Esther 6:2
What does Esther 6:2 mean?
A plain-English look at Esther 6:2 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Esther 6:2 means
The reading uncovers a critical entry: Mordecai once exposed a plot by Bigthana and Teresh, trusted servants who guarded the king’s threshold. This records Mordecai’s loyalty and courage in protecting Ahasuerus’s life from insiders with direct access. It also confirms that the empire remembered the event, even if it had not acted on it. The detail underscores that Mordecai’s goodness was not new or opportunistic; he had served faithfully long before the crisis of Haman’s decree. The king’s life owed something to a Jew he scarcely noticed. What is written now returns with force, proving that truth, though delayed, can still demand a response.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, of those that kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
KJV
King James Version · 1611And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, of those that kept the threshold, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949It came out that it was recorded in the book how Mordecai had given word of the designs of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's servants, keepers of the door, by whom an attack on the king had been designed.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and it is found written that Mordecai had declared concerning Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs of the king, of the keepers of the threshold, who sought to put forth a hand on king Ahasuerus.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752They came to that place where it was written, how Mardochai had discovered the treason of Bagathan and Thares the eunuchs, who sought to kill king Assuerus.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, keepers of the threshold, who had sought to lay hand on king Ahasuerus.
Context
The flow moves from insomnia to discovery. Having opened the chronicles, the reader hits upon Mordecai’s earlier heroism. This identification is vital: it links the king’s present restlessness to a particular obligation he has overlooked. The plot against Ahasuerus mirrors the present plot against the Jews, hinting that the man who preserved the throne should not be destroyed. Next, the king will ask whether Mordecai was ever rewarded, setting the ethical and political issue that propels the ensuing scenes.
v.1On that night could not the king sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king.
v.2This passage
v.3And the king said, What honor and dignity hath been bestowed on Mordecai for this? Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Esther 2:21
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the threshold, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.