Esther 4

1 And Mordecai knew all that had been done, and Mordecai tore his clothes, and he put on sackcloth and ashes, and he went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out [with] a cry great and bitter.

2 And he came as far as before the face of the gate of the king, for no one [was] to come into the gate of the king in a garment of sackcloth.

3 And in every province and province, any place to which the word of the king and his law reached, [there was] great mourning for the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing—sackcloth and ashes were spread out for many.

4 And the yougn women of Esther and her eunuchs came [in], and they told [it] to her, and the queen writhed exceedingly. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and to remove his sackcloth from him, and he would not receive [them].

5 And Esther called to Hathach from the eunuchs of the king, whom he had caused to stand before her face, and she commanded him concerning Mordecai, to know what this [was], and on account of what this [was].

6 And Hathach went out to Mordecai to the open square of the city, which [was] before the face of the gate of the king.

7 And Mordecai told to him all that had happened to him, and the exact amount of the silver that Haman had said to weigh out upon the treasuries of the king for the Jews, to destroy them.

8 And a copy of the writing of the law that was given in Susa to destroy them he gave to him to show Esther, and to tell [it] to her, and to lay the charge upon her to come in to the king, to implore favor from him, and to seek from before his face concerning her people.

9 And Hathach came and told to Esther the words of Mordecai.

10 And Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him unto Mordecai:

11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the provinces of the king know that any man or woman who comes [in] to the king, into the inner court, who has not been called—[there is] one law: to put [him] to death, except to whom the king extends to him the golden scepter, and he shall live. And I—I have not been called to come [in] to the king these thirty days.”

12 And they told to Mordecai the words of Esther.

13 And Mordecai said to return to Esther, “You should not think in your soul to escape [in] the house of the king more than all the Jews.

14 For if you surely remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, and you and the house of your father will perish. And who knows if perhaps for a time like this you have come to the kingdom?”

15 And Esther said to return to Mordecai:

16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast over me, and you⁺ shall not eat and you⁺ shall not drink [for] three days, night and day. Also I and my young women will fast likewise, and with this I will go to the king, which [is] not according to the law. And if I perish, I perish!”

17 And Mordecai passed by and did according to all that Esther commanded to him.