1 When Mordecai learned what had happened, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. Then he walked into the centre of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly,
2 until he arrived in front of the Chancellery, which no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter.
3 And in every province, no sooner had the royal command and edict arrived, than among the Jews there was great mourning, fasting, weeping and wailing, and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.
4 When Queen Esther's maids and officers came and told her, she was overcome with grief. She sent clothes for Mordecai to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he refused them.
5 Esther then summoned Hathach, an officer whom the king had appointed to wait on her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai and enquire what the matter was and why he was acting in this way.
6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the Chancellery,
7 and Mordecai told him what had happened to him personally, and also about the sum of money which Haman had offered to pay into the royal treasury to procure the destruction of the Jews.
8 He also gave him a copy of the edict of extermination published in Susa for him to show Esther for her information, with the message that she was to go to the king and implore his favour and plead with him for the race to which she belonged.
9 Hathach came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said;
10 and she replied with the following message for Mordecai,
11 'Royal officials and people living in the provinces alike all know that for anyone, man or woman, who approaches the king in the private apartments without having been summoned there, there is only one law: he must die, unless the king, by pointing his golden sceptre towards him, grants him his life. And I have not been summoned to the king for the last thirty days.'
12 These words of Esther were reported to Mordecai,
13 who sent back the following reply, 'Do not suppose that, because you are in the king's palace, you are going to be the one Jew to escape.
14 No; if you persist in remaining silent at such a time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, but both you and your father's whole family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to the throne for just such a time as this.'
15 Whereupon Esther sent this reply to Mordecai,
16 'Go and assemble all the Jews now in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink day or night for three days. For my part, I and my waiting-women shall keep the same fast, after which I shall go to the king in spite of the law; and if I perish, I perish.'
17 Mordecai went away and carried out Esther's instructions.
Versículos relacionados com Esther, 4:
Esther 4 reports the anguish of Mordecai and all Jews before the Assyrian king's decree authorizing the execution of all Jews. Esther, who is Jewish, is informed by Mordecai about the situation and encouraged to talk to the king to intercede for his people. Below are five verses related to the topics covered in Esther 4:
Deuteronomy 31:6: "Strong and courageous thirst; do not fear, nor fear you before them; For the Lord, your God, is the one who will let you not let you, nor will you." Just as Mordochew encouraged Esther to be brave, this verse encourages God's people to be strong and brave, trusting that God will always accompany them.
Isaiah 41:10: "Do not fear, because I am with you; do not haunt yourself, because I am your God; I strengthen you, and help you, and I support you with my faithful right hand." This verse is another passage that encourages believers not to be afraid, trusting in God's power to help them in all situations.
Philippians 4:6-7: "Be not restless for anything; before, your petitions are in all known before God for prayer and supplications, with thanksgiving. And the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, will keep Your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. " This verse shows the importance of prayer and gratitude in difficult times, and that God is able to bring us peace even in the midst of anguish.
Hebrews 13:6: "So, having the Lord care of us, we do not fear, therefore, to say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what the man may do to me." This verse reinforces the idea that God is our helper and protector, and that we need not fear anything that men can do.
Psalm 34:4: "I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears." This psalm shows how the psalmist sought God in a moment of fear and anguish and was heard and rescued by him. This verse can encourage believers to seek God in prayer, even in difficult times.
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