Esther 2
1 Some time later, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered what Vashti had done and what had been decreed against her.
His ita gestis, postquam regis Assueri indignatio deferbuerat, recordatus est Vasthi, et quæ fecisset, vel quæ passa esset:
2 Then the king’s servants who waited upon him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king,
dixeruntque pueri regis ac ministri ejus: Quærantur regi puellæ virgines ac speciosæ,
3 and let the king appoint commissioners to all the provinces of his kingdom to gather them all to Susa the royal residence. Let them be brought into the women’s quarters under the custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who has charge of the women. Then give them what is needed to make them beautiful,
et mittantur qui considerent per universas provincias puellas speciosas et virgines: et adducant eas ad civitatem Susan, et tradant eas in domum feminarum sub manu Egei eunuchi, qui est præpositus et custos mulierum regiarum: et accipiant mundum muliebrem, et cetera ad usus necessaria.
4 and let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” The proposal pleased the king so he put it into action.
Et quæcumque inter omnes oculis regis placuerit, ipsa regnet pro Vasthi. Placuit sermo regi: et ita, ut suggesserant, jussit fieri.
5 In Susa the royal residence lived a Jew named Mordecai. He was son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite.
Erat vir Judæus in Susan civitate, vocabulo Mardochæus filius Jair, filii Semei, filii Cis, de stirpe Jemini,
6 (Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem with the exiles who were deported with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took captive.)
qui translatus fuerat de Jerusalem eo tempore quo Jechoniam regem Juda Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis transtulerat,
7 Mordecai had adopted Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, since she had neither father nor mother. The girl was shapely and beautiful; and after her father and mother died, Mordecai raised her as if she was his own daughter.
qui fuit nutritius filiæ fratris sui Edissæ, quæ altero nomine vocabatur Esther, et utrumque parentem amiserat: pulchra nimis, et decora facie. Mortuisque patre ejus ac matre, Mardochæus sibi eam adoptavit in filiam.
8 When the king’s command and decree were known, many girls were gathered together to Susa the capital under the custody of Hegai. Esther was also taken into the king’s palace and placed under the custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women.
Cumque percrebruisset regis imperium, et juxta mandatum illius multæ pulchræ virgines adducerentur Susan, et Egeo traderentur eunucho, Esther quoque inter ceteras puellas ei tradita est, ut servaretur in numero feminarum.
9 The girl pleased him and gained his favor, so that he quickly gave her the cosmetics she needed to enhance her beauty and her allowance of food and the seven maids selected from the king’s household. He also transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.
Quæ placuit ei, et invenit gratiam in conspectu illius. Et præcepit eunucho, ut acceleraret mundum muliebrem, et traderet ei partes suas, et septem puellas speciosissimas de domo regis, et tam ipsam quam pedissequas ejus ornaret atque excoleret.
10 Esther had not revealed her people nor her family background because Mordecai had ordered her not to.
Quæ noluit indicare ei populum et patriam suam: Mardochæus enim præceperat ei, ut de hac re omnino reticeret:
11 Every day Mordecai would to walk in front of the courtyard of the harem and ask after Esther’s health and what was happening to her.
qui deambulabat quotidie ante vestibulum domus, in qua electæ virgines servabantur, curam agens salutis Esther, et scire volens quid ei accideret.
12 The girls were prepared for meeting King Ahasuerus for twelve months: six months being treated with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics. After the twelve months,
Cum autem venisset tempus singularum per ordinem puellarum ut intrarent ad regem, expletis omnibus quæ ad cultum muliebrem pertinebant, mensis duodecimus vertebatur: ita dumtaxat, ut sex mensibus oleo ungerentur myrrhino, et aliis sex quibusdam pigmentis et aromatibus uterentur.
13 each girl went in to the king. She was allowed to take with her whatever she wished from the women’s quarters,
Ingredientesque ad regem, quidquid postulassent ad ornatum pertinens, accipiebant: et ut eis placuerat, compositæ de triclinio feminarum ad regis cubiculum transibant.
14 and would enter the palace in the evening and return the next morning to another part of the harem under the care of the king’s eunuch Shaashgaz who was in charge of concubines. She would not go to the king again unless he desired her and summoned her by name.
Et quæ intraverat vespere, egrediebatur mane, atque inde in secundas ædes deducebatur, quæ sub manu Susagazi eunuchi erant, qui concubinis regis præsidebat: nec habebat potestatem ad regem ultra redeundi, nisi voluisset rex, et eam venire jussisset ex nomine.
15 When it was the turn of Esther (the girl adopted by Mordecai, daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go in to the king, she only took with her those things that Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the women, had advised her to take. Esther was liked by all who saw her.
Evoluto autem tempore per ordinem, instabat dies quo Esther filia Abihail fratris Mardochæi, quam sibi adoptaverat in filiam, deberet intrare ad regem. Quæ non quæsivit muliebrem cultum, sed quæcumque voluit Egeus eunuchus custos virginum, hæc ei ad ornatum dedit. Erat enim formosa valde, et incredibili pulchritudine: omnium oculis gratiosa et amabilis videbatur.
16 Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Ducta est itaque ad cubiculum regis Assueri mense decimo, qui vocatur Tebeth, septimo anno regni ejus.
17 And the king loved her more than all the other women, and she became his favorite and won his affection. He placed the royal diadem on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Et adamavit eam rex plus quam omnes mulieres, habuitque gratiam et misericordiam coram eo super omnes mulieres: et posuit diadema regni in capite ejus, fecitque eam regnare in loco Vasthi.
18 Then the king gave a great feast to all his officials and courtiers in honor of Esther, and he remitted the taxes of the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
Et jussit convivium præparari permagnificum cunctis principibus et servis suis pro conjunctione et nuptiis Esther. Et dedit requiem universis provinciis, ac dona largitus est juxta magnificentiam principalem.
19 All the time the virgins were assembled again, Mordecai was sitting as an offical at the king’s gate.
Cumque secundo quærerentur virgines et congregarentur, Mardochæus manebat ad januam regis:
20 Esther had not revealed her people or family background because she still obeyed him as she had when he was bringing her up.
necdum prodiderat Esther patriam et populum suum, juxta mandatum ejus. Quidquid enim ille præcipiebat, observabat Esther: et ita cuncta faciebat ut eo tempore solita erat, quo eam parvulam nutriebat.
21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, two of the royal court attendants, Bigthan and Teresh, who guarded the entrance of the palace, became enraged and attempted to kill King Ahasuerus.
Eo igitur tempore, quo Mardochæus ad regis januam morabatur, irati sunt Bagathan et Thares duo eunuchi regis, qui janitores erant, et in primo palatii limine præsidebant: volueruntque insurgere in regem, et occidere eum.
22 But Mordecai learned of the conspiracy and disclosed it to Queen Esther, and she told the king on Mordecai’s behalf.
Quod Mardochæum non latuit, statimque nuntiavit reginæ Esther: et illa regi ex nomine Mardochæi, qui ad se rem detulerat.
23 When the affair was investigated and the facts discovered, the conspirators were both hanged on the gallows. The incident was recorded in the presence of the king in the daily record of events.
Quæsitum est, et inventum: et appensus est uterque eorum in patibulo. Mandatumque est historiis, et annalibus traditum coram rege.
