Esther 8
1 Die illo dedit rex Assuerus Esther reginae domum Aman adversarii Iudaeorum, et Mardochaeus ingressus est ante faciem regis. Confessa est enim ei Esther quod esset patruus suus.
On that day hath the king Ahasuerus given to Esther the queen the house of Haman, adversary of the Jews, and Mordecai hath come in before the king, for Esther hath declared what he [is] to her,
2 Tulitque rex annulum, quem ab Aman recipi iusserat, et tradidit Mardochaeo. Esther autem constituit Mardochaeum super domum suam.
and the king turneth aside his signet, that he hath caused to pass away from Haman, and giveth it to Mordecai, and Esther setteth Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 Nec his contenta, procidit ad pedes regis, flevitque et locuta ad eum oravit ut malitiam Aman Agagitae, et machinationes eius pessimas, quas excogitaverat contra Iudaeos, iuberet irritas fieri.
And Esther addeth, and speaketh before the king, and falleth before his feet, and weepeth, and maketh supplication to him, to cause the evil of Haman the Agagite to pass away, and his device that he had devised against the Jews;
4 At ille ex more sceptrum aureum protendit manu, quo signum clementiae monstrabatur: illaque consurgens stetit ante eum,
and the king holdeth out to Esther the golden sceptre, and Esther riseth, and standeth before the king,
5 et ait: Si placet regi, et si inveni gratiam in oculis eius, et deprecatio mea non ei videtur esse contraria, obsecro, ut novis epistolis, veteres Aman litterae, insidiatoris et hostis Iudaeorum, quibus eos in cunctis regis provinciis perire praeceperat, corrigantur.
and saith, 'If to the king [it be] good, and if I have found grace before him, and the thing hath been right before the king, and I [be] good in his eyes, let it be written to bring back the letters — a device of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite — that he wrote to destroy the Jews who [are] in all provinces of the king,
6 Quo modo enim potero sustinere necem et interfectionem populi mei?
for how do I endure when I have looked on the evil that doth find my people? and how do I endure when I have looked on the destruction of my kindred?'
7 Responditque rex Assuerus Esther reginae, et Mardochaeo Iudaeo: Domum Aman concessi Esther, et ipsum iussi affigi cruci, quia ausus est manum mittere in Iudaeos.
And the king Ahasuerus saith to Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the Jew, 'Lo, the house of Haman I have given to Esther, and him they have hanged on the tree, because that he put forth his hand on the Jews,
8 Scribite ergo Iudaeis, sicut vobis placet, regis nomine, signantes litteras annulo meo. Haec enim consuetudo erat, ut epistolis, quae ex regis nomine mittebantur, et illius annulo signatae erant, nemo auderet contradicere.
and ye, write ye for the Jews, as [it is] good in your eyes, in the name of the king, and seal with the signet of the king — for the writing that is written in the name of the king, and sealed with the signet of the king, there is none to turn back.'
9 Accitisque scribis et librariis regis (erat autem tempus tertii mensis, qui appellatur Siban) vigesima et tertia die illius scriptae sunt epistolae, ut Mardochaeus voluerat, ad Iudaeos, et ad principes, procuratoresque et iudices, qui centum vigintiseptem provinciis ab India usque ad Aethiopiam praesidebant: provinciae atque provinciae, populo et populo iuxta linguas et litteras suas, et Iudaeis, prout legere poterant, et audire.
And the scribes of the king are called, at that time, in the third month — it [is] the month of Sivan — in the three and twentieth of it, and it is written, according to all that Mordecai hath commanded, unto the Jews, and unto the lieutenants, and the governors, and the heads of the provinces, that [are] from Hodu even unto Cush, seven and twenty and a hundred provinces — province and province according to its writing, and people and people according to its tongue, and unto the Jews according to their writing, and according to their tongue.
10 Ipsaeque epistolae, quae regis nomine mittebantur, annulo ipsius obsignatae sunt, et missae per veredarios: qui per omnes provincias discurrentes, veteres litteras novis nunciis praevenirent.
And he writeth in the name of the king Ahasuerus, and sealeth with the signet of the king, and sendeth letters by the hand of the runners with horses, riders of the dromedary, the mules, the young mares,
11 Quibus imperavit rex, ut convenirent Iudaeos per singulas civitates, et in unum praeciperent congregari ut starent pro animabus suis, et omnes inimicos suos cum coniugibus ac liberis et universis domibus, interficerent atque delerent.
that the king hath given to the Jews who [are] in every city and city, to be assembled, and to stand for their life, to cut off, to slay, and to destroy the whole force of the people and province who are distressing them, infants and women, and their spoil to seize.
12 Et constituta est per omnes provincias una ultionis dies, id est tertiadecima mensis duodecimi Adar.
In one day, in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth of the twelfth month — it [is] the month of Adar —
13 Summaque epistolae haec fuit, ut in omnibus terris ac populis, qui regis Assueri subiacebant imperio, notum fieret, paratos esse Iudaeos ad capiendam vindictam de hostibus suis.
a copy of the writing to be made law in every province and province is revealed to all the peoples, and for the Jews being ready at this day to be avenged of their enemies.
14 Egressique sunt veredarii celeres nuncia perferentes, et edictum regis pependit in Susan.
The runners, riding on the dromedary, [and] the mules, have gone out, hastened and pressed by the word of the king, and the law hath been given in Shushan the palace.
15 Mardochaeus autem de palatio, et de conspectu regis egrediens, fulgebat vestibus regiis, hyacinthinis videlicet et aeriis, coronam auream portans in capite, et amictus serico pallio atque purpureo. Omnisque civitas exultavit, atque laetata est.
And Mordecai went out from before the king, in royal clothing of blue and white, and a great crown of gold, and a garment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan hath rejoiced and been glad;
16 Iudaeis autem nova lux oriri visa est, gaudium, honor, et tripudium.
to the Jews hath been light, and gladness, and joy, and honour,
17 Apud omnes populos, urbes, atque provincias, quocumque regis iussa veniebant, mira exultatio, epulae atque convivia, et festus dies: in tantum ut plures alterius gentis et sectae eorum religioni et ceremoniis iungerentur. Grandis enim cunctos Iudaici nominis terror invaserat.
and in every province and province, and in every city and city, the place where the word of the king, even his law, is coming, gladness and joy [are] to the Jews, a banquet, and a good day; and many of the peoples of the land are becoming Jews, for a fear of the Jews hath fallen upon them.
