²⁹ The armies were deployed opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began, and the Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day.

¹⁶ “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast on my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I^[a] will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law.^[b] If I perish, I perish.”

Esther Appeals to the King for Help

5 It so happened that on the third day Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace,^[a] opposite the king’s quarters.^[b] The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance.^[c]

²¹ At^[a] the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given by the angel^[b] before he was conceived in the womb.