³ Then the palace officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why are you disobeying the king’s command?”

² All the king’s officials would bow down before Haman to show him respect whenever he passed by, for so the king had commanded. But Mordecai refused to bow down or show him respect.

² “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?

¹⁹ Even after all the young women had been transferred to the second harem^[a] and Mordecai had become a palace official,^[b]

¹⁷ But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.