Esther 4:1-3

Evangelical Heritage Version

4 When Mordecai became aware of everything that had happened, he ripped his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went out into the middle of the city, and let out a loud, bitter cry. ² He went right up to the king’s gate, even though no one clothed with sackcloth was allowed to enter it.

³ In every single province that was reached by the proclamation of the king and where his decree was posted, there was great mourning, fasting, weeping, and lamenting among the Jews. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.