CHAPTER 4

¹And Mordecai knew all that had been done, and Mordecai rent his garments and donned sackcloth and ashes and went out into the city and cried out loudly and bitterly. ²And he came as far as in front of the king’s gate, for one could not enter the king’s gate in clothing of sackcloth. ³And in every single province, where the king’s word and his rule 3 reached, the Jews were in great mourning—and fasting and weeping and dirges, sackcloth and ashes were laid out for the multitudes. ⁴And Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was badly shaken. And she sent garments to clothe Mordecai and to remove his sack-cloth from him, but he did not accept them. ⁵And Esther called to Hatach, of the king’s eunuchs whom he had stationed before her, and she charged him concerning Mordecai to find out what was this and for what was this. ⁶And Hatach went out to Mordecai in the city square that was in front of the king’s gate. ⁷And Mordecai told him all that had befallen him and the matter of the silver that Haman had meant to weigh out to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to wipe them out. ⁸And the copy of the writing of the rule that was given out in Shushan to destroy them he gave him to show to Esther, to tell her, and to charge her to come to the king to plead with him and to entreat him for her people. ⁹And Hatach came and told Mordecai’s words to Esther. ¹⁰And Esther said to Hatach and charged him to convey to Mordecai: ¹¹“All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that every man and woman who comes into the inner court without having been called, the single rule is to put to death unless the king reach out to him the golden scepter. And as for me, I have not been called to come to the king thirty days now.” ¹²And they told Esther’s words to Mordecai. ¹³And Mordecai said in response to Esther: “Do not imagine to escape of all the Jews in the house of the king. ¹⁴For if you indeed remain silent, relief and rescue will come to the Jews from elsewhere, and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether for just a time like this you have attained royalty?” ¹⁵And Esther said in response to Mordecai, ¹⁶“Go, assemble all the Jews who are in Shushan, and fast on my behalf, and do not eat nor drink three days, night and day. And I, too, with my young women, shall fast in this fashion. And so, I shall come to the king not according to rule, and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷And Mordecai moved on and did all that Esther had charged him.