Day Eight


Kneeler 140

Additions toEsther 14

1 Then Queen Esther, seized with deadly anxiety, fled to the Lord.

2 She took off her splendid apparel and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfume she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body; every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair.
3 She prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said: "O my Lord, you are our king; help me, who am alone and have no helper but you,

4 for my danger is in my hand.…

14 But save us by your hand, and help me, who am alone and have no helper but you, O Lord.

The Oxford Annotated Bible has this comment: "The canonical book of Esther never mentions God or prayer or calls Israel God's chosen people. These prayers are added to give the book an explicity religious tone."

Notice that Esther "fled to the Lord" in her anxiety.