Esther 2
1 After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.
His ita gestis, postquam regis Assueri indignatio deferbuerat, recordatus est Vasthi, et quae fecisset, vel quae passa esset:
2 Then said the king’s servants that ministered to him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:
dixeruntque pueri regis, ac ministri eius: Quaerantur regi puellae virgines ac speciosae,
3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the fair young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, into the custody of Hege the king’s chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:
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 praepositus et custos mulierum regiarum: et accipiant mundum muliebrem, et cetera ad usus necessaria.
4 And let the maiden who pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.
Et quaecumque inter omnes oculis regis placuerit, ipsa regnet pro Vasthi. Placuit sermo regi: et ita, ut suggesserant, iussit fieri.
5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
Erat vir Iudaeus in Susan civitate, vocabulo Mardochaeus filius Iair, filii Semei, filii Cis, de stirpe Iemini,
6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
qui translatus fuerat de Ierusalem eo tempore, quo Iechoniam regem Iuda Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis transtulerat,
7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
qui fuit nutritius filiae fratris sui Edissae, quae altero nomine vocabatur Esther: et utrumque parentem amiserat: pulchra nimis, et decora facie. Mortuisque patre eius ac matre, Mardochaeus sibi eam adoptavit in filiam.
8 So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree were heard, and when many maidens were gathered at Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also to the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
Cumque percrebruisset regis imperium, et iuxta mandatum illius multae pulchrae virgines adducerentur Susan, et Egeo traderentur Eunucho; Esther quoque inter ceteras puellas ei tradita est, ut servaretur in numero feminarum.
9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven choice maidens, to be given her, out of the king’s house: and he preferred her and her maids to the best place of the house of the women.
Quae placuit ei, et invenit gratiam in conspectu illius. Et praecepit eunucho, ut acceleraret mundum muliebrem, et traderet ei partes suas, et septem puellas speciosissimas de domo regis, et tam ipsam, quam pedissequas eius ornaret atque excoleret.
10 Esther had not revealed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not make it known.
Quae noluit indicare ei populum et patriam suam: Mardochaeus enim praeceperat ei, ut de hac re omnino reticeret:
11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.
qui deambulabat quotidie ante vestibulum domus, in qua electae virgines servabantur, curam agens salutis Esther, et scire volens quid ei accideret.
12 Now when every maid’s turn had come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the law for the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, that is, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women; )
Cum autem venisset tempus singularum per ordinem puellarum, ut intrarent ad regem, expletis omnibus, quae ad cultum muliebrem pertinebant, mensis duodecimus vertebatur: ita dumtaxat, ut sex mensibus oleo ungerentur myrrhino, et aliis sex quibusdam pigmentis et aromatibus uterentur.
13 Then thus came every maiden to the king; whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women to the king’s house.
Ingredientesque ad regem, quidquid postulassent ad ornatum pertinens, accipiebant: et ut eis placuerat, compositae de triclinio feminarum ad regis cubiculum transibant.
14 In the evening she went, and on the next morning she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, who kept the concubines: she came in to the king no more, except that the king delighted in her, and she was called by name.
Et quae intraverat vespere, egrediebatur mane, atque inde in secundas aedes deducebantur, quae sub manu Susagazi eunuchi erant, qui concubinis regis praesidebat: nec habebat potestatem ad regem ultra redeundi, nisi voluisset rex, et eam venire iussisset ex nomine.
15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, had come to go in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.
Evoluto autem tempore per ordinem, instabat dies, quo Esther filia Abihail fratris Mardochaei, quam sibi adoptaverat in filiam, deberet intrare ad regem. Quae non quaesivit muliebrem cultum, sed quaecumque voluit Egeus eunuchus custos virginum, haec ei ad ornatum dedit. Erat enim formosa valde, et incredibili pulchritudine, omnium oculis gratiosa et amabilis videbatur.
16 So Esther was taken to king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Ducta est itaque ad cubiculum regis Assueri mense decimo, qui vocatur Tebeth, septimo anno regni eius.
17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon 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 eius, fecitque eam regnare in loco Vasthi.
18 Then the king made a great feast to all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the bounty of the king.
Et iussit convivium praeparari permagnificum cunctis principibus, et servis suis pro coniunctione, et nuptiis Esther. Et dedit requiem universis provinciis, ac dona largitus est iuxta magnificentiam principalem.
19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate.
Cumque secundo quaererentur virgines et congregarentur, Mardochaeus manebat ad ianuam regis:
20 Esther had not yet revealed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther performed the commandment of Mordecai, as when she was brought up with him.
necdum prodiderat Esther patriam, et populum suum, iuxta mandatum eius. Quidquid enim ille praecipiebat, observabat Esther: et ita cuncta faciebat ut eo tempore solita erat, quo eam parvulam nutriebat.
21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those who kept the door, were angry, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus.
Eo igitur tempore, quo Mardochaeus ad regis ianuam morabatur, irati sunt Bagathan, et Thares duo eunuchi regis, qui ianitores erant, et in primo palatii limine praesidebant: volueruntque insurgere in regem, et occidere eum.
22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, who told it to Esther the queen; and Esther informed the king of it in Mordecai’s name.
Quod Mardochaeum non latuit, statimque nunciavit reginae Esther: et illa regi ex nomine Mardochaei, qui ad se rem detulerat.
23 And when enquiry was made of the matter, it was discovered; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.
Quaesitum est, et inventum: et appensus est uterque eorum in patibulo. Mandatumque est historiis, et annalibus traditum coram rege.
