4
17a Then Mordecai made his prayer unto the Lord, calling to remembrance all the works of the Lord, and said, 17b O Lord, Lord, thou King Almighty: for the whole world is in thy power, and if it be thy will to save Israel, there is no man that can gainsay thee: 17c for thou hast made heaven and earth, and all the wondrous things that are beneath the heaven; and thou art Lord of all, and there is no man that can resist thee, who art the Lord. 17d Thou knowest all things, and thou knowest, Lord, that it was neither in contempt nor pride, nor for any desire of glory, that I did not bow down to proud Haman. For I could have been content with good will for the salvation of Israel to kiss the soles of his feet. 17e But I did this, that I might not prefer the glory of man above the glory of God: neither will I bow down unto any but to thee, who art my Lord, neither will I do it in pride. 17f And now, O Lord, thou God and King, the God of Abraham, spare thy people: for their eyes are upon us to bring us to nought, and they desire to destroy the heritage, that hath been thine from the beginning. 17g Despise not thy portion, which thou didst redeem out of the land of Egypt for thine own self. 17h Hear my prayer, and be merciful unto thine inheritance: and turn our mourning into feasting, that we may live, O Lord, and sing praises to thy name: and destroy not the mouth of them that praise thee, O Lord.
17i And all Israel cried out mightily, because their death was before their eyes. 17k Queen Esther also, being seized as it were with the agony of death, resorted unto the Lord: and laid away her glorious apparel, and put on the garments of anguish and mourning: and instead of the most excellent ointments, she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she humbled her body greatly, and all the places of the ornaments of her joy she covered with her tangled hair. And she prayed unto the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, 17l O my Lord, thou only art our King: help me that am desolate and have no other helper but thee: for my danger is in my hand. 17m From my youth up I have heard in the tribe of my family, that thou, O Lord, tookest Israel from among all the nations, and our fathers from all their progenitors, for a perpetual inheritance, and didst perform for them whatsoever thou didst promise. 17n And now we have sinned before thee, and thou hast given us into the hands of our enemies, because we glorified their gods: O Lord, thou art righteous. 17o Nevertheless it satisfieth them not, that we are in bitter captivity: but they have stricken hands with their idols, that they will abolish the thing that thou with thy mouth hast ordained, and destroy thine inheritance, and stop the mouth of them that praise thee, and quench the glory of thy house, and thine altar, 17p and open the mouths of the heathen to set forth the virtues of idols, and that a fleshly king shall be magnified forever. 17q O Lord, give not thy scepter unto them that are nothing, and let them not laugh at our fall; but turn their device upon themselves, and make him an example, that hath begun this against us. 17r Remember, O Lord, make thyself known in the time of our affliction, and give me boldness, O King of the gods, and holder of all dominion. 17s Give me eloquent speech in my mouth before the lion: and turn his heart to hate him that fighteth against us, that there may be an end of him, and of them that are like-minded with him: 17t but deliver us with thy hand, and help me that am desolate and have no other helper but thee, O Lord. 17u Thou hast knowledge of all things; and thou knowest that I hate the glory of the wicked, and abhor the bed of the uncircumcised, and of every alien. 17w Thou knowest my necessity: that I abhor the sign of my high estate, which is upon my head in the days wherein I show myself. I abhor it as a menstruous rag, and I wear it not when I am private by myself. 17x And thy handmaid hath not eaten at Haman’s table, neither have I honored the king’s feast, nor drunk the wine of the drink offerings. 17y Neither had thy handmaid any joy since the day that I was brought hither to this present, but in thee, O Lord, thou God of Abraham. 17z O God, that art mighty above all, hear the voice of the forlorn, and deliver us out of the hands of the mischievous, and deliver me out of my fear.