Esther 9
1 The first law that the king had commanded was to be made effective on March 7th. On that day the enemies of the Jews hoped to get rid of them. But instead, on that same day the Jews defeated their enemies.
Therfor in the thrittenthe dai of the tweluethe monethe, which we seiden now bifore to be clepid Adar, whanne sleyng was maad redi to alle Jewis, and her enemyes settiden tresoun to blood, ayenward Jewes bigunnen to be the hiyere, and to venge hem of aduersaries.
2 Throughout the empire, the Jews gathered together in their cities to attack those who wanted to get rid of them. No one could fight against the Jews, because all the other people in the areas where the Jews lived were afraid of them, [so they did not want to help anyone who attacked the Jews].
And thei weren gaderid togidere bi alle citees, castels, and places, to stretche forth hond ayens her enemyes and pursueris; and no man was hardi to ayenstonde, for the drede of her gretnesse hadde persid alle puplis.
3 All the governors and [other] officials and important people in all the provinces helped the Jews, because they were afraid of Mordecai.
For whi bothe the iugis, duykis, and procuratouris of prouynces, and ech dignyte, that weren souereyns of alle places and werkis, enhaunsiden Jewis, for the drede of Mardochee,
4 They were afraid of him because in all the provinces [they knew that] Mordecai was now the king’s most important official, [with the authority that Haman previously had]. Mordecai was becoming more famous because [the king was giving him] more and more power.
whom thei knewen to be prince of the paleis, and to mow do ful myche; and the fame of his name encreeside ech dai, and flei bi the mouthis of alle men.
5 [On March 7th, ] the Jews attacked and killed with their swords all of their enemies. They did whatever they wanted to do, to the people who hated them.
Therfor the Jewis smytiden her enemyes with greet veniaunce, and killiden hem, and yeldiden to tho enemyes that, that thei hadden maad redi to do to `the Jewis,
6 [Just] in Susa alone, the capital city, they killed 500 people.
in so myche, that also in Susa thei killiden fyue hundrid men, with out the ten sones of Aaman of Agag, the enemye of Jewis, of whiche these ben the names;
7 Among those whom they killed were the ten sons of Haman. [Their names were] Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
Phasandatha, Delphon, and Esphata,
8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
and Phorata, and Adalia, and Aridatha,
9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.
and Ephermesta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vaizatha.
10 Those were grandsons of Hammedatha and sons of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. The Jews killed them, but they did not take the things that belonged to the people whom they killed.
And whanne the Jewis hadden slayn hem, thei nolden take preies of the catels of hem.
11 [At the end of] that day someone reported to the king the number of people whom the Jews killed in Susa.
And anoon the noumbre of hem, that weren slayn in Susa, was teld to the kyng.
12 Then the king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed 500 people here in Susa, including the ten sons of Haman! [So I think that] they must have killed many more people in the rest of my empire [RHQ]! [But okay], now what else do you want me to do for you. You tell me, and I will do it.”
Which seide to the queen, Jewis han slayn fyue hundrid men in the citee of Susa, and othere ten sones of Aaman; hou grete sleyng gessist thou, that thei haunten in alle prouynces? what axist thou more? and what wolt thou, that Y comaunde to be doon?
13 Esther replied, “If it pleases you, allow the Jews here in Susa to do again tomorrow what [you] commanded [them] to do today. And command that the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows/poles.”
To whom sche answeride, If it plesith the kyng, power be youun to the Jewis, that as thei han do to dai in Susa, so do thei also to morewe, and that the ten sones of Aaman be hangid vp in iebatis.
14 So the king commanded that the Jews be permitted to kill more of their enemies the next day. After he issued [another] order in Susa, the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were hanged.
And the kyng comaundide, that it schulde be doon so; and anoon the comaundement hangide in Susa, and the ten sones of Aaman weren hangid.
15 On the next day, the Jews in Susa gathered together and killed 300 more people. But [again, ] they did not take the things that belonged to the people whom they killed.
Therfor whanne the Jewis weren gaderid togidere, in the fourtenthe dai of the monethe Adar, thre hundrid men weren slayn in Susa, and the Jewis token not awei the catel of tho men.
16 That happened on March 8th. On the following day, the Jews [in Susa] rested and celebrated. In all the other provinces, the Jewish people gathered together to defend themselves, and they killed 75,000 people who hated them, but [again] they did not take the things that belonged to the people whom they killed.
But also bi alle the prouynces, that weren suget to the lordschip of the kyng, Jewis stoden for her lyues, whanne her enemyes and pursueris weren slayn, in so myche, that fyue and seuenti thousynde of slayn men `weren fillid, and no man touchide ony thing of the catelis of hem.
17 That occurred on March 7th, and on the following day they rested and celebrated.
Forsothe the thrittenthe dai of the monethe Adar was o dai of sleyng at alle Jewis, and in the fourtenthe dai thei ceessiden to sle; which thei ordeyneden to be solempne, that therynne in ech tyme aftirward thei schulden yyue tent to metis, to ioye, and to feestis.
18 After the Jews in Susa gathered together [and killed their enemies] on March 7th and 8th, they rested and celebrated on March 9th.
And thei, that hauntiden sleyng in the citee of Susa, `lyueden in sleyng in the thrittenthe and fourtenthe dai of the same monethe. But in the fiftenthe dai thei ceessiden to sle; and therfor thei ordeyneden the same dai solempne of feestis and of gladnesse.
19 That is why [every year], on March 8th, the Jews who live in villages now celebrate [defeating their enemies]. They have feasts and give gifts [of food] to each other.
Forsothe these Jewis, that dwelliden in borow townes not wallid and vilagis, demeden the fourtenthe dai of the monethe Adar of feestis, and of ioie, so that thei be ioiful therynne, and sende ech to other partis of feestis and of metis.
20 Mordecai wrote down all the things that had happened. Then he sent letters to the Jews who lived throughout the empire of King Xerxes.
Therfor Mardochee wroot alle these thingis, and sente these thingis comprehendid bi lettris to the Jewis, that dwelliden in alle prouynces of the kyng, as wel to Jewis set nyy as fer,
21 He told them that every year they should celebrate on the 8th and 9th of March,
that thei schulden resseyue the fourtenthe and the fiftenthe dai of the monethe Adar `for feestis, and euer whanne the yeer turneth ayen, `thei schulden halowe with solempne onour;
22 because those were the days when the Jews got rid of their enemies. He also told them that they should celebrate on those days by feasting and giving gifts [of food] to each other and to poor people. They would remember it as the month in which they changed from being very sorrowful to being very joyful, from crying to celebrating.
for in tho daies the Jewis vengiden hem silf of her enemyes, and morenyng and sorewe weren turned in to gladnesse and ioie; and these daies schulden be daies of feestis, and of gladnesse, and `that thei schulden sende ech to other partis of metis, and `yyue litle yiftis to pore men.
23 So the Jews agreed to do what Mordecai wrote. They agreed to celebrate on those days [every year].
Forsothe the Jewis resseyueden in to solempne custom alle thingis, whiche thei bigunnen to do in that tyme, and whiche thingis Mardochee hadde comaundid bi lettris to be doon.
24 They would remember how Haman, son of Hammedatha, a descendant of [King] Agag, became an enemy of all the Jews. [They would remember] how he had made an evil plan to kill the Jews, and that he had (cast lots/thrown small marked stones) to choose the day to kill [DOU] them.
Sotheli Aaman, the sone of Amadathi, of the kynrede of Agag, the enemy and aduersarie of Jewis, thouyte yuel ayens hem, to sle hem and to do awei, and he sente phur, which is interpretid in oure langage `in to lot.
25 [They would remember] that when Esther told the king about Haman’s plan, the king arranged that the evil plan that Haman had made to kill the Jews would fail, and that he [would be killed] instead of the Jews, and that Haman and that his sons were hanged.
And afterward Hester entride to the kyng, and bisouyte, that `hise enforsyngis schulden be maad voide bi the lettris of the kyng, and that the yuel, which he hadde thouyt ayenus the Jewis, schulde turne ayen in to his heed. `Forsothe thei hangiden on the cros `bothe hym and hise sones.
26 [Because the (lot/small marked stone) that Haman threw was called] Pur, the Jews called these days Purim. And, because of everything that ([Mordecai] wrote/was written) in that letter, and because of all that happened to them,
And fro that tyme these daies weren clepid `Phurym, that is, of lottis, for `phur, that is, lot, was sent in to a vessel; and the Jewis resseyueden on hem silf, and on her seed, and on alle men that wolden be couplid to her religioun, alle thingis that weren doon, and ben conteyned in the volym of the pistle, `that is, of this book,
27 the Jews [throughout the empire] agreed to celebrate in that manner on those two days every year. They said that they would tell their descendants and those people who became Jews to be certain to celebrate this festival every year. They should celebrate just as [Mordecai] told them to do [in the letter] that he wrote.
and whiche thingis thei suffriden, and whiche thingis weren chaungid aftirward, that it be not leueful to ony man to passe with out solempnyte these `daies, which the scripture witnessith, and certeyn tymes axen, while the yeeris comen contynuely oon aftir an other.
28 They said that they would remember and celebrate on those two days every year, in each family, in every city, and in every province. They solemnly declared that they and their descendants would never stop remembering and celebrating those days called Purim.
These ben the daies, whiche neuer ony foryetyng schal do awei, and bi alle generaciouns alle prouynces, that ben in al the world, schulen halewe; nether `ony citee is, in which the daies of Phurym, that is, of lottis, schulen not be kept of Jewis, and of the generacioun of hem, which is bounden to these cerymonyes.
29 Then Mordecai and Queen Esther, who was the daughter of Abihail, wrote a second letter about the Purim feast. Esther used the authority that she had because of being the queen to confirm that what Mordecai had written in the first letter was true.
And Hester, the queen, the douyter of Abiahel, and Mardochee, the Jew, writiden also the secounde pistle, that this solempne dai schulde be halewid aftirward with al bisynesse.
30 What they wrote [in the second letter] was, “We wish that all of you will be living peacefully and safely/righteously. We want you and your descendants to celebrate Purim each year on the days that we two established, and to do the things that we two told you to do.” In that letter, Queen Esther and Mordecai also gave them instructions about (fasting/abstaining from eating food) and being sorrowful. Then copies of that letter were sent to all the Jews who were living in the 127 provinces of the empire.
And thei senten to tho Jewis, that dwelliden in an hundrid and seuene and twenti prouynces of kyng Assuerus, that thei schulden haue pees, and resseyue the trewthe,
and kepe the daies of lottis, and halewe with ioie in her tyme, as Mardochee and Hester hadden ordeyned; and thei resseiueden the fastyngis, and the cries, and the daies of lottis, to be kept of hem silf and of her seed,
32 The letter that Esther wrote about the manner in which they should celebrate the Purim feast was also written in an official record.
and `that thei schulden resseyue among hooli bookis alle thingis that ben conteyned in the storie of this book, which is clepid Hester.
