² He went only as far as the King’s Gate,^(A) since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate. ³ There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict^(B) reached. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.^(C)

⁴ Esther’s female servants and her eunuchs came and reported the news to her, and the queen was overcome with fear.^(D) She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear so that he would take off his sackcloth, but he did not accept them.