Chapter 4

Mordecai Persuades Esther To Help. ¹ When Mordecai heard all that was going on, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city wailing loudly and sorrowfully. ² But he came to a halt at the entrance to the king’s gate because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed to go in. ³ (Similarly, in every province to which the king’s edict and order reached, the Jews went into great mourning, with fasting, mourning, and weeping. Many put on sackcloth and ashes.)

⁴ When Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs went to her and told her about Mordecai, she became deeply troubled. She sent clothes for him to wear in place of the sackcloth, but he refused to do so. ⁵ Esther then called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been assigned to her service, and ordered him to find out what this action of Mordecai meant and why it was being done.

⁶ So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the public square in front of the king’s gate. ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened as well as the exact amount of silver that Haman had promised to put in the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.

^8 [a]“Remember the days of your lowly estate,” Mordecai had Hathach say, “when you were brought up in my charge; for Haman, who stands next to the king, has asked for our death.⁹ Invoke the Lord and speak to the king on our behalf; save us from death.”

⁸ Mordecai also gave him a copy of the edict that had been published in Susa, for the annihilation of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther. Hathach was to urge her to go into the king’s presence to plead for mercy and intercede with him for her people.

⁹ Hathach went back to Esther and told her what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰ Then she gave him a message for Mordecai: ¹¹ “All the servants of the king and the people of the royal provinces are aware that any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner palace without being summoned suffers automatic death. The sole exception to this rule is if the king extends to such a person the golden scepter, which spares his life. Yet as for me, I have not been summoned by the king for thirty days.”

¹² When Esther’s words reached Mordecai, ¹³ he sent back this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ Even if you remain silent now, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place;^[b] but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows? Perhaps it was for just such a time as this that you obtained the royal dignity.”

¹⁵ Then Esther sent back this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, and assemble all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same thing. After that, I will go to the king—against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”

¹⁷ Then Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Chapter C

The Prayer of Mordecai.^1 [c]Calling to mind everything that the Lord had done, Mordecai prayed to him in these words:

² “O Lord God, King and ruler of all things, the entire universe is subject to your power, and no one can thwart you in your intention to save Israel.³ You made heaven and earth and every wonderful thing under the firmament.⁴ You are Lord of all, and there is no one, O Lord, who can resist you.⁵ Since you know all things, O Lord, you realize that it was not because of insolence or pride or a desire for glory that I so acted in refusing to bow down to this haughty Haman.⁶ To ensure the salvation of Israel, I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet.⁷ But I acted in this way so as not to place human glory above the glory of God. I will not bow down to anyone but you, my Lord, and I will not act in this way out of pride.

⁸ “Now, Lord, my God and King, O God of Abraham, spare your people, for our enemies are determined to exterminate us and to destroy the inheritance that has been yours from times of old.⁹ Do not forsake your people whom you redeemed and brought out of Egypt for yourself.¹⁰ Hear my prayer and have mercy on your heritage. Turn our sorrow into joy so that we may live to sing praise to your name, O Lord. Do not silence the lips of those who praise you.”

¹¹ And all the Israelites also cried aloud with all their strength, since death was before their eyes.

The Prayer of Esther.¹² Queen Esther, too, was seized with great anguish and sought recourse from the Lord.¹³ Removing her splendid robes, she put on garments of sadness and mourning. Instead of rich perfumes, she covered her head with dirt and ashes. She greatly mortified her body, and every part that she used to adorn elegantly, she now covered with her disheveled hair.

¹⁴ Then Esther prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, and said: “O my Lord, you alone are our King. Come to my assistance, for I am alone and have no one to help me but you.¹⁵ My life is in great danger.¹⁶ From my earliest days I was taught by my family that you, O Lord, chose Israel out of all the nations and our fathers from among all their forebearers, as an everlasting heritage, and that you have fulfilled all the promises you made to them.¹⁷ But now we have sinned against you, and you have handed us over to our enemies¹⁸ because we paid honor to their gods. You are just, O Lord.

¹⁹ “However, now our enemies are not satisfied with our bitter slavery. They have vowed to their idols²⁰ to annul the decree you have proclaimed and destroy your heritage, to silence the mouths of those who praise you and to destroy your altar and the glory of your house,^[d]21 and instead, to open the mouths of the nations to praise their worthless idols and to offer an earthly king everlasting praise.

²² “O Lord, do not consign your scepter to gods who do not exist. Do not let our enemies exult in our downfall, but turn their designs against them and make an example of the chief of our persecutors.²³ Remember us, O Lord. Reveal yourself in this time of our tribulation, and give me courage, O King of gods and Master of every dominion.²⁴ Give me the power of persuasive speech when I face the lion and enable me to turn his heart to hatred of the one who is our enemy so that he and all those who share his feelings may perish.²⁵ Save us by your arm and come to my aid, for I am alone and have no one on whom to rely but you, O Lord.

“You know all things.²⁶ You are fully aware that I hate the honors offered by the wicked and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised or of any alien.²⁷ You know the straits I am in. I loathe the symbol of my proud position that I wear on my head on days when I appear in public. I detest it as if it were an unclean rag, and I do not wear it on days when I am in private.²⁸ I, your servant, have never eaten at Haman’s table, nor have I attended any banquet of the king or drunk the wine of libations.²⁹ From the day I changed my state until now, I have experienced no joy except in you, O Lord, God of Abraham.³⁰ O God all-powerful, give heed to the pleas of those in despair. Deliver us from the power of the wicked and rescue me from my fear.”

Chapter D

Esther Appears before the King.^1 [e]On the third day, having finished her prayers, Esther removed her penitential garments and arrayed herself in the splendor due to her state.² Thus beautifully adorned, she invoked the aid of God, who watches over and saves all, and took her two maids with her.³ One of them provided gentle support for her,⁴ while the other followed, bearing her train.⁵ She was radiant in the splendor of her beauty, and her countenance was joyous as though permeated with love, but her heart was filled with fear.⁶ She passed through one door after another and finally stood in the presence of the king. He was seated on his royal throne, clothed in all his kingly regalia adorned with gold and precious stones, so that his appearance was terrifying.

⁷ He looked up, and his face blazed with anger when he saw her. The queen grew faint, turned pale, and steadied herself against the head of the maid who preceded her.⁸ Then God changed the king’s mood from anger to one of gentleness. In alarm he sprang from his throne, held her in his arms until she revived, and soothed her with comforting words.⁹ “What is the matter, Esther?” he said to her. “I am your husband. Take courage.¹⁰ You shall not die, for our decree applies only to the common folk.¹¹ Come near!”¹² Then he raised his gold scepter and, touching her neck with it, embraced her and said: “Speak to me.”

¹³ She replied: “My lord, when I approached you, you looked like an angel of God, and I was filled with fear at your majestic presence.¹⁴ You are wonderful, my lord, and your face is enchanting.”¹⁵ As she said this, she fell in a faint.¹⁶ Then the king became troubled as his attendants sought to revive her.