Esther 4:1-3

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 4

Mordecai Persuades Esther To Help. ¹ When Mordecai heard all that was going on, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went through the city wailing loudly and sorrowfully. ² But he came to a halt at the entrance to the king’s gate because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed to go in. ³ (Similarly, in every province to which the king’s edict and order reached, the Jews went into great mourning, with fasting, mourning, and weeping. Many put on sackcloth and ashes.)