Estera 2
1 Poslije tih događaja, kako mu se utiša gnjev, kralj Ahasver sjeti se Vaštije, onoga što je ona učinila i što je bilo odlučeno protiv nje.
Some time later, when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.
2 Rekoše tada momci što služahu kralja: "Neka se potraže za kralja mlade djevojke, djevice lijepa izgleda.
Then the king’s attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king,
3 Kralj neka odredi u svim pokrajinama svojega kraljevstva povjerenike da mu sakupe sve djevice pristala izgleda u tvrđavi grada Suze, u haremu, pod upravom Hegeja, kraljeva eunuha, čuvara žena. On će se pobrinuti za njihovu njegu.
and let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom to assemble all the beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the women, and let them be given beauty treatments.
4 Ona djevojka koja se najviše svidi očima kraljevim neka kraljuje umjesto Vaštije." Bijaše to po volji kralju, i on tako uradi.
Then let the young woman who pleases the king become queen in place of Vashti.” This suggestion pleased the king, and he acted accordingly.
5 U tvrđavi grada Suze bio je neki Židov koji se zvao Mordokaj, sin Jaira, sina Šimeja, sina Kišova, iz plemena Benjaminova.
Now there was at the citadel of Susa a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish.
6 On je bio protjeran iz Jeruzalema među prognanicima koje je babilonski kralj Nabukodonozor odveo zajedno s judejskim kraljem Jekonijom.
He had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah.
7 On je odgajao Hadasu, to jest Esteru, kćerku strica svoga, jer ona ne imađaše ni oca ni majke. Djevojka je bila pristala i lijepa izgleda. Poslije smrti njezina oca i njezine majke Mordokaj je uze k sebi kao kćerku.
And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her in as his own daughter.
8 Kako se začu za kraljevu riječ i njegovu naredbu, mnogo se djevojaka sabra u tvrđavi grada Suze pod Hegejevim nadzorom. Tako dovedoše i Esteru u kraljevu palaču, pod nadzor Hegeja, čuvara žena.
When the king’s command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the care of Hegai, the custodian of the women.
9 Djevojka se svidje njegovim očima, steče ona njegovu naklonost i on se pobrinu za njezino uljepšavanje i uzdržavanje. Uz to joj dade sedam najvrednijih ropkinja kraljevskog dvora i premjesti je, skupa s djevojkama, u najudobnije prostorije harema.
And the young woman pleased him and obtained his favor, so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments and the special diet. He assigned to her seven select maidservants from the palace and transferred her with them to the best place in the harem.
10 Estera ne spomenu ni naroda ni obitelji kojoj je pripadala, jer joj Mordokaj bijaše zabranio da to učini.
Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.
11 Svakoga je dana Mordokaj šetao pred dvorištem harema da bi doznao kako se Estera osjeća i kako se prema njoj odnose.
And every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn about Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
12 Svaka je djevojka morala ući kralju kad je na nju, prema uredbi za žene, došao red, to jest nakon dvanaest mjeseci. Jer tada se završavalo razdoblje njihova uljepšavanja: šest mjeseci uljem iz mirne, a šest mjeseci balzamom i ostalim pomastima za žensku njegu.
In the twelve months before her turn to go to King Xerxes, the harem regulation required each young woman to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months, and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months.
13 Pa kad bi djevojka ulazila kralju, bilo joj je dopušteno da sa sobom iz harema u kraljevsku palaču ponese sve što bi zatražila.
When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace.
14 Ona bi ulazila uvečer, a ujutro bi se vraćala u drugi harem, pod nadzorom Šaašgaza, kraljeva eunuha, čuvara priležnica. Više se ne bi vraćala kralju, osim ako bi je posebno zaželio i dozvao je k sebi poimence.
She would go there in the evening, and in the morning she would return to a second harem under the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he delighted in her and summoned her by name.
15 Kada dođe red na Esteru, kćerku Abihajla, koji je bio stric Mordokaja koji ju je bio pokćerio, da uđe kralju, ona ne zatraži ništa osim onoga što joj bijaše rekao Hegej, kraljev eunuh, čuvar žena. Ipak je pobuđivala udivljenje svih koji su je gledali.
Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.
16 Esteru, dakle, uvedoše kralju Ahasveru, u njegovu kraljevsku palaču, u desetom mjesecu, mjesecu Tebetu, sedme godine njegova vladanja.
She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Kralj zavolje Esteru više od svih drugih žena; više nego sve ostale djevice ona mu omilje i predobi ona njegovu naklonost. I položi on na njezinu glavu kraljevsku krunu, pa mjesto Vaštije ona posta kraljicom.
And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
18 Nakon toga priredi kralj u čast Estere veliku gozbu za svoje knezove i službenike; svim pokrajinama odredi odmor i razda darove kraljevski darežljivo.
Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.
19 Kad su drugi put djevojke bile sakupljene, Mordokaj sjeđaše na vratima kraljevim.
When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
20 Estera ne oda ni naroda ni obitelji iz koje je potjecala, kao što joj Mordokaj bijaše naredio. Estera se i dalje držala svih Mordokajevih uputa kao kad se nalazila pod njegovim skrbništvom.
Esther still had not revealed her lineage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed. She obeyed Mordecai’s command, as she had done under his care.
21 U ono vrijeme kad je Mordokaj sjedio na vratima kraljevim, Bigtan i Tereš, dva kraljeva dvoranina, čuvari praga, planuše gnjevom i počeše snovati da podignu ruku na kralja Ahasvera.
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
22 Za tu njihovu namjeru sazna Mordokaj. On je dojavi kraljici Esteri, a Estera je u Mordokajevo ime saopći kralju.
When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai’s behalf.
23 Sve se izvidje i otkri se zavjera, pa obojica budu obješena o stup. To se pred kraljem zapisa u knjizi Ljetopisa.
After the report had been investigated and verified, both officials were hanged on the gallows. And all this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.
