Ester 2
1 Esi Fia Ahasuerus ƒe dziku nu fa la, ede asi tamebubu me le ale si Vasti bu ɖee la ŋu. Enya be yemagakpɔe akpɔ o ɖe se si wòde ɖe eŋuti la ta.
Some time later, when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.
2 Ale eŋumewo gblɔ nɛ be, “Na míayi aɖadi ɖetugbi dzetugbetɔwo le fiaɖuƒe blibo la me akplɔ vɛ na wò.
Then the king’s attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king,
3 Fia la netɔ asi ame siwo anɔ dɔ sia nu le nuto ɖe sia ɖe me la dzi be woakplɔ ɖetugbi dzetugbe siawo ava nyɔnuwo ƒe nɔƒe le Susa fiasã la me. Na woanɔ Hegai, ame si nye fia la ƒe ŋutsu tata la ƒe dzikpɔkpɔ te, elabena eyae kpɔa nyɔnuwo dzi, eye wòanɔ atike ʋeʋĩ siwo nana nyɔnu dzea tugbe la sim na wo,
and let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom to assemble all the beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the women, and let them be given beauty treatments.
4 eye le esia megbe la, ɖetugbi si adze ŋuwò wu la, azu fianyɔnu ɖe Vasti teƒe.” Aɖaŋuɖoɖo la dze fia la ŋu, eya ta wòwɔ ɖe edzi.
Then let the young woman who pleases the king become queen in place of Vashti.” This suggestion pleased the king, and he acted accordingly.
5 Yudatɔ aɖe nɔ Susa fiasã la me, eŋkɔe nye Mordekai. Fofoae nye Yair, ame si fofoe nye Simei, ame si nye Kis, Benyamintɔ la ƒe vi.
Now there was at the citadel of Susa a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish.
6 Wolée esime Nebukadnezar gbã Yerusalem, eye wòɖe aboyoe kpe ɖe Yuda fia Yehoyatsin kple ame bubu geɖewo ŋu va Babilonia.
He had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah.
7 Vinyɔnu dzetugbe aɖe nɔ Mordekai tɔɖia si. Eŋkɔe nye Hadasa, gake wogayɔnɛ be Ester. Fofoa kple dadaa ku, eya ta Mordekai xɔe, eye wònyii abe eya ŋutɔ ƒe vinyɔnu ene.
And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her in as his own daughter.
8 Ale le fia la ƒe sedede nu la, wokplɔ ɖetugbi geɖewo yi nyɔnuwo ƒe nɔƒe la le Susa fiasã la me, eye wotsɔ wo de Hegai ƒe dzikpɔkpɔ te. Wokplɔ Ester hã va fiasã la me, eye wotsɔ eya hã de nyɔnuwo dzi kpɔla, Hegai ƒe dzikpɔkpɔ te.
When the king’s command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the care of Hegai, the custodian of the women.
9 Hegai, fiasrɔ̃wo dzikpɔla la kpɔ ŋudzedze blibo le Ester ŋu, eye wòwɔ nu sia nu si ana wòakpɔ dzidzɔ la nɛ. Ena woɖaa nu tɔxɛwo nɛ, eye wosiaa tugbedzetikewo nɛ. Etsɔ nyɔnuvi adre nɛ tso fiasã la me be woanye eƒe subɔlawo. Hegai tsɔ teƒe nyuitɔ wu le nyɔnuwo ƒe nɔƒe la nɛ.
And the young woman pleased him and obtained his favor, so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments and the special diet. He assigned to her seven select maidservants from the palace and transferred her with them to the best place in the harem.
10 Ke Ester megblɔ na ame aɖeke kpɔ be Yudatɔ yenye o, elabena Mordekai de se nɛ.
Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.
11 Hegai vaa nyɔnuwo ƒe nɔƒe la va biaa Ester ƒe agbe ta se.
And every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn about Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
12 Hafi wòaɖo ɖetugbi aɖe dzi woakplɔe ayi ɖe Fia Ahasuerus ŋkumee la, ele be wòato tugbedzetike ʋeʋĩwo sisi me ɣleti wuieve abe ale si woɖoe na nyɔnuwoe ene. Woasi mir nyui nɛ ɣleti ade, eye woasi ami ʋeʋĩ kple atike bubuwo hã nɛ ɣleti ade.
In the twelve months before her turn to go to King Xerxes, the harem regulation required each young woman to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months, and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months.
13 Ale si wòawɔ hafi ayi ɖe fia la gbɔe nye esi: Nu sia nu si ɖetugbi la bia la, woatsɔe nɛ le nyɔnuwo ƒe nɔƒe la be wòatsɔ ayi ɖe fiasã la mee.
When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace.
14 Le fiẽ me la, ayi ɖe fia la gbɔ, atrɔ gbɔ le ŋdi, ayi nyɔnuwo ƒe nɔƒe la ƒe akpa bubu si le ŋutsu tata Saasgaz ƒe dzikpɔkpɔ te, ame si kpɔa fia la ƒe ahiãviwo dzi. Ɖetugbi la magatrɔ ayi ɖe fia la gbɔ o, negbe eƒe nu nyo fia la ŋu, eye wòna woyɔe nɛ hafi.
She would go there in the evening, and in the morning she would return to a second harem under the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he delighted in her and summoned her by name.
15 Esi wòɖo Ester, Mordekai tɔɖia Abihail ƒe vi, ame si Mordekai xɔ abe eya ŋutɔ ƒe vi ene dzi be wòadɔ fia la gbɔ la, mebia naneke o; ewɔ ɖe Hegai, ame si nye nyɔnuwo dzi kpɔla la ƒe aɖaŋuɖoɖo dzi, eye wòdo awu abe ale si Hegai ɖo nɛ ene. Ɖetugbi bubuawo do dzidzɔɣli esi wokpɔe.
Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.
16 Ale wokplɔ Ester yi na Fia Ahasuerus le ɣleti ewolia si woyɔna be Tebet la me le fia la ƒe fiaɖuɖu ƒe ƒe adrelia me.
She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Fia la lɔ̃ Ester wu ɖetugbiawo dometɔ ɖe sia ɖe. Ekpɔ dzidzɔ le eŋu ale gbegbe be wòɖɔ fiakuku la nɛ, eye wòna wòzu fianyɔnu ɖe Vasti teƒe.
And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
18 Fia la gaɖo kplɔ̃ gã aɖe na Ester kple eƒe bubumewo kple dɔnunɔlawo. Etsɔ nunana na ame sia ame, eye wòna ga eƒe nutowo tso adzɔ siwo wodzɔna nɛ la me.
Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.
19 Le esia megbe la, hafi woakplɔ Ester kple ɖetugbi bubuawo ayi fiasrɔ̃wo ƒe nɔƒe zi evelia la, Mordekai zu fiaŋumewo dometɔ ɖeka, eye wònɔ fia la ƒe agbo nu.
When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
20 Va se ɖe ɣe ma ɣi hã la, Ester megblɔ na ame aɖeke kpɔ be Yudatɔe yenye o, elabena egalé Mordekai ƒe sewo me ɖe asi abe ale si wòwɔ le Mordekai ƒe aƒe me ene.
Esther still had not revealed her lineage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed. She obeyed Mordecai’s command, as she had done under his care.
21 Gbe ɖeka la, esime Mordekai nɔ dɔ wɔm le fiasã la me la, ŋutsu eve siwo nye fia la ƒe nyɔnuwo dzi kpɔlawo, Bigtan kple Teres, ame siwo nɔ fiasã la ƒe agboa nu dzɔm la do dɔmedzoe ɖe fia la ŋu, eye woɖo be yewoawu Fia Ahasuerus.
In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, grew angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
22 Mordekai se woƒe ɖoɖo la, eye wòfi tofi na Fianyɔnu Ester tso eŋu. Ester hã ka nya la ta na fia la, eye wòna fia la nya be Mordekai ye fi tofi la na ye.
When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai’s behalf.
23 Woto nya la me, tso kufia na ame eveawo, eye wode ka ve na wo. Woŋlɔ nyadzɔdzɔ sia ɖe Fia Ahasuerus ƒe fiaɖuɖu ƒe ŋutinya me.
After the report had been investigated and verified, both officials were hanged on the gallows. And all this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.
