Esther 9

1 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.

And in the twelfth month — it [is] the month of Adar — on the thirteenth day of it, in which the word of the king, even his law, hath come to be done, in the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to rule over them, and it is turned that the Jews rule over those hating them —

2 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.

the Jews have been assembled in their cities, in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to put forth a hand on those seeking their evil, and no man hath stood in their presence, for their fear hath fallen on all the peoples.

3 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,

And all heads of the provinces, and the lieutenants, and the governors, and those doing the work that the king hath, are lifting up the Jews, for a fear of Mordecai hath fallen upon them;

4 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.

for great [is] Mordecai in the house of the king, and his fame is going into all the provinces, for the man Mordecai is going on and becoming great.

5 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,

And the Jews smite among all their enemies — a smiting of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction — and do with those hating them according to their pleasure,

6 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;

and in Shushan the palace have the Jews slain and destroyed five hundred men;

7 Phasandatha, Delphon, and Esphata,

and Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha,

8 and Phorata, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

9 and Ephermesta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vaizatha.

and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha,

10 And whanne the Jewis hadden slayn hem, thei nolden take preies of the catels of hem.

ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, adversary of the Jews, they have slain, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand.

11 And anoon the noumbre of hem, that weren slayn in Susa, was teld to the kyng.

On that day hath come the number of the slain in Shushan the palace before the king,

12 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?

and the king saith to Esther the queen, 'In Shushan the palace have the Jews slain and destroyed five hundred men, and the ten sons of Haman; in the rest of the provinces of the king what have they done? and what [is] thy petition? and it is given to thee; and what thy request again? and it is done.'

13 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.

And Esther saith, 'If to the king [it be] good, let it be given also to-morrow, to the Jews who [are] in Shushan, to do according to the law of to-day; and the ten sons of Haman they hang on the tree.'

14 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.

And the king saith — 'to be done so;' and a law is given in Shushan, and the ten sons of Haman they have hanged.

15 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.

And the Jews who [are] in Shushan are assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they slay in Shushan three hundred men, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand.

16 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.

And the rest of the Jews, who [are] in the provinces of the king, have been assembled, even to stand for their life, and to rest from their enemies, and to slay among those hating them five and seventy thousand, and on the prey they have not put forth their hand;

17 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.

on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, even to rest on the fourteenth of it, and to make it a day of banquet and of joy.

18 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.

And the Jews who [are] in Shushan have been assembled, on the thirteenth day of it, and on the fourteenth of it, even to rest on the fifteenth of it, and to make it a day of banquet and of joy.

19 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.

Therefore the Jews of the villages, who are dwelling in cities of the villages, are making the fourteenth day of the month of Adar — joy and banquet, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

20 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,

And Mordecai writeth these things, and sendeth letters unto all the Jews who [are] in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus, who are near and who are far off,

21 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;

to establish on them, to be keeping the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and the fifteenth day of it, in every year and year,

22 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.

as days on which the Jews have rested from their enemies, and the month that hath been turned to them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning to a good day, to make them days of banquet and of joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the needy.

23 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.

And the Jews have received that which they had begun to do, and that which Mordecai hath written unto them,

24 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.

because Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, adversary of all the Jews, had devised concerning the Jews to destroy them, and had caused to fall Pur — that [is] the lot — to crush them and to destroy them;

25 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.

and in her coming in before the king, he said with the letter, 'Let his evil device that he devised against the Jews turn back upon his own head,' and they have hanged him and his sons on the tree,

26 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,

therefore they have called these days Purim — by the name of the lot — therefore, because of all the words of this letter, and what they have seen concerning this, and what hath come unto them,

27 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.

the Jews have established and received upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all those joined unto them, and it doth not pass away, to be keeping these two days according to their writing, and according to their season, in every year and year;

28 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.

and these days are remembered and kept in every generation and generation, family and family, province and province, and city and city, and these days of Purim do not pass away from the midst of the Jews, and their memorial is not ended from their seed.

29 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.

And Esther the queen, daughter of Abihail, writeth, and Mordecai the Jew, with all might, to establish this second letter of Purim,

30 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 he sendeth letters unto all the Jews, unto the seven and twenty and a hundred provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus — words of peace and truth —

31 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,

to establish these days of Purim, in their seasons, as Mordecai the Jew hath established on them, and Esther the queen, and as they had established on themselves, and on their seed — matters of the fastings, and of their cry.

32 and `that thei schulden resseyue among hooli bookis alle thingis that ben conteyned in the storie of this book, which is clepid Hester.

And a saying of Esther hath established these matters of Purim, and it is written in the Book.