< Esther 1 >

1 This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush.
Pripetilo se je torej v dneh kralja Ahasvérja (to je Ahasvérja, ki je kraljeval od Indije celo do Etiopije, nad sto sedemindvajsetimi provincami),
2 In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.
da je v tistih dneh, ko je Kralj Ahasvér sedel na prestolu svojega kraljestva, ki je bilo v palači Suze,
3 In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces.
v tretjem letu njegovega kraljevanja, priredil gostijo vsem svojim princem in svojim služabnikom; moči Perzije in Medije, plemičem in princem provinc, ki so bili pred njim,
4 And for a full 180 days he displayed the glorious riches of his kingdom and the magnificent splendor of his greatness.
ko jim je mnogo dni kazal bogastva svojega veličastnega kraljestva in čast svojega odličnega veličanstva, celó sto osemdeset dni.
5 At the end of this time, in the garden court of the royal palace, the king held a seven-day feast for all the people in the citadel of Susa, from the least to the greatest.
Ko so ti dnevi minili, je kralj priredil gostijo vsemu ljudstvu, ki je bilo prisotno v palači Suze, tako velikim kakor malim, sedem dni na dvoru vrta kraljeve palače,
6 Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones.
kjer so bile bele, zelene in modre tanke preproge, pritrjene z vrvicami iz tankega lanenega platna in vijolične, k srebrnim obročem in stebrom iz marmorja. Postelje so bile iz zlata in srebra, na tlaku iz rdečega, modrega, belega in črnega marmorja.
7 Beverages were served in an array of goblets of gold, each with a different design, and the royal wine flowed freely, according to the king’s bounty.
Dajali so jim piti iz zlatih posod (posode so bile različne ena od druge) in kraljevega vina v obilju, glede na kraljevo razkošje.
8 By order of the king, no limit was placed on the drinking, and every official of his household was to serve each man whatever he desired.
Pitje je bilo glede na postavo. Nihče ni silil, kajti tako je kralj določil vsem častnikom njegove hiše, da naj storijo glede na užitek vsakega človeka.
9 Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
Prav tako je kraljica Vaští pripravila gostijo za ženske v kraljevi hiši, ki je pripadala Kralju Ahasvérju.
10 On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—
Na sedmi dan, ko je bilo kraljevo srce veselo od vina, je ukazal Mehumánu, Bizetáju, Harbonáju, Bigtáju, Abagtáju, Zetárju in Karkásu, sedmim glavnim dvornim upraviteljem, ki so služili v prisotnosti Kralja Ahasvérja,
11 to bring Queen Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown, to display her beauty to the people and officials. For she was beautiful to behold.
da privedejo kraljico Vaští s kraljevo krono pred kralja, da ljudstvu in princem pokaže njeno lepoto, kajti bila je lepa na pogled.
12 Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs. And the king became furious, and his anger burned within him.
Toda kraljica Vaští je odklonila, da pride na kraljevo zapoved po njegovih glavnih dvornih upraviteljih. Zato je bil kralj zelo ogorčen in njegova jeza je gorela v njem.
13 Then the king consulted the wise men who knew the times, for it was customary for him to confer with the experts in law and justice.
Potem je kralj rekel modrim možem, ki so poznali čase (Kajti tak je bil kraljev običaj do vseh teh, ki so poznali postavo in sodbo
14 His closest advisors were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and ranked highest in the kingdom.
in takoj poleg njega so bili Karšenáj, Šetár, Admát, Taršíš, Meres, Marsenáj in Memuhán, sedem princev iz Perzije in Medije, ki so videli kraljevo obličje in ki so prvi sedeli v kraljestvu.)
15 “According to law,” he asked, “what should be done with Queen Vashti, since she refused to obey the command of King Xerxes delivered by the eunuchs?”
»Kaj naj storimo kraljici Vaští, glede na postavo, ker po glavnih dvornih upraviteljih ni izpolnila zapovedi Kralja Ahasvérja?«
16 And in the presence of the king and his princes, Memucan replied, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the princes and the peoples in all the provinces of King Xerxes.
Memuhán je pred kraljem in princi odgovoril: »Kraljica Vaští ni storila narobe samo kralju, temveč tudi vsem princem in vsemu ljudstvu, ki so po vseh provincah Kralja Ahasvérja.
17 For the conduct of the queen will become known to all women, causing them to despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not come.’
Kajti to dejanje kraljice bo prišlo povsod do vseh žensk, tako da bodo v svojih očeh prezirale svoje soproge, ko bo to sporočeno: ›Kralj Ahasvér je zapovedal kraljici Vaští, da bi bila privedena predenj, toda ni prišla.‹
18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard about the queen’s conduct will say the same thing to all the king’s officials, resulting in much contempt and wrath.
Podobno bodo gospe iz Perzije in Medije, ki so slišale o kraljičinem dejanju, ta dan rekle vsem kraljevim princem. Tako bo vstalo preveč zaničevanja in besa.
19 So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.
Če to ugaja kralju, naj gre od njega kraljeva zapoved in naj bo ta zapisana med postave Perzijcev in Medijcev, da ta ne bo predrugačena: ›Da Vaští ne pride več pred Kralja Ahasvérja. Kralj pa naj njen kraljevi stan izroči drugi, ki je boljša kakor ona.‹
20 The edict the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom—and so all women, from the least to the greatest, will honor their husbands.”
Ko bo kraljevi odlok, ki ga bo izdal, razglašen po vsem njegovem kraljestvu (kajti to je veliko), bodo vse žene dale svojim soprogom spoštovanje, tako malim, kakor velikim.«
21 The king and his princes were pleased with this counsel; so the king did as Memucan had advised.
Govor je ugajal kralju in princem in kralj je storil glede na Memuhánovo besedo.
22 He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be master of his own household.
Kajti poslal je pisma v vse kraljeve province, v vsako provinco glede na njeno pisavo in vsakemu ljudstvu glede na njihov jezik, da bi vsak mož vladal v svoji lastni hiši in da bi bilo to razglašeno glede na jezik vsakega ljudstva.

< Esther 1 >