Esther 9
1 igitur duodecimi mensis quem adar vocari ante iam diximus tertiadecima die quando cunctis Iudaeis interfectio parabatur et hostes eorum inhiabant sanguini versa vice Iudaei superiores esse coeperunt et se de adversariis vindicare
On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.
2 congregatique sunt per singulas civitates oppida et loca ut extenderent manum contra inimicos et persecutores suos nullusque ausus est resistere eo quod omnes populos magnitudinis eorum formido penetrarat
In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.
3 nam et provinciarum iudices duces et procuratores omnisque dignitas quae singulis locis et operibus praeerat extollebant Iudaeos timore Mardochei
And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.
4 quem principem esse palatii et plurimum posse cognoverant fama quoque nominis eius crescebat cotidie et per cunctorum ora volitabat
For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.
5 itaque percusserunt Iudaei inimicos suos plaga magna et occiderunt eos reddentes eis quod sibi paraverant facere
The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them.
6 in tantum ut etiam in Susis quingentos viros interficerent et decem extra filios Aman Agagitae hostis Iudaeorum quorum ista sunt nomina
In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,
7 Pharsandatha et Delphon et Esphata
including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
8 et Phorata et Adalia et Aridatha
Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,
9 et Ephermesta et Arisai et Aridai et Vaizatha
Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.
10 quos cum occidissent praedas de substantiis eorum agere noluerunt
They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
11 statimque numerus eorum qui occisi erant in Susis ad regem relatus est
On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king,
12 qui dixit reginae in urbe Susis interfecere Iudaei quingentos viros et alios decem filios Aman quantam putas eos exercere caedem in universis provinciis quid ultra postulas et quid vis ut fieri iubeam
who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.”
13 cui illa respondit si regi placet detur potestas Iudaeis ut sicut hodie fecerunt in Susis sic et cras faciant et decem filii Aman in patibulis suspendantur
Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”
14 praecepitque rex ut ita fieret statimque in Susis pependit edictum et decem Aman filii suspensi sunt
So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.
15 congregatis Iudaeis quartadecima adar mensis die interfecti sunt in Susis trecenti viri nec eorum ab illis direpta substantia est
On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
16 sed et per omnes provincias quae dicioni regis subiacebant pro animabus suis stetere Iudaei interfectis hostibus ac persecutoribus suis in tantum ut septuaginta quinque milia occisorum implerentur et nullus de substantiis eorum quicquam contingeret
The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
17 dies autem tertiusdecimus mensis adar unus apud omnes interfectionis fuit et quartodecimo die caedere desierunt quem constituerunt esse sollemnem ut in eo omni deinceps tempore vacarent epulis gaudio atque conviviis
This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.
18 at hii qui in urbe Susis caedem exercuerant tertiodecimo et quartodecimo eiusdem mensis die in caede versati sunt quintodecimo autem die percutere desierunt et idcirco eandem diem constituere sollemnem epularum atque laetitiae
The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy.
19 hii vero Iudaei qui in oppidis non muratis ac villis morabantur quartumdecimum diem mensis adar conviviorum et gaudii decreverunt ita ut exultent in eo et mittant sibi mutuo partes epularum et ciborum
This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.
20 scripsit itaque Mardocheus omnia haec et litteris conprehensa misit ad Iudaeos qui in omnibus regis provinciis morabantur tam in vicino positis quam procul
Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far,
21 ut quartamdecimam et quintamdecimam diem mensis adar pro festis susciperent et revertente semper anno sollemni honore celebrarent
to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar
22 quia in ipsis diebus se ulti sunt Iudaei de inimicis suis et luctus atque tristitia in hilaritatem gaudiumque conversa sint essentque istae dies epularum atque laetitiae et mitterent sibi invicem ciborum partes et pauperibus munuscula largirentur
as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.
23 susceperuntque Iudaei in sollemnem ritum cuncta quae eo tempore facere coeperant et quae Mardocheus litteris facienda mandaverat
So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them.
24 Aman enim filius Amadathi stirpis Agag hostis et adversarius Iudaeorum cogitavit contra eos malum ut occideret illos atque deleret et misit phur quod nostra lingua vertitur in sortem
For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.
25 et postea ingressa est Hester ad regem obsecrans ut conatus eius litteris regis irriti fierent et malum quod contra Iudaeos cogitaverat reverteretur in caput eius denique et ipsum et filios eius adfixerunt cruci
But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
26 atque ex illo tempore dies isti appellati sunt Phurim id est Sortium eo quod phur id est sors in urnam missa fuerit et cuncta quae gesta sunt epistulae id est libri huius volumine continentur
Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced,
27 quaeque sustinuerint et quae deinceps inmutata sint suscepere Iudaei super se et semen suum et super cunctos qui religioni eorum voluerint copulari ut nulli liceat duos hos dies absque sollemnitate transigere quam scriptura testatur et certa expetunt tempora annis sibi iugiter succedentibus
the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should not fail to celebrate these two days at the appointed time each and every year, according to their regulation.
28 isti sunt dies quos nulla umquam delebit oblivio et per singulas generationes cunctae in toto orbe provinciae celebrabunt nec est ulla civitas in qua dies Phurim id est Sortium non observentur a Iudaeis et ab eorum progenie quae his caerimoniis obligata est
These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants.
29 scripseruntque Hester regina filia Abiahil et Mardocheus Iudaeus etiam secundam epistulam ut omni studio dies ista sollemnis sanciretur in posterum
So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.
30 et miserunt ad omnes Iudaeos qui in centum viginti septem regis Asueri provinciis versabantur ut haberent pacem et susciperent veritatem
And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes,
31 observantes dies Sortium et suo tempore cum gaudio celebrarent sicut constituerat Mardocheus et Hester et illi observanda susceperant a se et a semine suo ieiunia atque clamores et Sortium dies
in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.
32 et omnia quae libri huius qui vocatur Hester historia continentur
So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record.
