And every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.
Parallel translations
- WEB Mordecai walked every day in front of the court of the women’s house, to find out how Esther was doing, and what would become of her.
- KJV And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
- BSB And every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn about Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
- NKJV And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
- NLT Every day Mordecai would take a walk near the courtyard of the harem to find out about Esther and what was happening to her.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Mordecai walks daily near the harem to learn how Esther is faring. His devoted, watchful care continues even after she is taken.
Overview
Mordecai's daily concern reveals his faithful, fatherly love for Esther. Though he cannot control her circumstances, he remains attentive and near. His steadfast care pictures the kind of covenant faithfulness God shows His people, watching over them even when they are in the hands of others, and never ceasing to work for their welfare.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 1 Sam 17:18and bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are doing, and bring back news.”
- Gen 37:14He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
- Acts 15:36After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return now and visit our brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”
- Esth 2:13–14The young woman then came to the king like this: whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the women’s house to the king’s house.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Though God is never named, his hidden hand preserves the people from whom the Messiah will come — a deliverance 'for such a time as this' that anticipates the open deliverance of Christ.
How Esther 2:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.