Esther 2
1 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.
Men da der var gaaet nogen Tid, og Kong Ahasverus's Vrede havde lagt sig, kom han til at tænke paa Vasjti, og hvad hun havde gjort, og hvad der var besluttet om hende.
2 Then the king’s attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king,
Da sagde Kongens Folk, der gik ham til Haande: Man bør søge efter unge, smukke Jomfruer til Kongen;
3 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.
og Kongen bør overdrage Folk i alle sit Riges Dele det Hverv at samle alle unge, smukke Jomfruer og sende dem til Fruerstuen i Borgen Susan og der lade dem stille under Opsyn af Kongens Hofmand Hegaj, som vogter Kvinderne; lad dem saa gennemgaa Skønhedsplejen,
4 Then let the young woman who pleases the king become queen in place of Vashti.” This suggestion pleased the king, and he acted accordingly.
og den unge Pige, Kongen synes om, skal være Dronning i Vasjtis Sted. Det Forslag var godt i Kongens Øjne, og han gjorde derefter.
5 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.
Nu var der i Borgen Susan en jødisk Mand ved Navn Mordokaj, en Søn af Ja'ir, en Søn af Sjim'i, en Søn af Kisj, en Benjaminit,
6 He had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah.
som var ført bort fra Jerusalem blandt de Fanger, Kong Nebukadnezar af Babel bortførte sammen med Kong Jekonja af Juda.
7 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.
Han var Plejefader for Hadassa — det er Ester — hans Farbroders Datter; thi hun havde hverken Fader eller Moder. Den unge Pige havde en smuk Skikkelse og saa godt ud; og efter hendes Forældres Død havde Mordokaj taget hende til sig i Datters Sted.
8 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.
Da nu Kongens Befaling og Bud blev kendt, og mange unge Piger samledes i Borgen Susan, hvor de stilledes under Opsyn af Hegaj, blev ogsaa Ester bragt til Kongens Hus og stillet under Opsyn af Hegaj, som vogtede Kvinderne.
9 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.
Pigen tiltalte ham og vandt hans Yndest, og saa hurtigt som muligt lod han Skønhedsplejen foretage paa hende og gav hende den Kost, hun skulde have, og stillede tillige de syv dertil udsete Piger fra Kongens Hus til hendes Tjeneste; og han lod hende og Pigerne flytte til den bedste Del af Fruerstuen.
10 Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.
Ester røbede imidlertid ikke sit Folk og sin Slægt, thi det havde Mordokaj forbudt hende.
11 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.
Og Mordokaj gik Dag efter Dag frem og tilbage foran Fruerstuens Gaard for at faa at vide, hvorledes Ester havde det, og hvorledes det gik hende.
12 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.
Nu var det saaledes, at naar en af de unge Pigers Tid til at gaa ind til Kong Ahasverus kom, efter at hun i tolv Maaneder var behandlet efter Forskriften for Kvinderne — saa lang Tid tog nemlig Skønhedsplejen; seks Maaneder blev de behandlet med Myrraolie og andre seks Maaneder med vellugtende Stoffer og de andre Skønhedsmidler, som bruges af Kvinder —
13 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.
naar saa den unge Pige gik ind til Kongen, gav man hende alt, hvad hun bad om, med fra Fruerstuen til Kongens Hus.
14 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.
Hun gik da derind om Aftenen, og næste Morgen vendte hun tilbage og kom saa ind i den anden Fruerstue og blev stillet under Opsyn af Sja'asjgaz, den kongelige Hofmand, som vogtede Medhustruerne; saa kom hun ikke mere til Kongen, medmindre Kongen havde syntes særlig godt om hende og hun udtrykkelig blev kaldt til ham.
15 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.
Da nu Tiden kom til, at Ester, en Datter af Abihajil, der var Farbroder til Mordokaj, som havde taget hende til sig i Datters Sted, skulde gaa ind til Kongen, krævede hun ikke andet, end hvad Hegaj, den kongelige Hofmand, som vogtede Kvinderne, raadede til. Og Ester vandt Yndest hos alle, som saa hende.
16 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.
Saa blev Ester hentet til Kong Ahasverus i hans kongelige Palads i den tiende Maaned, det er Tebet Maaned, i hans syvende Regeringsaar.
17 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.
Og Kongen fik Ester kærere end alle de andre Kvinder, og hun vandt hans Yndest og Gunst mere end alle de andre Jomfruer. Og han satte et kongeligt Diadem paa hendes Hoved og gjorde hende til Dronning i Vasjtis Sted.
18 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.
Derpaa gjorde Kongen et stort Gæstebud for alle sine Fyrster og Folk til Ære for Ester, og han eftergav Straf i sine Lande og uddelte Gaver, som det sømmede sig en Konge.
19 When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
Da Mordokaj engang sad i Kongens Port —
20 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.
Ester havde, som Mordokaj havde paalagt hende, intet røbet om sin Slægt og sit Folk; thi Ester gjorde, hvad Mordokaj sagde, som hun havde gjort, da hun var i Pleje hos ham —
21 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.
som Mordokaj ved den Tid engang sad i Kongens Port, blev Bigtan og Teresj, to kongelige Hofmænd, der hørte til Dørvogterne, vrede paa Kong Ahasverus og søgte Lejlighed til at lægge Haand paa ham.
22 When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai’s behalf.
Det fik Mordokaj at vide og meddelte Dronning Ester det; og Ester sagde det til Kongen fra Mordokaj.
23 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.
Sagen blev undersøgt, og da den havde sin Rigtighed, blev de begge hængt i en Galge. Det blev optegnet i Krøniken i Kongens Paasyn.
