Esther 4

1 And Mordecai has known all that has been done, and Mordecai tears his garments, and puts on sackcloth and ashes, and goes forth into the midst of the city and cries—a cry loud and bitter,

When Mordecai found out all that had happened, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and walked through the city, crying and wailing in grief.

2 and he comes to the front of the gate of the king, but none is to come to the gate of the king with a sackcloth-garment.

He went as far as the palace gate, because no one was allowed to enter the palace gate wearing sackcloth.

3 And in each and every province, the place where the word of the king, even his law, is coming, the Jews have a great mourning, and fasting, and weeping, and lamenting: sackcloth and ashes are spread for many.

When the king's decree and orders reached all the different provinces the Jews began to mourn in terrible distress. They fasted, they wept, and they wailed; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

4 And young women of Esther come in and her eunuchs, and declare [it] to her, and the queen is exceedingly pained, and sends garments to clothe Mordecai, and to turn aside his sackcloth from off him, and he has not received [them].

Esther's maids and eunuchs came and told her, and the queen was very upset. She sent clothes to him so he could take off his sackcloth, but he refused to accept them.

5 And Esther calls to Hatach, of the eunuchs of the king, whom he has stationed before her, and gives him a charge for Mordecai, to know what this [is], and why this [is].

She called Hathatch, one of the king's eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai and find out what he was doing and why.

6 And Hatach goes out to Mordecai, to a broad place of the city, that [is] before the gate of the king,

Hathatch went to Mordecai in the city square in front of the palace gate.

7 and Mordecai declares to him all that has met him, and the explanation of the money that Haman said to weigh to the treasuries of the king for the Jews, to destroy them,

Mordecai explained to him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews.

8 and the copy of the writing of the law that had been given in Shushan to destroy them he has given to him, to show Esther, and to declare [it] to her, and to lay a charge on her to go in to the king, to make supplication to him, and to seek from before him, for her people.

Mordecai also gave him a copy of the decree that had been issued in Susa for their destruction to show Esther and explain it to her, and asked him to instruct her to go to the king and appeal for mercy and plead before him for her people.

9 And Hatach comes in and declares to Esther the words of Mordecai,

Hathatch went back and told Esther what Mordecai had said.

10 and Esther speaks to Hatach, and charges him for Mordecai:

Then Esther spoke with Hathatch and ordered him to deliver this message to Mordecai.

11 “All servants of the king, and people of the provinces of the king, know that any man and woman who comes to the king, into the inner court, who is not called—one law of his [is] to put [them] to death, apart from him to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, then he has lived; and I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

“All the king's officials, and even the people in the provinces of the king's empire, know that any man or any woman who goes to the king, entering his inner court without being summoned, is sentenced to death—that is the king's one law—unless the king holds out his golden scepter to them so they can live. In my case, I have not been called to go to the king for thirty days.”

12 And they declare to Mordecai the words of Esther,

When Mordecai was told what Esther said,

13 and Mordecai commands to send back to Esther: “Do not think in your soul to be delivered [in] the house of the king, more than all the Jews,

Mordecai sent a message back to Esther, saying, “Don't think that just because you live in the king's palace that your life is the only one that will be saved of all the Jews!

14 but if you keep entirely silent at this time, respite and deliverance remains to the Jews from another place, and you and the house of your fathers are destroyed; and who knows whether for a time like this you have come to the kingdom?”

If you stay silent right now, help and rescue will come to the Jews from some other place, and you and your relatives will die. Who knows—it could be you came to be queen for such a time as this!”

15 And Esther commands to send back to Mordecai:

Esther replied to Mordecai, saying,

16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are found in Shushan, and fast for me, and do not eat nor drink three days, by night and by day; also I and my young women fast likewise, and so I go in to the king, that [is] not according to law, and when I have perished—I have perished.”

“Have all the Jews in Susa meet together and fast for me. Don't eat or drink anything for three days and nights. I and my girls will also fast. After that, I will go to the king, even though it's against the law, and if I die, I die.”

17 And Mordecai passes on, and does according to all that Esther has charged on him.

Mordecai went and did everything Esther had told him to do.