Esther 3

1 Post haec rex Assuerus exaltavit Aman filium Amadathi, qui erat de stirpe Agag: et posuit solium eius super omnes principes, quos habebat.

And after this king Artaxerxes highly honored Aman [son] of Amadathes, the Bugaean, and exalted him, and set his seat above all his friends.

2 Cunctique servi regis, qui in foribus palatii versabantur, flectebant genua, et adorabant Aman: sic enim praeceperat eis imperator. solus Mardochaeus non flectebat genu, neque adorabat eum.

And all in the palace did him obeisance, for so the king had given orders to do: but Mardochaeus did not do him obeisance.

3 Cui dixerunt pueri regis, qui ad fores palatii praesidebant: Cur praeter ceteros non observas mandatum regis?

And they in the king's palace said to Mardochaeus, Mardochaeus, why do you transgress the commands of the king?

4 Cumque hoc crebrius dicerent, et ille nollet audire, nunciaverunt Aman, scire cupientes utrum perseveraret in sententia: dixerat enim eis se esse Iudaeum.

[Thus] they spoke daily to him, but he listened not to them; so they represented to Aman that Mardochaeus resisted the commands of the king: and Mardochaeus had shown to them that he was a Jew.

5 Quod cum audisset Aman, et experimento probasset quod Mardochaeus non flecteret sibi genu, nec se adoraret, iratus est valde,

And when Aman understood that Mardochaeus did not obeisance to him, he was greatly enraged,

6 et pro nihilo duxit in unum Mardochaeum mittere manus suas: audierat enim quod esset gentis Iudaeae. Magisque voluit omnem Iudaeorum, qui erant in regno Assueri, perdere nationem.

and took counsel to destroy utterly all the Jews who were under the rule of Artaxerxes.

7 Mense primo (cuius vocabulum est Nisan) anno duodecimo regni Assueri, missa est sors in urnam, quae Hebraice dicitur phur, coram Aman, quo die et quo mense gens Iudaeorum deberet interfici: et exivit mensis duodecimus, qui vocatur Adar.

And he made a decree in the twelfth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, and cast lots daily and monthly, to kill in one day the race of Mardochaeus: and the lot fell on the fourteenth [day] of the month which is Adar.

8 Dixitque Aman regi Assuero: Est populus per omnes provincias regni tui dispersus, et a se mutuo separatus, novis utens legibus et ceremoniis, insuper et regis scita contemnens. Et optime nosti quod non expediat regno tuo ut insolescat per licentiam.

And he spoke to king Artaxerxes, saying, There is a nation scattered among the nations in all your kingdom, and their laws differ from [those of] all the [other] nations; and they disobey the laws of the king; and it is not expedient for the king to let them alone.

9 si tibi placet, decerne, ut pereat, et decem millia talentorum appendam arcariis gazae tuae.

If it seem good to the king, let him make a decree to destroy them: and I will remit into the king's treasury ten thousand talents of silver.

10 Tulit ergo rex annulum, quo utebatur, de manu sua, et dedit eum Aman filio Amadathi de progenie Agag, hosti Iudaeorum,

And the king took off his ring, and gave it into the hands of Aman, to seal the decrees against the Jews.

11 dixitque ad eum: Argentum, quod tu polliceris, tuum sit. De populo age quod tibi placet.

And the king said to Aman, Keep the silver, and treat the nation as you will.

12 Vocatique sunt scribae regis mense primo Nisan, tertiadecima die eiusdem mensis: et scriptum est, ut iusserat Aman, ad omnes satrapas regis, et iudices provinciarum, diversarumque gentium, ut quaeque gens legere poterat, et audire pro varietate linguarum ex nomine regis Assueri: et litterae signatae ipsius annulo,

So the king's recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth [day], and they wrote as Aman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their [several] languages, in the name of king Artaxerxes.

13 missae sunt per cursores regis ad universas provincias ut occiderent atque delerent omnes Iudaeos, a puero usque ad senem, parvulos, et mulieres, uno die, hoc est tertiodecimo mensis duodecimi, qui vocatur Adar, et bona eorum diriperent.

And [the message] was sent by posts throughout the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to destroy utterly the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods.

14 Summa autem epistolarum haec fuit, ut omnes provinciae scirent, et pararent se ad praedictam diem.

And the copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready against that day.

15 Festinabant cursores, qui missi erant, regis imperium explere. Statimque in Susan pependit edictum, rege et Aman celebrante convivium, et cunctis Iudaeis, qui in urbe erant, flentibus.

And the business was hastened, and [that] at Susa: and the king and Aman began to drink; but the city was troubled.