3 Then Esther spoke again to the king , fell at his feet , wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot which he had devised against the Jews . 4 The king extended the golden scepter to Esther . So Esther arose and stood before the king . 5 Then she said , " If it pleases e the king and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am pleasing in his sight , let it be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman , the son of Hammedatha the Agagite , which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king's provinces . 6 "For how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people , and how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred ?"
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Esther 8:3-6
Commentary on Esther 8:3-14
(Read Esther 8:3-14)
It was time to be earnest, when the church of God was at stake. Esther, though safe herself, fell down and begged for the deliverance of her people. We read of no tears when she begged for her own life, but although she was sure of that, she wept for her people. Tears of pity and tenderness are the most Christ-like. According to the constitution of the Persian government, no law or decree could be repealed or recalled. This is so far from speaking to the wisdom and honour of the Medes and Persians, that it clearly shows their pride and folly. This savours of that old presumption which ruined all, We will be as gods! It is God's prerogative not to repent, or to say what can never be altered or unsaid. Yet a way was found, by another decree, to authorize the Jews to stand upon their defence. The decree was published in the languages of all the provinces. Shall all the subjects of an earthly prince have his decrees in languages they understand, and shall God's oracles and laws be locked up from any of his servants in an unknown tongue?