Esther 1 · Verse 13

Esther 1:13

Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment:
Esther 1:13, King James Version

Esther 1:13 in other translations

BSBThen the king consulted the wise men who knew the times, for it was customary for him to confer with the experts in law and justice.
WEBThen the king said to the wise men, who knew the times (for it was the king’s custom to consult those who knew law and judgment;
ASVThen the king said to the wise men, who knew the times (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment;
YLTAnd the king saith to wise men, knowing the times--for so is the word of the king before all knowing law and judgment,
DARBYAnd the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king's business conducted before all that knew law and judgment;
BBEAnd the king said to the wise men, who had knowledge of the times, (for this was the king's way with all who were expert in law and in the giving of decisions:
WebsterThen the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, (for so was the king's manner towards all that knew law and judgment:

What does Esther 1:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 1:13-19
13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be taken after so unprecedented an occurrence as Vashti's disobedience of the royal summons. It is scarcely possible for us to imagine the astonishment produced by such a refusal in a country and a court where the will of the sovereign was absolute. The assembled grandees were petrified with horror at the daring affront. Alarm for the consequences that might ensue to each of them in his own household next seized on their minds; and the sounds of bacchanalian revelry were hushed into deep and anxious consultation what punishment to inflict on the refractory queen. But a purpose was to be served by the flattery of the king and the enslavement of all women. The counsellors were too intoxicated or obsequious to oppose the courtly advice of Memucan was unanimously resolved, with a wise regard to the public interests of the nation, that the punishment of Vashti could be nothing short of degradation from her royal dignity. The doom was accordingly pronounced and made known in all parts of the empire.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 To the wise men - Probably the lawyers.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Esther 1:10-22

Ahasuerus's feast ended in heaviness, by his own folly. Seasons of peculiar festivity often end in vexation. Superiors should be careful not to command what may reasonably be disobeyed. But when wine is in, men's reason departs from them. He that had rule over 127 provinces, had no rule over his own spirit. But whether the passion or the policy of the king was served by this decree, God's providence made way for…

Read the full comment on Esther 1:10-22 →

Esther 1:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
לַחֲכָמִ֖יםla.cha.kha.Mimto <the> wise menH2450
יֹדְעֵ֣יyo.de.'Ei[who] knewH3045
הָֽעִתִּ֑יםha.'i.Tim<of> the timesH6256
כִּי\־ki-forH3588
כֵן֙khen[was] thusH3651
דְּבַ֣רde.Var[the] manner ofH1697
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
לִפְנֵ֕יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
יֹדְעֵ֖יyo.de.'Ei[those who] knewH3045
דָּ֥תdat<of> lawH1881
וָדִֽין\׃va.Dinand judgmentH1779

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Esther 1:13

  • 1 Chronicles 12:32

    And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

  • Daniel 2:2

    Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

  • Jeremiah 10:7

    Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

  • Matthew 16:3

    And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

  • Daniel 2:12

    For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

  • Daniel 5:7

    The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

  • Matthew 2:1

    Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

  • Daniel 2:27

    Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

  • Daniel 4:6-7

    Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the wise.
Jer 10:7; Da 2:2,12,27; 4:6,7; 5:7; Mt 2:1
knew.
1Ch 12:32; Mt 16:3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Esther 1:12

    But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.

  • Esther 1:13

    Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment:

  • Esther 1:14

    And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;)

Read all of Esther 1

Esther 1:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Preguntó entonces el rey á los sabios que sabían los tiempos, (porque así era la costumbre del rey para con todos los que sabían la ley y el derecho;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le roi dit aux sages qui connaissaient les temps (car les affaires du roi se traitaient ainsi devant tous ceux qui connaissaient la loi et le droit:
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und der König sprach zu den Weisen, welche sich auf die Zeiten verstanden denn also wurden die Angelegenheiten des Königs vor allen Gesetz- und Rechtskundigen behandelt;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		interrogavit sapientes, qui ex more regio semper ei aderant, et illorum faciebat cuncta consilio, scientium leges, ac jura majorum