¹Now Mordecai knew everything that had been done, and Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and he went out to the middle of the city, and he cried out with a great and bitter cry. ²And he went in front of the king's gate, for it was not permitted to go in to the king's gate in sackcloth clothing. ³And in every single province, wherever the word of the king and his decree arrived, there was great mourning among the Jews, and there was fasting and weeping and bewailing. Sackcloth was worn and ashes were strewn by many. ⁴And when Esther's servant-girls and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was very grieved, and she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai and to have him remove his sackcloth, but he did not accept it. ⁵And Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs whom he had appointed to be in her presence, and she commanded him concerning Mordecai, to find out what this was and why this was. ⁶And Hathach went out to Mordecai, to the street of the city which was in front of the king's gate. ⁷And Mordecai told him everything that had befallen him, and the specification of the sum of money which Haman had said that he would weigh to go into the king's treasuries in an act against the Jews, to destroy them. ⁸And he gave him a transcript of the text of the decree which was issued in Shushan, to destroy them, to show Esther and to tell her, and to command her to go to the king and to supplicate him and to plead before him concerning her people. ⁹And Hathach went back and told Esther Mordecai's words. ¹⁰And Esther spoke to Hathach, and she commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, ¹¹“All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that for every man or woman who goes to the king, to the inner court, who has not been called, that there is one law about this, to kill the person unless the king extends the golden sceptre to him, so that he should live. I have not been called to go to the king for thirty days now.” ¹²And they told Mordecai Esther's words. ¹³And Mordecai said to report back to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that you will escape in the king's house any more than all Jews will. ¹⁴For if you are completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will be set up for the Jews from another place, but you and the house of your father will perish. And who knows whether it was for a time like this that you came into the kingdom?” ¹⁵And Esther said to report to Mordecai as follows: ¹⁶“Go and assemble all the Jews who are present in Shushan and fast for me, and do not eat or drink for three days, night and day. I too and my servant-girls will fast likewise, and then I will go to the king in the way not according to the law, and if I perish, I perish.” ¹⁷And Mordecai moved on and acted according to everything that Esther had commanded him.