the Iewes, and fasting, and weeping and mourning, and many laye in sackecloth and in ashes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mordecai", "perceiued", "done", "rent", "clothes", "sackecloth", and "ashes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mordecai" and "perceiued", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "And he came euen before the Kings...", so "mordecai" and "perceiued" should be read forward into that movement. 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 "perceiued" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.