Esther stripped off her royal garments and the ornaments of her majesty. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, she clothed herself in sackcloth, disheveled her hair, covered her head with dust and ashes, and fell on her face in prayer. She called herself an orphan in a foreign palace, begging God's mercy "from one window to the other" in the house of Ahasuerus.
Her prayer recalled the entire history of Israel's deliverance. Her father had taught her how God redeemed the ancestors from Egypt, slew the firstborn, parted the sea, provided food from heaven and water from the rock. She invoked Moses's promise that even in the land of their enemies, God would never forsake His people. Then she made her request: "Stand at the right hand of this orphan. Grant me mercy in the presence of the king, for I fear him as a kid fears the lion. Cause his heart to hate our enemies and to love Thy servants, for the heart of kings is in Thy hand."
On the third day, Esther dressed in royal garments and walked into the throne room, leaning on one handmaiden while another carried her train so the gold and precious stones would not touch the ground. The courtiers whispered among themselves, already dividing her belongings. "This woman is sure to be killed," they said. "I will take her garments." "I shall take the ornaments on her feet."
Ahasuerus looked up, enraged that she had come without being summoned. Esther trembled and began to faint. But God intervened, adding beauty to her beauty and majesty to her majesty. The king leapt from his throne, ran to her, embraced her, and placed the golden scepter in her hand. Through Esther and Mordecai, God brought about the salvation of Israel. Haman and his sons were hanged on the gallows, and every person who had plotted against the Jews was put to the sword.
LXXX. (1) And Esther fled to the Lord, for she feared
the evil which was growing; and, stripping herself of her
royal garments and the ornaments of her majesty, she
clothed herself in sackcloth, and dishevelling the hair of
her head, she put dust and ashes upon it. Then, afflicting
her soul with fasting, she fell upon her face in prayer,
saying, ' 0 Lord God of Israel, who art the King of kings,'
who art to be feared, who createdst the world, and who
rulest over us, help Thine handmaid in her desolation, for
she has no saviour except Thee. Behold, I dwell in the
king's palace alone, without father or mother. Like an
afflicted orphan begging charity from house to house, so do
I beg for Thy mercy, from one window to the other in the
palace of King Ahasuerus, and have done so from the time
I was brought here until this present day. (2) 0 Lord, if
it is pleasing to Thee, take my soul from my own hand;
and if not, then deliver, I beseech Thee, the flock of Thy
pasture from those lions who have risen up against them;
for my father taught me that Thou didst redeem our
forefathers from Egypt, and didst slay all the firstborn of
the Egyptians. Thou didst bring Thy people forth thence
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and didst
cause them to pass over the sea like a horse on dry land.
Thou didst give them food from heaven, water from the
cleft of the rock, and meat in plenty. Thou didst smite
great and mighty kings before them, and caused them to
inherit the goodly land. But when om^ ancestors sinned
against Thy great name, then didst Thou deliver them into
captivity; and here we are in exile to this day. My father
further told me that, through Moses Thy servant. Thou
didst say, " When also they shall be in the land of their
enemies, I will never forsake them."
^ (B) ' Now, 0 Lord, Father of the fatherless, stand at the
right hand of this orphan, who trusts in Thee, and grant
me mercy when I am in the presence of King Ahasuerus,
for I fear him as a kid fears the lion. Make lowly all his
counsellors, that he may be humbled and subdued before
the grace and beauty Thou hast given me. 0 my God,
cause his heart to hate our enemies and to love Thy
servants, for the heart of kings is in Thy hand. 0 Thou
mighty, revered, and exalted God, deliver me from the fear
and trembling which have taken hold of me, that I may go
into his presence in Thy name, and come out in peace.'
240 [LXXX. 4
(4) On the third day Esther accordingly clothed herself
in royal garments, and came before the king, who was
sitting upon the throne, accompanied by her two hand-
maidens. Upon one of them she placed her right hand,
and leaned upon her, according to the royal custom, while
the other maiden followed behind her to hold up her train,
that the gold and precious stones should not touch the
ground. Before him were seated all the potentates of the
kingdom, who said one to the other, ' This woman is sure
to be killed, since she has entered here without an appointed
time.' One said, 'I will then take her royal garments';
a,nother, 'I shall take the ornaments on her feet'; and
another, ' I will take the ornaments on her hands.' When
Esther heard these remarks, she kept her face serene, and
■concealed the grief of her soul.
(5) The king, then raising his eyes to her, was much
enraged that she had transgressed the law by coming into
his presence without being called. When Esther noticed
the king's anger and fury, she trembled, and, feeling faint,
placed her head upon the maid at her right; but our Lord
saw the oppression of His people, and had pity upon Israel
and upon the trouble of the orphan who trusted in Him, and
He made her find favour in the eyes of the king, for the
Lord added beauty to her beauty and majesty to her majesty,
and the king, rising in haste from his throne, ran towards
Esther, and embraced and kissed her, and, taking her in
his arms, said to her, ' What is this fear, 0 Queen Esther?
for this decree of ours does not apply to thee, since thou art
the queen, my friend and companion;' and, taking up the
golden sceptre, he placed it into her hand, and added,
' Why dost thou not speak to me ?' And Esther replied,
* When I saw thee, 0 lord, my soul trembled before thine
honour, and on account of the greatness of thy glory.'
(6) She then leaned her head once more upon her
handmaid, for she was faint from fasting and from
trouble. The king, however, was now very much alarmed
at this, and wept before his wife, while all his ministers
■entreated her to speak to the king, in order to appease
his soul. And the Lord brought about that great
salvation through Queen Esther and Mordecai. Haman
and his sons were hanged upon the gallows, and all those
who devised evil against Israel were slain at the edge of
the sword, and Mordecai from that day forth was honoured
in the king's palace.
[This is the letter which Haman sent (to the nations), for
the purpose of causing the house of Jacob to perish.]
