< Esther 2 >
1 After these events, when the fury of king Achashverosh was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what had been decreed concerning 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 Thus said the king's young men, his servants, Let there be sought for the king virgins handsome in appearance;
Da sagde Kongens Folk, der gik ham til Haande: Man bør søge efter unge, smukke Jomfruer til Kongen;
3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the young virgins, handsome in appearance, unto Shushan the capital, into the house of the women, under the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women; and let them give them their customary anointings;
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 And let the maiden who may be pleasing in the eyes of the king become queen instead of Vashti: and the speech was pleasing in the eyes of the king, and he did so.
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 There was a certain Jew in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Yair, the son of Shim'i, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
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 Who had been carried away into exile from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been exiled with Jeconyah, the king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile.
som var ført bort fra Jerusalem blandt de Fanger, Kong Nebukadnezar af Babel bortførte sammen med Kong Jekonja af Juda.
7 And he had brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle; for she had neither father nor mother, and the maiden was beautiful in form and handsome in appearance; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai had taken her to himself as a 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 And it came to pass, when the king's order and his decree were heard, and when many maidens were brought together unto Shushan the capital, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was brought unto the king's house, under the custody of Hegai, the keeper 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 maiden was pleasing in his eyes, and she obtained favor before him; and he made haste to give her her anointings, with her presents, and the seven maidens, who were selected to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maidens with the best things in the house of the women.
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 told nothing of her people or of her descent; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not tell.
Ester røbede imidlertid ikke sit Folk og sin Slægt, thi det havde Mordokaj forbudt hende.
11 And day by day did Mordecai walk before the court of the house of women, to ascertain the well-being of Esther, and what would be done with 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 And when the turn of every maiden was come to go in unto king Achashverosh, at the expiration [of the time] that she had been treated according to the custom of the women, twelve months; for so were the days of their anointings accomplished, six months with the oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors, and with other ointments of the women;
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 And thus came the maiden unto the king; [and] whatsoever she asked for was given her to go with her out of the house of the women as far as the house of the king.
naar saa den unge Pige gik ind til Kongen, gav man hende alt, hvad hun bad om, med fra Fruerstuen til Kongens Hus.
14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned unto the second house of the women, to the custody of Sha'ashgas, the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the concubines: she used not to come again unto the king, except the king desired for her, and she was called 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 And when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abichayil, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her to himself as a daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, said: and Esther obtained grace in the eyes of all those that beheld 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 And Esther was taken unto king Achashverosh, unto his royal house, in the tenth month, which is the month 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 above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor before him more than all the virgins; and he placed the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead 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 And the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, the feast of Esther; and he made a release of taxes to the provinces, and gave presents, according to the ability of the king.
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 And when virgins were gathered together the second time, then was Mordecai sitting in the king's gate.
Da Mordokaj engang sad i Kongens Port —
20 [But] Esther had not yet told of her descent nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her; and Esther did [fulfill] the order of Mordecai, equally as when she was under his guardianship.
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 in the king's gate, Bigthan and Theresh, two chamberlains of the king, of those who kept the door, became wroth, and sought to lay [their] hand on king Achashverosh.
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 And the thing became known to Mordecai, and he told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther said it to the king in the name of Mordecai.
Det fik Mordokaj at vide og meddelte Dronning Ester det; og Ester sagde det til Kongen fra Mordokaj.
23 And the thing was inquired into and found true; and they were both of them hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the book of chronicles before 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.