Ester 4:3-4

4:3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ¹  there was considerable ²  mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ³  Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ⁴  of many. 4:4 When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior, ⁵  the queen was overcome with anguish. Although she sent garments for Mordecai to put on so that he could remove his sackcloth, he would not accept them.

Ester 4:16-17

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ⁶  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ⁷  If I perish, I perish!”

4:17 So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.

[4:3]  ¹ tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”

[4:3]  ² tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”

[4:3]  ³ sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.

[4:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”

[4:4]  ⁵ tn The words “about Mordecai’s behavior” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NIV, NLT “about Mordecai”; TEV, CEV “what Mordecai was doing.”

[4:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

[4:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”