Esther 8
1 On that day, did King Ahasuerus give unto Esther the queen, the house of Haman, the adversary of the Jews, —and, Mordecai, came in before the king, for Esther had told, what he was to her.
Die illo dedit rex Assuerus Esther reginæ domum Aman adversarii Iudæorum, et Mardochæus ingressus est ante faciem regis. Confessa est enim ei Esther quod esset patruus suus.
2 And the king took off his signet-ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai, —and Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Tulitque rex annulum, quem ab Aman recipi iusserat, et tradidit Mardochæo. Esther autem constituit Mardochæum super domum suam.
3 Yet again, spake Esther before the king, and fell down at his feet, —and wept and made supplication unto him, to cause the mischief of Haman the Agagite to pass away, even the plot which he had plotted against the Jews.
Nec his contenta, procidit ad pedes regis, flevitque et locuta ad eum oravit ut malitiam Aman Agagitæ, et machinationes eius pessimas, quas excogitaverat contra Iudæos, iuberet irritas fieri.
4 And the king held out unto Esther, the golden sceptre, —so Esther arose, and stood before the king;
At ille ex more sceptrum aureum protendit manu, quo signum clementiæ monstrabatur: illaque consurgens stetit ante eum,
5 and said—If, unto the king, it seem good, and if I have found favour before him, and the thing be approved before the king, and, I myself, be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written, to reverse the letters plotted by Haman, son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy thee Jews, who are in all the provinces of the king.
et ait: Si placet regi, et si inveni gratiam in oculis eius, et deprecatio mea non ei videtur esse contraria, obsecro, ut novis epistolis, veteres Aman litteræ, insidiatoris et hostis Iudæorum, quibus eos in cunctis regis provinciis perire præceperat, corrigantur.
6 For how can I endure to see the ruin that shall overtake my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
Quo modo enim potero sustinere necem et interfectionem populi mei?
7 Then said King Ahasuerus unto Esther the queen, and unto Mordecai the Jew, —Lo! the house of Haman, have I given unto Esther, and, him, have they hanged upon the gallows, because he thrust forth his hand against the Jews.
Responditque rex Assuerus Esther reginæ, et Mardochæo Iudæo: Domum Aman concessi Esther, et ipsum iussi affigi cruci, quia ausus est manum mittere in Iudæos.
8 Ye, therefore, write concerning the Jews as may seem good in your own eyes, in the name of the king, and seal it with the kings signet-ring, —for a writing which hath been written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s signet-ring, none can reverse.
Scribite ergo Iudæis, sicut vobis placet, regis nomine, signantes litteras annulo meo. Hæc enim consuetudo erat, ut epistolis, quæ ex regis nomine mittebantur, et illius annulo signatæ erant, nemo auderet contradicere.
9 Then were called the king’s scribes at that time—in the third month, the same, is the month Siwan, on the twenty-third thereof, and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and unto the satraps and pashas and rulers of the provinces, which are from India even unto Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, every province according to the writing thereof, and every people according to their tongue, —and unto the Jews, according to their writing, and according to their tongue;
Accitisque scribis et librariis regis (erat autem tempus tertii mensis, qui appellatur Siban) vigesima et tertia die illius scriptæ sunt epistolæ, ut Mardochæus voluerat, ad Iudæos, et ad principes, procuratoresque et iudices, qui centum vigintiseptem provinciis ab India usque ad Æthiopiam præsidebant: provinciæ atque provinciæ, populo et populo iuxta linguas et litteras suas, et Iudæis, prout legere poterant, et audire.
10 and he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s signet-ring, —and sent letters by the hand of runners on horses, riding the swift steeds used in the kings service, bred of the stud:
Ipsæque epistolæ, quæ regis nomine mittebantur, annulo ipsius obsignatæ sunt, et missæ per veredarios: qui per omnes provincias discurrentes, veteres litteras novis nunciis prævenirent.
11 That the king had granted unto the Jews who were in every city, to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay and to cause to perish—all the force of the people and province who should distress them, their little ones and women, —and [to take] the spoil of them as a prey:
Quibus imperavit rex, ut convenirent Iudæos per singulas civitates, et in unum præciperent congregari ut starent pro animabus suis, et omnes inimicos suos cum coniugibus ac liberis et universis domibus, interficerent atque delerent, et spolia eorum diriperent.
12 upon one day, throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, —upon the thirteenth of the twelfth month, the same, is the month Adar:
Et constituta est per omnes provincias una ultionis dies, id est tertiadecima mensis duodecimi Adar.
13 A copy of the writing to be given, as an edict, throughout every province, was published to all the peoples, —and that the Jews be ready against that day, to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Summaque epistolæ hæc fuit, ut in omnibus terris ac populis, qui regis Assueri subiacebant imperio, notum fieret, paratos esse Iudæos ad capiendam vindictam de hostibus suis.
14 The runners that rode on the swift steeds used in the king’s service, went forth, being urged forward and pressed on, by the word of the king, —and, the edict, was given in Shusan the palace.
Egressique sunt veredarii celeres nuncia perferentes, et edictum regis pependit in Susan.
15 And, Mordecai, went forth from the presence of the king, in royal apparel, of blue and white, with a large diadem of gold, and a mantle of fine linen and purple, —and, the city Shusan, was bright and joyful.
Mardochæus autem de palatio, et de conspectu regis egrediens, fulgebat vestibus regiis, hyacinthinis videlicet et aeriis, coronam auream portans in capite, et amictus serico pallio atque purpureo. Omnisque civitas exultavit, atque lætata est.
16 To the Jews, had come light, and joy, —and gladness and honour.
Iudæis autem nova lux oriri visa est, gaudium, honor, et tripudium.
17 And, in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the word of the king and his edict did reach, joy and gladness, had the Jews, —a banquet and a happy day, —and, many from among the peoples of the land, were becoming Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen upon them.
Apud omnes populos, urbes, atque provincias, quocumque regis iussa veniebant, mira exultatio, epulæ atque convivia, et festus dies: in tantum ut plures alterius gentis et sectæ eorum religioni et ceremoniis iungerentur. Grandis enim cunctos Iudaici nominis terror invaserat.
