Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
I also and my maidens. It is probable that she had surrounded herself with Jewish maidens, or women who were proselytes to that religion.
So will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law. The queen could take certain liberties, such as going unexpectedly into the royal presence, inviting him to a banquet, and employing his guards to carry out her discipline on female delinquents (Herodotus, b. 9:, 112). But she had to humbly ask and obtain the king's sanction; and an intrusion into the royal presence was liable to be punished as a capital crime, unless the king extended the royal sceptre as a token of royal favour. The appeal of Mordecai was irresistible; and having appointed a solemn fast of three days, she expressed her firm resolution to make an appeal to the king, though she should perish in the attempt.