What events and attributed statements does Esther Chapter 15 record?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The opening charge and third-day preparation lead Esther to the king with two maids and hidden fear. She sinks down before his wrathful gaze; the narrator says God changes his spirit into mildness. The king holds and reassures her, lays the sceptre on her neck and kisses her; after her reply she falls again and his servants comfort her.

Chapter breakdown

Following the opening command, whose speaker the edition’s parenthesis identifies as Mardochai, who reminded her of her humble upbringing by his hand and urged her to call upon the Lord to deliver their people from Aman's death sentence, Queen Esther prepared for her audience. On the third day, she laid aside her garments of mourning and adorned herself in glorious royal apparel.

Shimmering in royal robes after invoking God, the ruler and Savior of all, Esther took two maidservants with her. She leaned upon one maid as though delicate and unable to sustain her own weight, while the other followed behind, carrying her flowing royal train. Though her face shone with rosy beauty and bright eyes, she concealed an inward mind overwhelmed with anguish and intense fear.

Passing through each door in order, Esther entered the presence of the king. The monarch sat upon his royal throne, magnificent in golden robes and gemstones, yet terrible to behold. When the king raised his head and revealed the fierce wrath of his heart with burning eyes, Esther collapsed in terror, turning pale and resting her head upon her maid.

The narrator says God changed the king's spirit into mildness. Filled with haste and fear, the king leaped from his throne, caught the queen in his arms until she revived, and comforted her with tender words, reassuring her that as her brother she would not die, because the royal law of execution applied to all others, not to her. He invited her to come near and touch the sceptre. While she remained silent, he laid it upon her neck, kissed her, and asked why she did not speak. Esther answered that she saw him as an angel of God and was overwhelmed by his majesty, swooning once more while the king and his attendants comforted her.

The story inside

Initial conditions: The opening charge and third-day preparation lead Esther to the king with two maids and hidden fear. Development: She sinks down before his wrathful gaze; the narrator says God changes his spirit into mildness. Recorded ending: The king holds and reassures her, lays the sceptre on her neck and kisses her; after her reply she falls again and his servants comfort her.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The opening charge and third-day preparation lead Esther to the king with two maids and hidden fear.
2
She sinks down before his wrathful gaze; the narrator says God changes his spirit into mildness.
3
The king holds and reassures her, lays the sceptre on her neck and kisses her; after her reply she falls again and his servants comfort her.

Test your recall

Which concrete sequence does this chapter record, and what remains unstated?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 54084–54086
Remember, (said he,) the days of thy low estate, how thou wast brought up by my hand, because Aman the second after the king hath spoken against us unto death.
Lines 54111–54113
And when he had lifted up his countenance, and with burning eyes had shewn the wrath of his heart, the queen sunk down, and her colour turned pale, and she rested her weary head upon her handmaid.
Lines 54115–54117
And God changed the king’s spirit into mildness, and all in haste and in fear he leaped from his throne, and holding her up in his arms, till she came to herself, caressed her with these words:
Lines 54121–54122
Thou shalt not die: for this law is not made for thee, but for all others.