Now Esther had not declared her heritage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her, for Esther did what Mordecai told her just as she had done when she was raised by him.

Then the king told Haman, "Quick! Take the clothes and the horse just as you have suggested and do this for Mordecai the Jew who sits in the king's gate. And don't let anything you've suggested fall through the cracks."

establishing these days of Purim at the prescribed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as the Jewish people had established for themselves and for their descendants. The letter included instructions for their fasting and lamentations.