Bible Strands
Esther 4:16
“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Esther addresses Mordecai after his request, directing him to mobilize the Jewish community in Susa before she prepares to approach the Persian king.
The words — The imperative לֵךְ (lekh, "go") and כּוֹנֵס (kones, "gather") command immediate physical mobilization, while צוּמוּ (tsumu, "fast") establishes the required spiritual preparation.
The thread — This call to corporate fasting precedes desperate intervention, echoing Jehoshaphat’s proclamation in 2 Chronicles 20:3 and Joel’s summons in Joel 2:12, while Esther’s willingness to risk her life parallels Paul’s resolution in Acts 20:24.
Why it lands — The text records Esther’s explicit command to fast for three days and her declaration that she will enter the king’s presence despite the law, demanding a reader to recognize that decisive action in crisis requires both communal preparation and personal willingness to accept the consequences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Cross-references
- Acts 20:24 But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
- Joel 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
- Luke 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
- Genesis 18:19 For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”
- Genesis 43:14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
- Joshua 24:15 But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
- 2 Samuel 10:12 Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD do what is good in His sight.”
- Jonah 3:4 On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”
- Esther 5:1 On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace across from the king’s quarters. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom, facing the entrance.