KJV ORIGINAL
For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
My people and I have been sold to be completely destroyed, killed, and wiped out. If we had only been sold as slaves, I would have kept quiet, even though our enemy could never repay the king for the loss he would suffer.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
Esther is telling the king that she and her people have been condemned to total destruction, not just slavery, which is why she must speak up.
📚 Historical Context
Queen Esther is revealing to King Xerxes that she is Jewish and that Haman's decree calls for the complete annihilation of all Jews in the Persian Empire. She had been hiding her Jewish identity until this crucial moment when she risks her life to save her people from genocide.
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