³ Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”^(A)

² All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”^(A)

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy

¹⁹ When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.^(A)

¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared^(A) God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do;^(B) they let the boys live.