³⁰ Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry,^(A) but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,^(A) let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,^{(B) 29} for our “God is a consuming fire.”^[a](C)

⁵ “Woe^(A) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!^(B) For I am a man of unclean lips,^(C) and I live among a people of unclean lips,^(D) and my eyes have seen^(E) the King,^(F) the Lord Almighty.”^(G)

¹¹ “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned^(A) the king has but one law:^(B) that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter^(C) to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”

¹² When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, ¹³ he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent^(D) at this time, relief^(E) and deliverance^(F) for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”^(G)

¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast^(H) for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”^(I)