Est 4:3 | NET2full | STEP | Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced there was considerable mourning among the Jews , along with fasting , weeping , and sorrow . Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic of many .

‏ Esther 4:3

3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced ^{▼▼tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”} there was considerable ^{▼▼tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”} mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. ^{▼▼sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.} Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic ^{▼▼tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”} of many.