¹Die illo dedit rex Assuerus Esther reginæ domum Aman adversarii Judæorum,On that day king, Artaxerxes gave the house of Haman, the adversary of the Jews,et Mardochæus ingressus est ante faciem regis.to queen Esther, and Mordecai entered before the king.Confessa est enim ei Esther quod esset patruus suus.For Esther had confessed to him that he was her paternal uncle.

¹Die illo dedit rex Assuerus Esther reginæ domum Aman adversarii Judæorum,On that day king, Artaxerxes gave the house of Haman, the adversary of the Jews,et Mardochæus ingressus est ante faciem regis.to queen Esther, and Mordecai entered before the king.Confessa est enim ei Esther quod esset patruus suus.For Esther had confessed to him that he was her paternal uncle.

²Tulitque rex annulum,And the king took the ring,quem ab Aman recipi jusserat,which he had ordered to be taken from Haman,et tradidit Mardochæo.and he handed it to Mordecai.Esther autem constituit Mardochæum super domum suam.And Esther appointed Mordecai over her house.

²Tulitque rex annulum,And the king took the ring,quem ab Aman recipi jusserat,which he had ordered to be taken from Haman,et tradidit Mardochæo.and he handed it to Mordecai.Esther autem constituit Mardochæum super domum suam.And Esther appointed Mordecai over her house.

³Nec his contenta,Not content with these things,procidit ad pedes regis,she threw herself down at the king’s feet and wept, and,flevitque,speaking to him,et locuta ad eum oravit ut malitiam Aman Agagitæ,pleaded that he would give orders that the malice of Haman the Agagite,et machinationes ejus pessimas quas excogitaverat contra Judæos,and his most wicked schemes, which he had contrived against the Jews,juberet irritas fieri.would be made ineffective.

³Nec his contenta,Not content with these things,procidit ad pedes regis,she threw herself down at the king’s feet and wept, and,flevitque,speaking to him,et locuta ad eum oravit ut malitiam Aman Agagitæ,pleaded that he would give orders that the malice of Haman the Agagite,et machinationes ejus pessimas quas excogitaverat contra Judæos,and his most wicked schemes, which he had contrived against the Jews,juberet irritas fieri.would be made ineffective.

⁴At ille ex more sceptrum aureum protendit manu,But he, as was the custom, extended the golden scepter with his hand,quo signum clementiæ monstrabatur:which was the sign of clemency,illaque consurgens stetit ante eum,and she rose up and stood before him.

⁴At ille ex more sceptrum aureum protendit manu,But he, as was the custom, extended the golden scepter with his hand,quo signum clementiæ monstrabatur:which was the sign of clemency,illaque consurgens stetit ante eum,and she rose up and stood before him.

⁵et ait:And she said,Si placet regi,“If it pleases the king,et si inveni gratiam in oculis ejus,and if I have found favor in his eyes,et deprecatio mea non ei videtur esse contraria,and my request is not seen to be disagreeable to him,obsecro ut novis epistolis,I beg you that the former letters of Haman,veteres Aman litteræ,the traitorinsidiatoris et hostis Judæorum,and enemy of the Jews,quibus eos in cunctis regis provinciis perire præceperat,by which he instructed them to be destroyed in all the king’s provinces,corrigantur.may be corrected by new letters.

⁵et ait:And she said,Si placet regi,“If it pleases the king,et si inveni gratiam in oculis ejus,and if I have found favor in his eyes,et deprecatio mea non ei videtur esse contraria,and my request is not seen to be disagreeable to him,obsecro ut novis epistolis,I beg you that the former letters of Haman,veteres Aman litteræ,the traitorinsidiatoris et hostis Judæorum,and enemy of the Jews,quibus eos in cunctis regis provinciis perire præceperat,by which he instructed them to be destroyed in all the king’s provinces,corrigantur.may be corrected by new letters.

⁶Quomodo enim potero sustinere necem et interfectionem populi mei?For how will I be able to endure the murder and execution of my people?”

⁶Quomodo enim potero sustinere necem et interfectionem populi mei?For how will I be able to endure the murder and execution of my people?”

⁷Responditque rex Assuerus Esther reginæ,And king Artaxerxes answered Esther the queenet Mardochæo Judæo:and Mordecai the Jew,Domum Aman concessi Esther,“I have granted Haman’s house to Esther,et ipsum jussi affigi cruci,and I have ordered him to be fastened to a cross,quia ausus est manum mittere in Judæos.because he dared to lay hands on the Jews.

⁷Responditque rex Assuerus Esther reginæ,And king Artaxerxes answered Esther the queenet Mardochæo Judæo:and Mordecai the Jew,Domum Aman concessi Esther,“I have granted Haman’s house to Esther,et ipsum jussi affigi cruci,and I have ordered him to be fastened to a cross,quia ausus est manum mittere in Judæos.because he dared to lay hands on the Jews.

⁸Scribite ergo Judæis,Therefore,sicut vobis placet,write to the Jews,regis nomine,just as it pleases you,signantes litteras annulo meo.in the king’s name,Hæc enim consuetudo erat,sealing the letters with my ring.”ut epistolis,For this was the custom,quæ ex regis nomine mittebantur et illius annulo signatæ erant,that letters which were sent in the king’s name and were sealed with his ring,nemo auderet contradicere.no one would dare to contradict.

⁸Scribite ergo Judæis,Therefore,sicut vobis placet,write to the Jews,regis nomine,just as it pleases you,signantes litteras annulo meo.in the king’s name,Hæc enim consuetudo erat,sealing the letters with my ring.”ut epistolis,For this was the custom,quæ ex regis nomine mittebantur et illius annulo signatæ erant,that letters which were sent in the king’s name and were sealed with his ring,nemo auderet contradicere.no one would dare to contradict.

⁹Accitisque scribis et librariis regis (erat autem tempus tertii mensis,Then the scribes and copyists were brought in, (now it was the time of the third month which is called Sivan,)qui appellatur Siban) vigesima et tertia die illius scriptæ sunt epistolæ,on the twenty-third day of the month, and letters were written,ut Mardochæus voluerat,as Mordecai wanted,ad Judæos,to the Jews,et ad principes,and to the governors,procuratoresque et judices,and procurators, and judges,qui centum viginti septem provinciis ab India usque ad Æthiopiam præsidebant:who presided over the one hundred twenty-seven provinces, from India all the way to Ethiopia:provinciæ atque provinciæ,to one province and another,populo et populo juxta linguas et litteras suas,to one people and another, in accordance with their languages and letters,et Judæis,and to the Jews,prout legere poterant et audire.exactly as they were able to read and hear.

⁹Accitisque scribis et librariis regis (erat autem tempus tertii mensis,Then the scribes and copyists were brought in, (now it was the time of the third month which is called Sivan,)qui appellatur Siban) vigesima et tertia die illius scriptæ sunt epistolæ,on the twenty-third day of the month, and letters were written,ut Mardochæus voluerat,as Mordecai wanted,ad Judæos,to the Jews,et ad principes,and to the governors,procuratoresque et judices,and procurators, and judges,qui centum viginti septem provinciis ab India usque ad Æthiopiam præsidebant:who presided over the one hundred twenty-seven provinces, from India all the way to Ethiopia:provinciæ atque provinciæ,to one province and another,populo et populo juxta linguas et litteras suas,to one people and another, in accordance with their languages and letters,et Judæis,and to the Jews,prout legere poterant et audire.exactly as they were able to read and hear.

¹⁰Ipsæque epistolæ,And these letters,quæ regis nomine mittebantur,which were sent in the king’s name,annulo ipsius obsignatæ sunt,had been signed with his ring,et missæ per veredarios:and were sent by swift couriers who were to rush in every direction,qui per omnes provincias discurrentes,through all the provinces,veteres litteras novis nuntiis prævenirent.so as to prevent the former letters with new messages.

¹⁰Ipsæque epistolæ,And these letters,quæ regis nomine mittebantur,which were sent in the king’s name,annulo ipsius obsignatæ sunt,had been signed with his ring,et missæ per veredarios:and were sent by swift couriers who were to rush in every direction,qui per omnes provincias discurrentes,through all the provinces,veteres litteras novis nuntiis prævenirent.so as to prevent the former letters with new messages.

¹¹Quibus imperavit rex,The king commanded them to bring together the Jews throughout each city,ut convenirent Judæos per singulas civitates,and to instruct them to join together,et in unum præciperent congregari ut starent pro animabus suis,so as to make a stand for their lives,et omnes inimicos suos cum conjugibus ac liberis et universis domibus,and to execute and destroy all their enemies,interficerent atque delerent,with their wives and children and their entire houses,et spolia eorum diriperent.and to plunder their spoil.

¹¹Quibus imperavit rex,The king commanded them to bring together the Jews throughout each city,ut convenirent Judæos per singulas civitates,and to instruct them to join together,et in unum præciperent congregari ut starent pro animabus suis,so as to make a stand for their lives,et omnes inimicos suos cum conjugibus ac liberis et universis domibus,and to execute and destroy all their enemies,interficerent atque delerent,with their wives and children and their entire houses,et spolia eorum diriperent.and to plunder their spoil.

¹²Et constituta est per omnes provincias una ultionis dies,And one day of retribution was established throughout all the provinces,id est tertiadecima mensis duodecimi Adar.namely, the thirteenth of the twelfth month Adar.

¹²Et constituta est per omnes provincias una ultionis dies,And one day of retribution was established throughout all the provinces,id est tertiadecima mensis duodecimi Adar.namely, the thirteenth of the twelfth month Adar.

¹³Summaque epistolæ hæc fuit,And such was the content of the letter,ut in omnibus terrisso that it would be made known in all lands and nations,ac populis qui regis Assueri subjacebant imperio,which are subject to the authority of king Artaxerxes,notum fieret paratos esse Judæos ad capiendam vindictam de hostibus suis.that the Jews have been made ready to be vindicated of their enemies.

¹³Summaque epistolæ hæc fuit,And such was the content of the letter,ut in omnibus terrisso that it would be made known in all lands and nations,ac populis qui regis Assueri subjacebant imperio,which are subject to the authority of king Artaxerxes,notum fieret paratos esse Judæos ad capiendam vindictam de hostibus suis.that the Jews have been made ready to be vindicated of their enemies.

¹⁴Egressique sunt veredarii celeres nuntia perferentes,And so the swift couriers departed in haste, carrying through the announcement,et edictum regis pependit in Susan.and the king’s edict was hung up in Susa.

¹⁴Egressique sunt veredarii celeres nuntia perferentes,And so the swift couriers departed in haste, carrying through the announcement,et edictum regis pependit in Susan.and the king’s edict was hung up in Susa.

¹⁵Mardochæus autem de palatio et de conspectu regis egrediens,But Mordecai,fulgebat vestibus regiis,going forth from the palace and from the king’s presence,hyacinthinis videlicet et æriis,shone in royal apparel the color of hyacinth and of the sky,coronam auream portans in capite,wearing a golden crown on his head,et amictus serico pallio atque purpureo.and clothed with a cloak of silk and purple.Omnisque civitas exultavit atque lætata est.And all the city rejoiced and was joyful.

¹⁵Mardochæus autem de palatio et de conspectu regis egrediens,But Mordecai,fulgebat vestibus regiis,going forth from the palace and from the king’s presence,hyacinthinis videlicet et æriis,shone in royal apparel the color of hyacinth and of the sky,coronam auream portans in capite,wearing a golden crown on his head,et amictus serico pallio atque purpureo.and clothed with a cloak of silk and purple.Omnisque civitas exultavit atque lætata est.And all the city rejoiced and was joyful.

¹⁶Judæis autem nova lux oriri visa est,But for the Jews, a new light seemed to rise;gaudium, honor,there was joy,et tripudium.honor, and dancing.

¹⁶Judæis autem nova lux oriri visa est,But for the Jews, a new light seemed to rise;gaudium, honor,there was joy,et tripudium.honor, and dancing.

¹⁷Apud omnes populos,With all the peoples,urbes,cities,atque provincias,and provinces,quocumque regis jussa veniebant,wherever the king’s orders arrived,mira exultatio,there was wonderful rejoicing,epulæ atque convivia,banquets and feasts,et festus dies:and a solemn holy day,in tantum ut plures alterius gentis et sectæ eorum religioni et cæremoniis jungerentur.so much so that many of the other nations joined themselves to their religious practices and ceremonies.Grandis enim cunctos judaici nominis terror invaserat.For a great fear of the name of the Jews had overcome them all.

¹⁷Apud omnes populos,With all the peoples,urbes,cities,atque provincias,and provinces,quocumque regis jussa veniebant,wherever the king’s orders arrived,mira exultatio,there was wonderful rejoicing,epulæ atque convivia,banquets and feasts,et festus dies:and a solemn holy day,in tantum ut plures alterius gentis et sectæ eorum religioni et cæremoniis jungerentur.so much so that many of the other nations joined themselves to their religious practices and ceremonies.Grandis enim cunctos judaici nominis terror invaserat.For a great fear of the name of the Jews had overcome them all.