16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for ^wthree days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, ^xand if I perish, I perish.”¹

31 that these days of Purim should be observed at their appointed seasons, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther obligated them, and as they had obligated themselves and their offspring, with regard to ^wtheir fasts and their lamenting.