Esther 4
1 When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.
quae cum audisset Mardocheus scidit vestimenta sua et indutus est sacco spargens cinerem capiti et in platea mediae civitatis voce magna clamabat ostendens amaritudinem animi sui
2 But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering that gate.
et hoc heiulatu usque ad fores palatii gradiens non enim erat licitum indutum sacco aulam regis intrare
3 In every province to which the king’s command and edict came, there was great mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
in omnibus quoque provinciis oppidis ac locis ad quae crudele regis dogma pervenerat planctus ingens erat apud Iudaeos ieiunium ululatus et fletus sacco et cinere multis pro strato utentibus
4 When Esther’s maidens and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, the queen was overcome with distress. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
ingressae sunt autem puellae Hester et eunuchi nuntiaveruntque ei quod audiens consternata est et misit vestem ut ablato sacco induerent eum quam accipere noluit
5 Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs appointed to her, and she dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what was troubling him and why.
accitoque Athac eunucho quem rex ministrum ei dederat praecepit ut iret ad Mardocheum et disceret ab eo cur hoc faceret
6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the king’s gate,
egressusque Athac ivit ad Mardocheum stantem in platea civitatis ante ostium palatii
7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money that Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury in order to destroy the Jews.
qui indicavit ei omnia quae acciderant quomodo Aman promisisset ut in thesauros regis pro Iudaeorum nece inferret argentum
8 Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people.
exemplarque edicti quod pendebat in Susis dedit ei ut reginae ostenderet et moneret eam ut intraret ad regem et deprecaretur eum pro populo suo
9 So Hathach went back and relayed Mordecai’s response to Esther.
regressus Athac nuntiavit Hester omnia quae Mardocheus dixerat
10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and instructed him to tell Mordecai,
quae respondit ei et iussit ut diceret Mardocheo
11 “All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.”
omnes servi regis et cunctae quae sub dicione eius sunt norunt provinciae quod sive vir sive mulier invocatus interius atrium regis intraverit absque ulla cunctatione statim interficiatur nisi forte rex auream virgam ad eum tetenderit pro signo clementiae atque ita possit vivere ego igitur quomodo ad regem intrare potero quae triginta iam diebus non sum vocata ad eum
12 When Esther’s words were relayed to Mordecai,
quod cum audisset Mardocheus
13 he sent back to her this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews.
rursum mandavit Hester dicens ne putes quod animam tuam tantum liberes quia in domo regis es prae cunctis Iudaeis
14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
si enim nunc silueris per aliam occasionem liberabuntur Iudaei et tu et domus patris tui peribitis et quis novit utrum idcirco ad regnum veneris ut in tali tempore parareris
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
rursumque Hester haec Mardocheo verba mandavit
16 “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
vade et congrega omnes Iudaeos quos in Susis reppereris et orate pro me non comedatis et non bibatis tribus diebus ac noctibus et ego cum ancillulis meis similiter ieiunabo et tunc ingrediar ad regem contra legem faciens invocata tradensque me morti et periculo
17 So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him.
ivit itaque Mardocheus et fecit omnia quae ei Hester praeceperat
