Esther 1
1 Now it came about in the days of Ahasuerus, (that Ahasuerus who was ruler of a hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom, from India as far as Ethiopia: )
I Ahasverus' tid - det var den Ahasverus som regjerte fra India like til Etiopia over hundre og syv og tyve landskaper -
2 That in those days, when King Ahasuerus was ruling in Shushan, his strong town,
i de dager da kong Ahasverus satt på sin kongetrone i borgen Susan,
3 In the third year of his rule he gave a feast to all his captains and his servants; and the captains of the army of Persia and Media, the great men and the rulers of the divisions of his kingdom, were present before him;
i hans regjerings tredje år hendte det at han gjorde et gjestebud for alle sine fyrster og tjenere; Persias og Medias hærførere og hans fornemste menn og landskapenes fyrster var samlet hos ham.
4 And for a long time, even a hundred and eighty days, he let them see all the wealth and the glory of his kingdom and the great power and honour which were his.
I mange dager - hundre og åtti dager - viste han dem sin kongelige herlighet og rikdom og sin storhets glans og prakt.
5 And at the end of that time, the king gave a feast for all the people who were present in Shushan, the king's town, small as well as great, for seven days, in the outer square of the garden of the king's house.
Da de dager var til ende, gjorde kongen et gjestebud i syv dager for alt folket som fantes i borgen Susan, både store og små, i forgården til haven ved kongens slott.
6 There were fair hangings of white and green and blue, fixed with cords of purple and the best linen to silver rings and pillars of polished stone: the seats were of gold and silver on a floor of red and white and yellow and black stone.
Tepper av hvitt linnet, bomullstøi og blått purpur var festet med snorer av hvit bomull og rødt purpur i sølvringer og til marmorsøiler; benker av gull og sølv stod på et gulv av alabast og hvitt marmor og perlemor og sort marmor.
7 And they gave them drink in gold vessels, every vessel being different, and wine of the kingdom, freely given by the king.
Drikkene blev skjenket i skåler av gull, og skålene var alle ulik hverandre, og kongelig vin var det i mengde, som det høvde hos en konge.
8 And the drinking was in keeping with the law; no one was forced: for the king had given orders to all the chief servants of his house to do as was pleasing to every man.
Og for drikningen gjaldt den forskrift at ingen skulde nødes; for kongen hadde befalt alle sine hushovmestere å la enhver få så meget han selv ønsket.
9 And Vashti the queen gave a feast for the women in the house of King Ahasuerus.
Samtidig gjorde dronning Vasti et gjestebud for kvinner i kong Ahasverus kongelige hus.
10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was glad with wine, he gave orders to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven unsexed servants who were waiting before Ahasuerus the king,
På den syvende dag, da kongen var blitt vel til mote av vinen, sa han til Mehuman, Bista, Harbona, Bigta og Abagta, Setar og Karkas, de syv hoffmenn som gjorde tjeneste hos kong Ahasverus,
11 That Vashti the queen was to come before him, crowned with her crown, and let the people and the captains see her: for she was very beautiful.
at de skulde føre dronning Vasti frem for kongen, med kongelig krone på, så han kunde la folkene og fyrstene få se hennes skjønnhet; for hun var meget fager.
12 But when the servants gave her the king's order, Vashti the queen said she would not come: then the king was very angry, and his heart was burning with wrath.
Men dronning Vasti nektet å komme efter den befaling kongen hadde sendt henne gjennem hoffmennene. Da blev kongen harmfull, og hans vrede optendtes.
13 And the king said to the wise men, who had knowledge of the times, (for this was the king's way with all who were expert in law and in the giving of decisions:
Og kongen sa til vismennene, som forstod sig på tidene - således blev kongens saker fremlagt for alle som forstod sig på lov og rett,
14 And second only to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media, who were friends of the king, and had the first places in the kingdom: )
og de som stod ham nærmest, var Karsena, Setar, Admata, Tarsis, Meres, Marsena, Memukan, persernes og medernes syv fyrster, som alltid hadde adgang til kongen og inntok de øverste seter i riket -:
15 What is to be done by law to Vashti the queen, because she has not done what King Ahasuerus, by his servants, gave her orders to do?
Hvad er det efter loven å gjøre med dronning Vasti, fordi hun ikke har gjort hvad kong Ahasverus befalte henne gjennem hoffmennene?
16 And before the king and the captains, Memucan gave his answer: Vashti the queen has done wrong, not only to the king, but to all the captains and to all the peoples in all the divisions of the kingdom of King Ahasuerus;
Da tok Memukan til orde for kongen og fyrstene: Dronning Vasti har ikke bare forbrutt sig mot kongen, men mot alle fyrster og alle folk i alle kong Ahasverus' landskaper.
17 For news of what the queen has done will come to the ears of all women, and they will no longer give respect to their husbands when it is said to them, King Ahasuerus gave orders for Vashti the queen to come before him and she came not.
For dronningens adferd vil komme ut blandt alle kvinnene og få dem til å forakte sine ektemenn; de vil si: Kong Ahasverus bød at dronning Vasti skulde føres frem for ham, men hun kom ikke.
18 And the wives of the captains of Persia and Media, hearing what the queen has done, will say the same to all the king's captains. So there will be much shame and wrath.
Ja, allerede idag vil persernes og medernes fyrstinner når de får høre om dronningens adferd, si så til alle kongens fyrster, og der vil bli nok av forakt og vrede.
19 If it is pleasing to the king, let an order go out from him, and let it be recorded among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may never be changed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her place to another who is better than she.
Dersom det tykkes kongen godt, så la det utgå en kongelig befaling, og la den bli opskrevet blandt persernes og medernes lover, så den står urokkelig fast, at Vasti aldri mere skal komme for kong Ahasverus' øine, og kongen skal gi hennes kongelige verdighet til en annen kvinne, som er bedre enn hun!
20 And when this order, given by the king, is made public through all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give honour to their husbands, great as well as small.
Når da det påbud som kongen utsteder, blir kjent i hele hans rike, så stort som det er, så vil alle kvinner vise sine ektemenn ære, både store og små.
21 And this suggestion seemed good to the king and the captains; and the king did as Memucan said;
Disse ord syntes kongen og fyrstene godt om, og kongen gjorde som Memukan hadde sagt.
22 And sent letters to all the divisions of the kingdom, to every division in the writing commonly used there, and to every people in the language which was theirs, saying that every man was to be the ruler in his house, and that this order was to be given out in the language of his people.
Han sendte skrivelser til alle kongens landskaper, til hvert landskap i dets skrift og til hvert folk på dets tungemål, at hver mann skulde være herre i sitt hus og tale sitt folks tungemål.
