Esther 2
1 After a while, King Xerxes quit being so angry. He thought about Vashti, and he thought about the law he had made because of what she [had done, and he wanted another wife].
He ol hnukah tah manghai Ahasuerus kah kosi tah daeh tih Vashti khaw, anih kah a saii te khaw, anih sokah a tuiphih te khaw, a poek.
2 So his personal servants said to him, “[Your majesty, ] you should send some men to search throughout the empire for some beautiful young women/virgins for you.
Te dongah amah aka bong manghai tueihyoeih loh, “Manghai ham hula, oila a mueimae aka then tlap pa sih.
3 [After they find some, ] you can appoint some officials in each province to bring them to the place where you keep (your wives/the women you sleep with) here in Susa. Then Hegai, the man who is in charge of these women, can arrange for ointments to be put [on their bodies] to make them [more] beautiful.
Manghai loh a ram kah paeng tom ah hlangtawt khueh saeh lamtah a mueimae aka then hula, oila boeih te Shushan kah rhalmah im la coi saeh. Amih te huta aka ngaithuen manghai imkhoem Hegai kut hmui kah huta im ah thentui pae saeh.
4 Then the woman who pleases you most can become queen instead of Vashti.” The king liked what they suggested, so he did it.
Te vaengah manghai mik ah aka then hula te tah Vashti yueng la manghai saeh,” a ti nah. Te ol tah manghai mik ah khaw a cop dongah te tlam te a saii.
5 At that time there was a Jew [living] in Susa, the capital, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair. Jair was a descendant of Shimei. Shimei was a descendant of [King Saul’s father] Kish. [They were all] from the tribe descended from Benjamin.
Shushan rhalmah im ah Judah hlang om tih a ming te Benjamin hlang, Kish capa, Shimei koca, Jair capa Mordekai ni.
6 [Many years before that, ] King Nebuchadnezzar had taken (Mordecai/Mordecai’s family) [and brought them from Jerusalem] to Babylon, at the same time he brought King Jehoiachin of Judah and many other people to Babylon.
Anih te khaw Babylon manghai Nebukhanezar loh Judah manghai Jekoniah a poelyoe vaengah Jerusalem lamloh vangsawn la a poelyoe van.
7 Mordecai had a cousin whose [Hebrew] name was Hadassah. She had a beautiful face and beautiful body/figure. Her [Persian] name was Esther. After her father and mother died, Mordecai took care of Esther as though she were his own daughter.
Te vaengah Mordekai loh a panoe canu Esther Hadassah te a poeh. Esther te a manu a napa om voel pawh. Hula tah a sakthen suisak neh a mueimae khaw then. A manu a napa a duek vaengah ni anih te Mordekai loh amah taengah a canu la a loh.
8 After the king commanded [that they search for some beautiful women], they brought Esther and many other young women to the king’s palace [in Susa], and (the king put Hegai/Hegai was put) in charge of them.
Manghai ol neh a olkhan te a yaak sak vaengah tah hula rhoek te Shushan rhalmah im kah Hegai kut dongla muep a coi. Te dongah Esther khaw manghai im kah huta aka ngaithuen Hegai kut dongla a khuen.
9 Hegai was very pleased with Esther, and he treated her well. He immediately arranged for her to be given ointments to make her [even more] beautiful, and [he ordered that] special food [would be given to her]. [He arranged that] seven maids from the king’s palace [would take care of her], and arranged that she/they would stay in the best rooms.
Hula te a mik ah cop. Te dongah a mikhmuh ah sitlohnah a dang tih a thentui khaw a let sak. Anih ham a maehvae te khaw a paek. Anih te sawt hamla manghai im lamloh tanu parhih a paek. Te phoeiah Esther neh a tanu rhoek te huta im then la puen.
10 Esther did not tell anyone that she was a Jew, because Mordecai had told her not to tell anyone.
Mordekai loh thui pawt ham a taengah a uen dongah Esther loh a pilnam neh a pacaboeina kawng te thui pawh.
11 Every day Mordecai walked near the courtyard of the place where those women stayed. He asked [people who entered the courtyard] to find out [and tell him] what was happening to Esther.
Te vaengah Mordekai tah Esther kah sadingnah neh anih te metla a saii ming hamla huta im kah vongtung hmai ah a hnin, hnin puet cet.
12 Before these women were taken to the king, they put ointments on [the bodies of] these women for one year to make them more beautiful. For six months they [rubbed olive] oil mixed with myrrh [on their bodies each day]. For [the next] six months they rubbed ointments and perfumes on their bodies.
Hula, hula te manghai Ahasuerus taengla kun ham aitlaeng loh a pha hlan vaengah tah anih te huta kah a longim bangla hla hlai nit a thok hil om pueng. Te dongah khohnin a cum vaengah hla rhuk te murrah situi neh, hla rhuk tah huta kah thentui botui neh yuhnah a khueh.
13 Then, when one of these women [was summoned to] go to the king, she was allowed to wear whatever clothes and jewelry she chose.
Te tlam te manghai taengla hula a caeh vaengah tah a thui boeih te a taengah a paek tih anih te huta im lamloh manghai im la a khuen.
14 In the evening, they would take her [to the king’s own room]. The next morning, they would take her to another place where the women [who had slept with the king] stayed. There another official whose name was Shaashgaz was in charge [of those women]. [Those women would live there for the rest of their lives, and] one of those women would go back to the king again only if the king very much wanted her to come again, and only if he told Shaashgaz the name of the woman.
Anih te hlaem vaengah kun tih mincang ah tah manghai yula aka ngaithuen imkhoem Shaashgaz kut dongkah huta im a pabae la mael. Anih te manghai loh a ngaih tih a ming neh a khue pawt atah manghai taengla koep kun voel pawh.
15 Everyone who saw Esther liked her. After King Xerxes had been ruling for seven years, it was Esther’s turn to go to him. When they took her to the king, it was during the middle part of the winter. She wore only the things that Hegai suggested.
Te vaengah Mordekai loh amah canu la a loh a napanoe Abihail canu Esther khaw manghai taengla a caeh ham aitlaeng loh a pha. Tedae huta aka ngaithuen manghai imkhoem Hegai kah a uen voel ah hno a tloe a bih moenih. Te dongah Esther tah anih aka so boeih kah mikhmuh ah mikdaithen aka dang la om.
Te dongah a manghai nah kum rhih, a hla rha dongkah Tebeth hla vaengah tah manghai Ahasuerus loh Esther te amah kah manghai im la a loh.
17 The king liked Esther more than he liked any of the other women [that they brought to him]. He liked her so much that he put on her head the queen’s crown, and he declared that Esther would be the queen instead of Vashti.
Manghai loh Esther te huta boeih lakah a lungnah dongah mikdaithen khaw a phueih. oila boeih lakah khaw a mikhmuh ah a sitlohnah a dang. Te dongah manghai rhuisam te a lu ah a khuem sak tih anih te Vashti yueng la a manghai sak.
18 To celebrate her [becoming the queen], he had a big banquet/feast prepared for all his administrators and [other] officials. He generously gave [expensive] gifts to everyone, and he declared that in all the provinces there would be a holiday, [a time when people did not have to pay taxes].
Te phoeiah manghai loh a mangpa rhoek neh a sal boeih ham buhkoknah muep a saii pah. Esther kah buhkoknah neh bihoepnah khaw paeng ah a saii tih manghai kut van la buham a tael.
19 Later all those women who had spent a night with the king were gathered together again. By that time Mordecai had become an official at the palace.
A pabae la oila rhoek a coi vaengah Mordekai te manghai vongka ah ngol.
20 But Esther still did not tell anyone that she was a Jew. She continued to do what Mordecai had told her to do.
Mordekai loh a taengah a uen vanbangla Esther loh a pacaboeina kawng neh a pilnam kawng te thui pawh. Esther tah Mordekai kah olpaek aka ngai la om tih te te a rhoengnah.
21 One day when Mordecai was doing his work in the palace, two of the king’s officials were there. Their names were Bigthana and Teresh. They were the guards who stood outside the king’s own rooms. They became angry [with the king], and they were planning how they could assassinate/kill him.
Te vaeng tue ah Mordekai te manghai vongka ah a ngol hatah cingkhaa aka ngaithuen manghai kah imkhoem rhoi Bigthan neh Teresh tah a thintoek tih manghai Ahasuerus te kut hlah thil ham a mae rhoi.
22 But Mordecai heard about what they were planning, and he told that to Queen Esther. Then she told the king what Mordecai had found out.
Tedae ol te Mordekai loh a ming dongah manghainu Esther taengla puen. Esther loh manghai taengah Mordekai ming neh a thui pah.
23 The king investigated and found out that Mordecai’s report was true. So the king ordered that those two men be hanged. When that was done, (an official wrote a report/a report was written) about it in a book called ‘The book that records what happened while Xerxes was king’.
Ol te a cae vaengah phoe tangloeng tih amih rhoi te thing dongah a kuiok sak. Te te manghai mikhmuh kah khokhuen olka cabu dongah a daek.
