Ester 8
1 Samme Dag gav Kong Ahasverus Dronning Ester Hamans, Jødernes Fjendes, Hus. Og Mordokaj fik Foretræde hos Kongen, thi Ester havde fortalt, hvad han havde været for hende.
[Later] on that same day, King Xerxes declared that everything that Haman, the enemy of the Jews, owned, would now belong to Queen Esther. Esther told the king that Mordecai was her cousin. [When] the king [heard that, he sent a message to tell] Mordecai to come in.
2 Og Kongen tog sin Seglring, som han havde frataget Haman, og gav Mordokaj den. Og Ester satte Mordokaj over Hamans Hus.
When Mordecai came in, the king took off the ring that had his official seal on it, the ring that he had [previously] given to Haman, and gave it to Mordecai, [to indicate that Mordecai was now his most important official]. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of everything that had belonged to Haman.
3 Men Ester henvendte sig atter til Kongen, og hun kastede sig ned for hans Fødder og græd og bønfaldt ham om at afværge de onde Raad, Agagiten Haman havde lagt op imod Jøderne.
Esther again [came to] talk to the king. She prostrated herself at his feet, crying. She [wanted to] plead for him to stop what Haman had planned, to kill all the Jews.
4 Kongen rakte det gyldne Scepter ud imod Ester, og Ester rejste sig op og traadte hen til Kongen
The king held out his gold scepter/staff toward Esther, so Esther arose and stood in front of him.
5 og sagde: »Hvis Kongen synes, og hvis jeg har fundet Naade for hans Ansigt og Kongen holder det for ret, og han har Behag i mig, lad der saa blive givet skriftlig Befaling til at tilbagekalde de Skrivelser, Agagiten Haman, Hammedatas Søn, udpønsede, og som han lod udgaa for at udrydde Jøderne i alle Kongens Lande;
She said, “Your majesty, if you are pleased with me, and if you think that it is the right thing to do, make a new law to cancel what Haman decreed, that all the Jews in all the provinces in your empire should be killed.
6 thi hvor kan jeg udholde at se den Ulykke, som rammer mit Folk, og hvor kan jeg udholde at se min Slægts Undergang!«
I cannot bear seeing all my family and [all the rest of] my people killed.”
7 Da sagde Kong Ahasverus til Dronning Ester og Jøden Mordokaj: »Hamans Hus har jeg givet Ester, og han selv er blevet hængt i Galgen, fordi han stod Jøderne efter Livet.
King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and Mordecai, “Because Haman tried to get rid of all the Jews, I have given to Esther everything that belonged to Haman, and I have ordered [my soldiers] to hang Haman.
8 Nu kan I selv i Kongens Navn affatte en Skrivelse om Jøderne, som I finder det for godt, og sætte det kongelige Segl under; thi en Skrivelse, der een Gang er udgaaet i Kongens Navn og forseglet med det kongelige Segl, kan ikke kaldes tilbage.«
So now I am also permitting you to write other letters, to [save] your people. You may put my name [on the letters], and use my ring to seal them because no letter that has my name on it and which is sealed with my ring can ever be changed.”
9 Saa blev Kongens Skrivere med det samme tilkaldt paa den tre og tyvende Dag i den tredje Maaned, det er Sivan Maaned, og der blev skrevet, ganske som Mordokaj bød, til Jøderne og til Satraperne og Statholderne og Fyrsterne i Landene fra Indien til Ætiopien, 127 Landsdele, til hver Landsdel med dens egen Skrift og til hvert Folk paa dets eget Sprog, ogsaa til Jøderne med deres egen Skrift og paa deres eget Sprog.
Then the king summoned his secretaries, on June 25th, and [Mordecai told them to] write letters to the Jews and to all the governors and other officials in all of the 127 provinces, which extended from India [in the east] to Ethiopia [in the west]. They wrote these letters in all the languages that the people in each area spoke. They also wrote letters to the Jewish people, in their language.
10 Han affattede Skrivelser i Kong Ahasverus's Navn og forseglede dem med Kongens Seglring; derefter sendte han dem ud ved ridende Ilbud, der red paa Gangere fra de kongelige Stalde, med Kundgørelse om,
They wrote in those letters that the Jews in every city were permitted by the king to gather together to protect themselves. They also were permitted to kill any group of soldiers who attacked them. They were also permitted to kill the women and children of those who attacked them, and to take the possessions of the people whom they killed.
11 at Kongen tilstedte Jøderne i hver enkelt By at slutte sig sammen og værge deres Liv og i hvert Folk og hvert Land at udrydde, ihjelslaa og tilintetgøre alle væbnede Skarer, som angreb dem, tillige med Børn og Kvinder, og at plyndre deres Ejendele,
12 alt paa en og samme Dag i alle Kong Ahasverus's Lande, paa den trettende Dag i den tolvte Maaned, det er Adar Maaned.
[All this was to be done] on March 7th of the following year. Mordecai signed the king’s name on the letters, and sealed them with the seal that was on the king’s ring. Then he gave them to messengers, who rode on fast horses that had been raised especially for the king.
13 En Afskrift af Skrivelsen, der skulde udgaa som Forordning i alle Rigets Dele, blev kundgjort for alle Folkene, for at Jøderne den Dag kunde være rede til at tage Hævn over deres Fjender.
Copies of this law were to be nailed to posts in every province and read to all the people, in order that the Jews would be ready to (get revenge on/fight against) their enemies on March 7th.
14 Saa snart Forordningen var givet i Borgen Susan, skyndte Ilbudene, som red paa de kongelige Gangere, sig paa Kongens Bud af Sted saa hurtigt, de kunde.
The king commanded the men who took these letters [to all the provinces] to ride quickly on the king’s horses. And copies of the letter were also posted and read to the people in [the capital city, ] Susa.
15 Men Mordokaj gik fra Kongen i en kongelig Klædning af violet Purpur og hvidt Linned, med et stort Gulddiadem og en Kappe af fint Linned og rødt Purpur, medens Byen Susan jublede og glædede sig.
Before Mordecai left the palace, he put on the blue and white robe and a large gold crown that the king had given him. He also put on a coat made of fine purple cloth. When the people in Susa heard the new law, they all shouted and cheered.
16 Jøderne havde nu Lykke og Glæde, Fryd og Ære;
The Jews in Susa were very happy, and [other people] honored [them].
17 og i hver eneste Landsdel og i hver eneste By, hvor Kongens Bud og Forordning naaede hen, var der Fryd og Glæde blandt Jøderne med Gæstebud og Fest. Og mange af Hedningerne gik over til Jødedommen, thi Frygt for Jøderne var faldet paa dem.
And when the new law arrived in every city and province, the Jews there celebrated and prepared feasts and were very joyful. And many men throughout the empire [were circumcised and] became Jews, because they were now afraid of [what] the Jews [would do to them if they were not Jews].
