Esther 4

1 And when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his garments, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter cry,

Quæ cum audisset Mardochæus, scidit vestimenta sua, et indutus est sacco, spargens cinerem capiti: et in platea mediæ civitatis voce magna clamabat, ostendens amaritudinem animi sui,

2 and came even before the king's gate; for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.

et hoc ejulatu usque ad fores palatii gradiens. Non enim erat licitum indutum sacco aulam regis intrare.

3 And in every province, wherever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing: many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

In omnibus quoque provinciis, oppidis, ac locis, ad quæ crudele regis dogma pervenerat, planctus ingens erat apud Judæos, jejunium, ululatus, et fletus, sacco et cinere multis pro strato utentibus.

4 And Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told [it] her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him; but he received [it] not.

Ingressæ autem sunt puellæ Esther et eunuchi, nuntiaveruntque ei. Quod audiens consternata est, et vestem misit, ut ablato sacco induerent eum: quam accipere noluit.

5 Then Esther called for Hatach, [one] of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to wait upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.

Accitoque Athach eunucho, quem rex ministrum ei dederat, præcepit ei ut iret ad Mardochæum, et disceret ab eo cur hoc faceret.

6 And Hatach went forth to Mordecai, unto the public place of the city which was before the king's gate.

Egressusque Athach, ivit ad Mardochæum stantem in platea civitatis, ante ostium palatii:

7 And Mordecai told him of all that had happened to him, and of the sum of money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.

qui indicavit ei omnia quæ acciderant: quomodo Aman promisisset ut in thesauros regis pro Judæorum nece inferret argentum.

8 And he gave him a copy of the writing of the decree that had been given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew [it] to Esther, and to declare [it] to her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication to him, and to make request before him, for her people.

Exemplar quoque edicti, quod pendebat in Susan, dedit ei, ut reginæ ostenderet, et moneret eam ut intraret ad regem et deprecaretur eum pro populo suo.

9 And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

Regressus Athach, nuntiavit Esther omnia quæ Mardochæus dixerat.

10 And Esther spoke to Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai:

Quæ respondit ei, et jussit ut diceret Mardochæo:

11 All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces do know that whoever, whether man or woman, shall come to the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law, to put [him] to death, except [such] to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live; and I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.

Omnes servi regis, et cunctæ, quæ sub ditione ejus sunt, norunt provinciæ, quod sive vir, sive mulier non vocatus, interius atrium regis intraverit, absque ulla cunctatione statim interficiatur: nisi forte rex auream virgam ad eum tetenderit pro signo clementiæ, atque ita possit vivere. Ego igitur quomodo ad regem intrare potero, quæ triginta jam diebus non sum vocata ad eum?

12 And they told Mordecai Esther's words.

Quod cum audisset Mardochæus,

13 And Mordecai bade to answer Esther: Imagine not in thy heart that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.

rursum mandavit Esther, dicens: Ne putes quod animam tuam tantum liberes, quia in domo regis es præ cunctis Judæis:

14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there arise relief and deliverance to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall perish. And who knows whether thou art [not] come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

si enim nunc silueris, per aliam occasionem liberabuntur Judæi: et tu, et domus patris tui, peribitis. Et quis novit utrum idcirco ad regnum veneris, ut in tali tempore parareris?

15 And Esther bade to answer Mordecai:

Rursumque Esther hæc Mardochæo verba mandavit:

16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are found in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise, and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.

Vade, et congrega omnes Judæos quos in Susan repereris, et orate pro me. Non comedatis et non bibatis tribus diebus et tribus noctibus: et ego cum ancillis meis similiter jejunabo, et tunc ingrediar ad regem contra legem faciens, non vocata, tradensque me morti et periculo.

17 And Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

Ivit itaque Mardochæus, et fecit omnia quæ ei Esther præceperat.