Rashi
Jewish
1040–1105
“for one may not enter It is improper to enter the king’s gate dressed in sackcloth.”
The interpretation timeline
Esth 4:2
How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.
From the early Church Fathers to now.
1 Jewish · 1 Reformed · 1 Methodist · 1 Catholic
Esth 4:2 · Douay-Rheims
“And he came lamenting in this manner even to the gate of the palace: for no one clothed with sackcloth might enter the king’s court.”
Scholastic
c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
666 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Post-Reformation
c. 1650 – 1900
1771
A.D.
John Gill
Reformed
1697–1771
“And came even before the king's gate,.... Or court, that Esther might if possible be made acquainted with this dreadful calamity coming upon her people: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth: or appear in such a dress at court, where nothing was admitted to damp the pleasures of it.”
1832
A.D.
Adam Clarke
Methodist
1762–1832
“Before the king's gate - He could not enter into the gate, of the place where the officers waited, because he was in the habit of a mourner; for this would have been contrary to law.”
1849
A.D.
George Leo Haydock
Catholic
1774–1849
“Sackcloth. Greek adds, “and ashes.” Such an appearance was deemed disrespectful. God forbids his priests to act thus, Leviticus xxi.. 1. See Genesis xli. 14. Yet the miserable ought not to be entirely excluded from the king’s presence, as he ought to be their protector.”
Modern · 1953 →
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.