Ester 2
1 Efter disse Begivenheder, der Kong Ahasverus's Harme var stillet, kom han Vasthi i Hu, og hvad hun havde gjort, og hvad der var besluttet over hende.
After a while, King Xerxes quit being so angry. He thought about Vashti, and he thought about the law he had made because of what she [had done, and he wanted another wife].
2 Da sagde Kongens Folk, som tjente ham: Man oplede til Kongen unge Jomfruer, dejlige af Anseelse,
So his personal servants said to him, “[Your majesty, ] you should send some men to search throughout the empire for some beautiful young women/virgins for you.
3 og Kongen beskikke Befalingsmænd i alle sit Riges Landskaber, at de samle alle unge Jomfruer, som ere dejlige af Anseelse, til Borgen Susan, til Kvindernes Hus, under Hegajs, Kongens Kammertjeners, Haand, som tager Vare paa Kvinderne, og man give dem de Ting, som høre til deres Renselse;
[After they find some, ] you can appoint some officials in each province to bring them to the place where you keep (your wives/the women you sleep with) here in Susa. Then Hegai, the man who is in charge of these women, can arrange for ointments to be put [on their bodies] to make them [more] beautiful.
4 og den unge Pige, som synes at være god for Kongens Øjne, hun vorde Dronning i Vasthis Sted! Og dette Ord syntes godt for Kongens Øjne, og han gjorde saa.
Then the woman who pleases you most can become queen instead of Vashti.” The king liked what they suggested, so he did it.
5 Der var en jødisk Mand i Borgen Susan, hvis Navn var Mardokaj, en Søn af Jair, der var en Søn af Simei, en Søn af Kis, en benjaminitisk Mand,
At that time there was a Jew [living] in Susa, the capital, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair. Jair was a descendant of Shimei. Shimei was a descendant of [King Saul’s father] Kish. [They were all] from the tribe descended from Benjamin.
6 som var bortført fra Jerusalem med de Fanger, som bleve bortførte med Jekonia, Judas Konge, hvem Nebukadnezar, Kongen af Babel, lod bortføre.
[Many years before that, ] King Nebuchadnezzar had taken (Mordecai/Mordecai’s family) [and brought them from Jerusalem] to Babylon, at the same time he brought King Jehoiachin of Judah and many other people to Babylon.
7 Og han var Fosterfader til Hadassa, det er Esther, hans Farbroders Datter, thi hun havde hverken Fader eller Moder; og den unge Pige var skøn af Skikkelse og dejlig af Anseelse, og der hendes Fader og hendes Moder døde, da tog Mardokaj hende til sig som Datter.
Mordecai had a cousin whose [Hebrew] name was Hadassah. She had a beautiful face and beautiful body/figure. Her [Persian] name was Esther. After her father and mother died, Mordecai took care of Esther as though she were his own daughter.
8 Og det skete, der Kongens Ord og hans Bud bleve hørt, og der mange unge Piger bleve samlede til Borgen Susan under Hegajs Haand, blev og Esther tagen til Kongens Hus, under Hegajs Haand, som tog Vare paa Kvinderne.
After the king commanded [that they search for some beautiful women], they brought Esther and many other young women to the king’s palace [in Susa], and (the king put Hegai/Hegai was put) in charge of them.
9 Og den unge Pige syntes god for hans Øjne og fik Yndest for hans Ansigt; derfor hastede han med at give hende de Ting, som hørte til hendes Renselse, og de Maaltider, hun skulde have, og med at give hende de syv udsete Piger af Kongens Hus, og han lod hende med hendes Piger flytte til det bedste Sted i Kvindernes Hus.
Hegai was very pleased with Esther, and he treated her well. He immediately arranged for her to be given ointments to make her [even more] beautiful, and [he ordered that] special food [would be given to her]. [He arranged that] seven maids from the king’s palace [would take care of her], and arranged that she/they would stay in the best rooms.
10 Esther havde ikke givet sit Folk og sin Slægt til Kende; thi Mardokaj havde befalet hende, at hun ikke skulde give det til Kende.
Esther did not tell anyone that she was a Jew, because Mordecai had told her not to tell anyone.
11 Og Mardokaj gik daglig foran Forgaarden ved Kvindernes Hus for at faa at vide, om det gik Esther vel, og hvad der skulde ske med hende.
Every day Mordecai walked near the courtyard of the place where those women stayed. He asked [people who entered the courtyard] to find out [and tell him] what was happening to Esther.
12 Og naar Raden kom for hver Pige, at hun skulde gaa ind til Kong Ahasverus, efter at der i tolv Maaneder var sket med hende efter Forskriften angaaende Kvinderne — thi saa lang Tid medgaar der til deres Renselse, nemlig seks Maaneder med Olie af Myrra, og seks Maaneder med kostelige Urter og andre Ting, som høre til Kvindernes Renselse —
Before these women were taken to the king, they put ointments on [the bodies of] these women for one year to make them more beautiful. For six months they [rubbed olive] oil mixed with myrrh [on their bodies each day]. For [the next] six months they rubbed ointments and perfumes on their bodies.
13 naar da den unge Pige gik ind til Kongen, blev alt, hvad hun sagde, givet hende, at hun dermed gik fra Kvindernes Hus ind i Kongens Hus.
Then, when one of these women [was summoned to] go to the king, she was allowed to wear whatever clothes and jewelry she chose.
14 Hun gik ind om Aftenen, og om Morgenen gik hun tilbage til Kvindernes andet Hus under Saasgas, Kongens Kammertjeners, Haand, hans, som tog Vare paa Medhustruerne; hun maatte ikke komme mere til Kongen, uden Kongen havde Lyst til hende, og hun blev kaldet ved Navn.
In the evening, they would take her [to the king’s own room]. The next morning, they would take her to another place where the women [who had slept with the king] stayed. There another official whose name was Shaashgaz was in charge [of those women]. [Those women would live there for the rest of their lives, and] one of those women would go back to the king again only if the king very much wanted her to come again, and only if he told Shaashgaz the name of the woman.
15 Og der Raden kom til Esther, Abihajls, Mardokajs Farbroders, Datter, som denne havde taget til sig som Datter, at hun skulde gaa ind til Kongen, da krævede hun ingen Ting, uden hvad Hegaj, Kongens Kammertjener, som tog Vare paa Kvinderne, sagde; og Esther fandt Naade for alles Øjne, som saa hende.
Everyone who saw Esther liked her. After King Xerxes had been ruling for seven years, it was Esther’s turn to go to him. When they took her to the king, it was during the middle part of the winter. She wore only the things that Hegai suggested.
16 Og Esther blev tagen til Kong Ahasverus til hans kongelige Hus i den tiende Maaned, det er Thebet Maaned, i hans Regerings syvende Aar.
17 Og Kongen elskede Esther fremfor alle Kvinderne, og hun fik Naade og Miskundhed for hans Ansigt fremfor alle Jomfruerne, og han satte den kongelige Krone paa hendes Hoved og gjorde hende til Dronning i Vasthis Sted.
The king liked Esther more than he liked any of the other women [that they brought to him]. He liked her so much that he put on her head the queen’s crown, and he declared that Esther would be the queen instead of Vashti.
18 Og Kongen gjorde alle sine Fyrster og sine Tjenere et stort Gæstebud, det var Esthers Gæstebud, og han skænkede Landskaberne Hvile og uddelte Gaver efter Kongens Formue.
To celebrate her [becoming the queen], he had a big banquet/feast prepared for all his administrators and [other] officials. He generously gave [expensive] gifts to everyone, and he declared that in all the provinces there would be a holiday, [a time when people did not have to pay taxes].
19 Og der Jomfruerne samledes anden Gang, og Mardokaj sad i Kongens Port —
Later all those women who had spent a night with the king were gathered together again. By that time Mordecai had become an official at the palace.
20 Esther havde ikke givet sin Slægt, ej heller sit Folk til Kende, ligesom Mardokaj havde befalet hende; thi Esther gjorde efter Mardokajs Ord, ligesom da hun blev opfødt hos ham —
But Esther still did not tell anyone that she was a Jew. She continued to do what Mordecai had told her to do.
21 i de samme Dage, som Mardokaj sad i Kongens Port, bleve to af Kongens Kammertjenere, Bigtan og Theres, af dem, som holdt Vagt ved Dørtærskelen, vrede og søgte at lægge Haand paa Kong Ahasverus.
One day when Mordecai was doing his work in the palace, two of the king’s officials were there. Their names were Bigthana and Teresh. They were the guards who stood outside the king’s own rooms. They became angry [with the king], and they were planning how they could assassinate/kill him.
22 Og den Sag blev bekendt for Mardokaj, og han gav Dronning Esther den til Kende, og Esther sagde Kongen det i Mardokajs Navn.
But Mordecai heard about what they were planning, and he told that to Queen Esther. Then she told the king what Mordecai had found out.
23 Og Sagen blev undersøgt og funden rigtig, og de bleve begge hængte paa et Træ, og det blev skrevet i Krønikebogen for Kongens Ansigt.
The king investigated and found out that Mordecai’s report was true. So the king ordered that those two men be hanged. When that was done, (an official wrote a report/a report was written) about it in a book called ‘The book that records what happened while Xerxes was king’.
