Esther 3
1 post haec rex Asuerus exaltavit Aman filium Amadathi qui erat de stirpe Agag et posuit solium eius super omnes principes quos habebat
After these events King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him to a place above all the officials who were with him.
2 cunctique servi regis qui in foribus palatii versabantur flectebant genu et adorabant Aman sic enim eis praeceperat imperator solus Mardocheus non flectebat genu neque adorabat eum
All the king’s courtiers who were in the king’s gate used to bow down before Haman, for so the king had commanded, but Mordecai did not bow down nor prostrate himself.
3 cui dixerunt regis pueri qui ad fores palatii praesidebant cur praeter ceteros non observas mandata regis
Then the king’s courtiers, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”
4 cumque hoc crebrius dicerent et ille nollet audire nuntiaverunt Aman scire cupientes utrum perseveraret in sententia dixerat enim eis se esse Iudaeum
When they had spoken to him day after day without his listening to them, they informed Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s acts would be tolerated, for he had told them that he was a Jew.
5 quod cum audisset Aman et experimento probasset quod Mardocheus non sibi flecteret genu nec se adoraret iratus est valde
When Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down nor prostrate himself before him, he was furious.
6 et pro nihilo duxit in unum Mardocheum mittere manus suas audierat enim quod esset gentis iudaeae magisque voluit omnem Iudaeorum qui erant in regno Asueri perdere nationem
But it seemed to him beneath his dignity to lay hands on Mordecai alone, for they had told him who Mordecai’s people were. Instead Haman sought to destroy all the people of Mordecai, all the Jews throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus.
7 mense primo cuius vocabulum est nisan anno duodecimo regni Asueri 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
In the first month (the month of Nisan) in the twelfth year of the reign of King Ahasuerus, Haman had ‘pur’ (which means ‘lot’) cast before him to determine the best day and best month for his actions. The lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month – the month of Adar.
8 dixitque Aman regi Asuero est populus per omnes provincias regni tui dispersus et a se mutuo separatus novis utens legibus et caerimoniis insuper et regis scita contemnens et optime nosti quod non expediat regno tuo ut insolescat per licentiam
So Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom, whose laws differ from those of every other and who do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not right for the king to tolerate them.
9 si tibi placet decerne ut pereat et decem milia talentorum adpendam arcariis gazae tuae
If it seems best to the king, let an order be given to destroy them, and I will pay ten thousand silver coins into the royal treasury.”
10 tulit ergo rex anulum quo utebatur de manu sua et dedit eum Aman filio Amadathi de progenie Agag hosti Iudaeorum
So the king took off his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.
11 dixitque ad eum argentum quod polliceris tuum sit de populo age quod tibi placet
“The money is yours,” the king said to Haman, “and the people also to do with them as you wish.”
12 vocatique sunt scribae regis mense primo nisan tertiadecima die eius 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 Asueri et litterae ipsius signatae anulo
And so, on the thirteenth day of the first month, the king’s secretaries were summoned and as Haman instructed an edict was issued to the king’s satraps and provincial governors and the rulers of each of the peoples in their own script and their own language. The edict was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with his ring.
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
Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, saying: Destroy, kill, put an end to all the Jews, young and old, little children and women, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, and plunder their possessions.
14 summa autem epistularum haec fuit ut omnes provinciae scirent et pararent se ad praedictam diem
A copy of the edict was to be published as a decree in every province – publicly displayed so that everyone might be ready for that day.
15 festinabant cursores qui missi erant explere regis imperium statimque in Susis pependit edictum rege et Aman celebrante convivium et cunctis qui in urbe erant flentibus
By command of the king the couriers raced off, and the edict was published in Susa itself. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in turmoil.
