Ester 3

Menge Bibel	NEW JERUSALEM
1 In der Erinnerung an alles, was der Herr getan hatte, betete Mardochai folgendermaßen:	1 Shortly afterwards, King Ahasuerus singled out Haman son of Hammedatha, a native of Agag, forpromotion. He raised him in rank, granting him precedence over all his col eagues, the other officers-of-state,
2 »Herr, Herr, allmächtiger König! In deiner Gewalt steht ja das All, und niemand vermag sich gegen dich aufzulehnen, wenn du Israel retten willst;	2 and al the royal officials employed at the Chancel ery used to bow low and prostrate themselveswhenever Haman appeared -- such was the king's command. Mordecai refused either to bow or to prostratehimself.
3 denn du hast Himmel und Erde geschaffen und alles, was es unter dem Himmel Wunderbares gibt.	3 'Why do you flout the royal command?' the officials of the Chancel ery asked Mordecai.
4 Du bist Herr über alles, und niemand kann dir, dem Herrn, widerstehen.	4 Day after day they asked him this, but he took no notice of them. In the end they reported the matter toHaman, to see whether Mordecai would persist in his attitude, since he had told them that he was a Jew.
5 Du weißt alles; du weißt, o Herr, daß ich nicht aus Übermut, nicht aus Überhebung oder Ruhmsucht so gehandelt habe, mich vor dem hochmütigen Haman nicht niederzuwerfen;	5 Haman could see for himself that Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself in his presence; he becamefuriously angry.
6 denn gern wollte ich seine Fußsohlen küssen, um Israel dadurch zu retten.	6 And, on being told what race Mordecai belonged to, he thought it beneath him merely to get rid ofMordecai, but made up his mind to wipe out all the members of Mordecai's race, the Jews, living in Ahasuerus'entire empire.
7 Nein, ich habe so gehandelt, um nicht die Ehre eines Menschen über die Ehre Gottes zu setzen. Ich will mich vor niemand niederwerfen als vor dir, meinem Herrn; und nicht aus Stolz will ich so handeln.	7 In the first month, that is the month of Nisan, of the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, the pur (that is, thelot) was cast in Haman's presence, to determine the day and the month. The lot falling on the twelfth month,which is Adar,
8 Und nun, Herr, mein Gott und König, du Gott Abrahams, schone deines Volkes! denn sie haben unsere Vernichtung im Auge und trachten danach, das dir von Anfang an zugehörige Eigentumsvolk zu vertilgen.	8 Haman said to King Ahasuerus, 'There is a certain unassimilated nation scattered among the othernations throughout the provinces of your realm; their laws are different from those of al the other nations, andthe royal laws they ignore; hence it is not in the king's interests to tolerate them.
9 Laß dein Eigentum nicht unbeachtet, das du dir aus Ägyptenland erkauft hast!	9 If their destruction be signed, so please the king, I am ready to pay ten thousand talents of silver to theking's receivers, to be credited to the royal treasury.'
10 Erhöre mein Gebet und sei den dir Angehörigen gnädig! Verwandle unsere Trauer in Freude, damit wir am Leben bleiben und deinen Namen preisen, o Herr, und laß den Mund derer, die dich loben, nicht verstummen!«	10 The king then took his signet ring off his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, thepersecutor of the Jews.
11 Und alle Israeliten erhoben ein Geschrei, so laut sie konnten; denn der Tod stand ihnen vor Augen.	11 'Keep the money,' he said, 'and you can have the people too; do what you like with them.'
12 Da wurden die königlichen Staatsschreiber am dreizehnten Tage des ersten Monats berufen, und es wurde genau nach der Weisung Hamans an die königlichen Landpfleger und die Statthalter der einzelnen Provinzen und an die Fürsten eines jeden Volkes mit der Schrift jeder einzelnen Provinz und in der besonderen Sprache jedes Volkes eine schriftliche Verfügung im Namen des Königs Ahasveros erlassen und mit dem Siegelringe des Königs untersiegelt.	12 The royal scribes were therefore summoned for the thirteenth day of the first month, when they wroteout the orders addressed by Haman to the king's satraps, to the governors ruling each province and to theprincipal officials of each people, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. Theedict was signed in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with his ring,
13 Die Schreiben wurden dann durch die Eilboten in alle Provinzen des Königs versandt, daß alle Juden, jung und alt, Kinder und Weiber, an einem Tage, nämlich am dreizehnten des zwölften Monats – das ist der Monat Adar –, ausgerottet, ermordet und umgebracht werden sollten; ihr Vermögen solle der Plünderung anheimfallen.	13 and letters were sent by runners to every province of the realm, ordering the destruction, slaughter andannihilation of al Jews, young and old, including women and children, on the same day -- the thirteenth day ofthe twelfth month, which is Adar -- and the seizing of their possessions. (a) The text of the letter was as fol ows:'The Great King, Ahasuerus, to the governors of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces stretching from Indiato Ethiopia, and to their subordinate district commissioners: (b) 'Being placed in authority over many nations andruling the whole world, I have resolved never to be carried away by the insolence of power, but always to rulewith moderation and clemency, so as to assure for my subjects a life ever free from storms and, offering mykingdom the benefits of civilisation and free transit from end to end, to restore that peace which al men desire.(c) In consultation with our advisers as to how this aim is to be effected, we have been informed by one of them,eminent among us for prudence and wel proved for his unfailing devotion and unshakeable trustworthiness, andin rank second only to our majesty, Haman by name, (d) that there is, mingled among all the tribes of the earth, acertain ill-disposed people, opposed by its laws to every other nation and continually defying the royalordinances, in such a way as to obstruct that form of government assured by us to the general good. (e)'Considering therefore that this people, unique of its kind, is in complete opposition to al humanity from which itdiffers by its outlandish laws, that it is hostile to our interests and that it commits the most heinous crimes, to thepoint of endangering the stability of the realm: (f) 'We command that those persons designated to you in theletters written by Haman, who was appointed to watch over our interests and is a second father to us, be alldestroyed, root and branch, including women and children, by the swords of their enemies, without any pity ormercy, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, of the present year, (g) so that, these past and presentmalcontents being in one day forcibly thrown down to Hades, our government may henceforward enjoy perpetualstability and peace.'
14 Damit aber die Verfügung in jeder einzelnen Provinz erlassen würde, ward eine Abschrift des Schreibens allen Völkern bekanntgemacht, damit sie sich auf den genannten Tag bereithielten.	14 Copies of this decree, to be promulgated as law in each province, were published to the variouspeoples, so that each might be ready for the day aforementioned.
15 Die Eilboten machten sich nach dem Befehl des Königs eilends auf den Weg, während der Erlaß in der Residenz Susa veröffentlicht wurde. Der König und Haman aber setzten sich hin, um zu zechen, während in der Stadt Susa Bestürzung herrschte.	15 At the king's command, the runners set out with all speed; the decree was first promulgated in thecitadel of Susa. While the king and Haman gave themselves up to feasting and drinking, consternation reigned inthe city of Susa.