Esther 5:1

On the third day Esther put on royal apparel.

On the third day from the commencement of the fast she attired herself in fitting robes to appear before the king. Whoever appears in. monarch's presence must wear. court dress. Nobody can be presented to Queen Victoria unless she complies with the regulation style of attire. It was needful that Esther wear the prescribed garments of. queen into the king's presence.

Stood in the inner court.

The inner court, we learn from chapter 4:11, was the sacred retreat that no one was permitted to approach under penalty of death. It seems to have been. place devoted to audiences of such as the king invited to his presence. An oriental monarch secluded himself from the public gaze as something too sacred to be seen by mortal eyes, and only admitted his confidential ministers and servants and such as he granted an audience. Here he sat on his throne "over against the gate," where he could see all within the court.