Esther Learns of Haman’s Plot

4 When Mordecai learned ^(A)all that had been done, ^[a]he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city and wailed loudly and bitterly. ² He went as far as the king’s gate, for no one was to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. ³ In each and every province where the command and decree of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with ^(B)fasting, weeping and wailing; and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ Then Esther’s maidens and her eunuchs came and told her, and the queen writhed in great anguish. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai that he might remove his sackcloth from him, but he did not accept them. ⁵ Then Esther summoned Hathach from the king’s eunuchs, whom ^[b]the king had appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. ⁶ So Hathach went out to Mordecai to the city square in front of the king’s gate. ⁷ Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and ^(C)the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. ⁸ He also gave him ^(D)a copy of the text of the edict which had been issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show Esther and inform her, and to order her to go in to the king to implore his favor and to plead with him for her people.

⁹ Hathach came back and related Mordecai’s words to Esther. ¹⁰ Then Esther spoke to Hathach and ordered him to reply to Mordecai: ¹¹ “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that for any man or woman who ^(E)comes to the king to the inner court who is not summoned, ^(F)he has but one law, that he be put to death, unless the king holds out ^(G)to him the golden scepter so that he may live. And I have not been summoned to come to the king for these thirty days.” ¹² They related Esther’s words to Mordecai.

¹³ Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and ^(H)deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

Esther Plans to Intercede

¹⁵ Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, ¹⁶ “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast for me; ^(I)do not eat or drink for ^(J)three days, night or day. I and my maidens also will fast in the same way. And thus I will go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and did just as Esther had commanded him.

Children of God Love One Another

3 See ^[a](A)how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called ^(B)children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because ^(C)it did not know Him. ^2 (D)Beloved, now we are ^(E)children of God, and ^(F)it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He ^(G)appears, we will be ^(H)like Him, because we will ^(I)see Him just as He is. ³ And everyone who has this ^(J)hope fixed on Him ^(K)purifies himself, just as He is pure.

⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and ^(L)sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that He ^(M)appeared in order to ^(N)take away sins; and ^(O)in Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in Him ^(P)sins; no one who sins has seen Him or ^[b](Q)knows Him. ^7 (R)Little children, make sure no one ^(S)deceives you; ^(T)the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; ⁸ the one who practices sin is ^(U)of the devil; for the devil ^[c]has sinned from the beginning. ^(V)The Son of God ^(W)appeared for this purpose, ^(X)to destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one who is ^[d](Y)born of God ^(Z)practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is ^[e]born of God. ¹⁰ By this the ^(AA)children of God and the ^(AB)children of the devil are obvious: ^[f]anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who ^(AC)does not love his ^(AD)brother.

^11 (AE)For this is the message ^(AF)which you have heard from the beginning, ^(AG)that we should love one another; ¹² not as ^(AH)Cain, who was of ^(AI)the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because ^(AJ)his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

¹³ Do not be surprised, brethren, if ^(AK)the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have ^(AL)passed out of death into life, ^(AM)because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who ^(AN)hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that ^(AO)no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ¹⁶ We know love by this, that ^(AP)He laid down His life for us; and ^(AQ)we ought to lay down our lives for the ^(AR)brethren. ¹⁷ But ^(AS)whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and ^(AT)closes his ^[g]heart ^[h]against him, ^(AU)how does the love of God abide in him? ^18 (AV)Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and ^(AW)truth. ¹⁹ We will know by this that we are ^(AX)of the truth, and will ^[i]assure our heart before Him ^20 [j]in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. ^21 (AY)Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have ^(AZ)confidence ^[k]before God; ²² and ^(BA)whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we ^(BB)keep His commandments and do ^(BC)the things that are pleasing in His sight.

²³ This is His commandment, that we ^[l](BD)believe in ^(BE)the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as ^(BF)He ^[m]commanded us. ²⁴ The one who ^(BG)keeps His commandments ^(BH)abides in Him, and He in him. ^(BI)We know by this that ^(BJ)He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.