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KING JAMES BIBLE · PCE

Esther 4:1–2

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected
WHEN Mordecai perceived 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;
And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.
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PASSAGE SELECTION

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2 selected · 15 available

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SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

Cross References

All 21 ranked passages are available for comparison.

From verse 1

  1. Daniel 9:3Rank 1 from verse 1
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    3¶ And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

  2. 2 Samuel 1:11Rank 2 from verse 1
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    11Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:

  3. 2 Samuel 13:19Rank 3 from verse 1
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    19¶ And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.

  4. Ezekiel 27:30–31Rank 4 from verse 1
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    30And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:

    31And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.

  5. Job 42:6Rank 5 from verse 1
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    6Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.

  6. Acts 14:14Rank 6 from verse 1
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    14Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,

  7. Micah 1:8Rank 7 from verse 1
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    8Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

  8. Revelation 18:17–19Rank 8 from verse 1
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    17For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

    18And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

    19And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

  9. Zephaniah 1:14Rank 9 from verse 1
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    14The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

  10. Esther 4:3Rank 10 from verse 1
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    3And 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.

  11. Ezekiel 21:6Rank 11 from verse 1
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    6Sigh therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

  12. Genesis 27:34Rank 12 from verse 1
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    34And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

  13. Isaiah 15:4Rank 13 from verse 1
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    4And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.

  14. Isaiah 22:4Rank 14 from verse 1
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    4Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.

  15. Isaiah 58:5Rank 15 from verse 1
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    5Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?

  16. Job 1:20Rank 16 from verse 1
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    20Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

  17. Job 2:8Rank 17 from verse 1
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    8And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

  18. Joshua 7:6Rank 18 from verse 1
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    6¶ And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

  19. Matthew 11:21Rank 19 from verse 1
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    21Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

  20. Esther 3:8–13Rank 20 from verse 1
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    8¶ And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.

    9If 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.

    10And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.

    11And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.

    12Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.

    13And 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.

  21. Jonah 3:4–9Rank 21 from verse 1
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    4And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

    5¶ So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

    6For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

    7And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

    8But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

    9Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

WORDS IN THIS PASSAGE

Definitions

Open a word for its full definition and concordance.

DEFINED WORDS

Esther 4:1

COMBINED MEANING

rent

↗

Sense 1: Tore, ripped, split, broke apart, divided, or removed forcibly. Sense 2: A tear, split, or breach produced by such action.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

clothes

↗

Garments, dress, or cloth coverings and wrappings worn on or around the body.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

put

↗

To place, set, lay, appoint, bring into a condition, or cause to be.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

put on

↗

1. To place upon, clothe, or cover. 2. To assume a character, identity, conduct, or condition.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

on

↗

1. At, upon, or in contact with the named place, object, side, or time. 2. Toward, against, concerning, depending upon, or directed to the named person or thing. 3. Forward or continuing; in joined expressions such as go on, put on, and lay hold on, the other words supply the particular action.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

ashes

↗

Sense 1: The powdery residue left after burning. Sense 2: A sign of mourning, humiliation, or ruin.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

out

↗

Outside, away from within, forth, absent, or no longer in a stated condition.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

midst

↗

The middle, centre, interior, or intervening part of a place, body, company, or condition; among, within, surrounded by, or in the presence of persons or things.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

cried

↗

1. Called out, shouted, proclaimed, warned, wailed, or otherwise uttered, often loudly. 2. Appealed, prayed, complained, or called for help, justice, or attention.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

bitter

↗

Having a sharp, unpleasant taste opposed to sweet; grievous, harsh, painful, sorrowful, resentful, or severe in condition, feeling, speech, or effect.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

cry

↗

1. A vocal call, shout, proclamation, alarm, wail, or other utterance, often loud. 2. An earnest appeal, prayer, complaint, or outcry for help, justice, or attention. 3. As a verb, to call out, shout, proclaim, wail, appeal, pray, or complain; figuratively, to bear urgent witness or demand notice.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

DEFINED WORDS

Esther 4:2

COMBINED MEANING

even

↗

1. Used to emphasize, include, or precisely identify what is meant: indeed, precisely, or namely. 2. Used to mark a boundary, endpoint, or full reach in place, time, or degree: up to, as far as, or through. 3. In ‘even as,’ ‘even so,’ and like constructions, just as, exactly so, or in the same manner. 4. The evening, or close of day. 5. Equal, level, identical, balanced, or uniform.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

before

↗

Earlier than in time; in front of; in the presence of; or prior in order or rank.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

king

↗

A sovereign ruler; one exercising royal authority over a kingdom.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

for

↗

1. In behalf of or in the place of. 2. With respect to, concerning, or toward. 3. Because of or on account of. 4. During or throughout. 5. In order to obtain or reach. 6. As a conjunction, because or seeing that.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

might

↗

Sense 1: Power or strength. Sense 2: An auxiliary expressing possibility or permission.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

enter

↗

To go or come in; to penetrate; to become an ingredient or constituent part; to enter the mind.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

clothed

↗

1. Dressed or covered with garments or another material covering. 2. Figuratively, furnished, arrayed, or characterized with a stated condition or quality.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

READ THE PASSAGE

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Suggested context · Esther 4:1–3

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4:1WHEN Mordecai perceived 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;

Selected passage

4:2And came even before the king’s gate: for none might enter into the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth.

Selected passage

4:3And 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.

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