The Meaning of Esther 5:13 Explained

Esther 5:13

KJV: Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

YLT: and all this is not profitable to me, during all the time that I am seeing Mordecai the Jew sitting in the gate of the king.'

Darby: Yet all this is of no avail to me so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

ASV: Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet all this availeth  me nothing, so long as  I see  Mordecai  the Jew  sitting  at the king's  gate. 

What does Esther 5:13 Mean?

Context Summary

Esther 5:1-14 - Hatred Breeds Crime
Thus the soul clad in the royal garments of Christ's righteousness stands in the throne-room with its request. It has already obtained favor, for has it not been accepted in the beloved? The Lord waits that He may be gracious. Delay is not denial, and in the meanwhile there are things to be seen and heard, which fill the soul with rapture. Have you touched the top of the sceptre? Have you claimed unto the half of the Kingdom? Have you invited the King Himself to your banqueting table? For the King Himself is willing to be your guest. We feast at His table, but He comes and sups with us at ours. In all earthly joy there is alloy, something which detracts from full gratification; a Mordecai for Haman, because of whom all else availed nothing. The joy that this world gives is at the mercy of the least untoward circumstances, but "he that drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." [source]

Chapter Summary: Esther 5

1  Esther, adventuring on the king's favor, obtains the grace of the golden sceptre,
4  and invites the king and Haman to a banquet
6  She, being encouraged by the king in her suit, invites them to another banquet
9  Haman, proud of his advancement, repines at the contempt of Mordecai
14  By the counsel of Zeresh he prepares for him a gallows

What do the individual words in Esther 5:13 mean?

And yet all this nothing avails me every so long as I see - Mordecai the Jew sitting at gate of the king
וְכָל־ זֶ֕ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ שֹׁוֶ֖ה לִ֑י בְּכָל־ עֵ֗ת אֲשֶׁ֨ר אֲנִ֤י רֹאֶה֙ אֶת־ מָרְדֳּכַ֣י הַיְּהוּדִ֔י יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּשַׁ֥עַר הַמֶּֽלֶךְ

וְכָל־  And  yet  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
זֶ֕ה  this 
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
אֵינֶ֥נּוּ  nothing 
Parse: Adverb, third person masculine singular
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
שֹׁוֶ֖ה  avails 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁוָה 
Sense: to agree with, be or become like, level, resemble.
לִ֑י  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
בְּכָל־  every 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
עֵ֗ת  so  long 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
רֹאֶה֙  see 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מָרְדֳּכַ֣י  Mordecai 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָרְדֳּכַי  
Sense: cousin and adoptive father of queen Esther; son of Jair of the tribe of Benjamin; deliverer under Divine providence of the children of Israel from the destruction plotted by Haman the chief minister of Ahasuerus; institutor of the feast of Purim.
הַיְּהוּדִ֔י  the  Jew 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדִי  
Sense: Jew.
יוֹשֵׁ֖ב  sitting 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בְּשַׁ֥עַר  at  gate 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ  of  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.