CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Esther 4 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/esther/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/esther/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NIV</a> > Esther 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../esther/3.htm" title="Esther 3">◄</a> Esther 4 <a href="../esther/5.htm" title="Esther 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/esther/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>“All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/esther/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.</p><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.</p><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../esther/3.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Esther 3"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Esther 3" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../esther/5.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Esther 5"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Esther 5" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/esther/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenubib2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>