Esther 4

NEW JERUSALEM	JERUSALEM
1 When Mordecai learned what had happened, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes.Then he walked into the centre of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly,	1 Sitôt instruit de ce qui venait d'arriver, Mardochée déchira ses vêtements et prit le sac et la cendre.Puis il parcourut toute la ville en l'emplissant de ses cris de douleur,
2 until he arrived in front of the Chancel ery, which no one clothed in sackcloth was al owed to enter.	2 et il alla jusqu'en face de la Porte Royale que nul ne pouvait franchir revêtu d'un sac.
3 And in every province, no sooner had the royal command and edict arrived, than among the Jews therewas great mourning, fasting, weeping and wailing, and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.	3 Dans les provinces, partout où parvinrent l'ordre et le décret royal, ce ne fut plus, parmi les Juifs, quedeuil, jeûne, larmes et lamentations. Le sac et la cendre devinrent la couche de beaucoup.
4 When Queen Esther's maids and officers came and told her, she was overcome with grief. She sentclothes for Mordecai to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he refused them.	4 Les servantes et eunuques d'Esther vinrent l'avertir. La reine fut saisie d'angoisse. Elle fit envoyer desvêtements à Mardochée pour qu'il les mît et abandonnât son sac. Mais il les refusa.
5 Esther then summoned Hathach, an officer whom the king had appointed to wait on her, and orderedhim to go to Mordecai and enquire what the matter was and why he was acting in this way.	5 Mandant alors Hataq, l'un des eunuques mis par le roi à son service, Esther le dépêcha à Mardochéeavec mission de s'enquérir de ce qui se passait et de lui demander les motifs de sa conduite.
6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the city square in front of the Chancel ery,	6 Hataq sortit et s'en vint vers Mardochée, sur la place, devant la Porte Royale.
7 and Mordecai told him what had happened to him personally, and also about the sum of money whichHaman had offered to pay into the royal treasury to procure the destruction of the Jews.	7 Mardochée le mit au courant des événements et, notamment, de la somme qu'Aman avait offert deverser au Trésor du roi pour l'extermination des Juifs.
8 He also gave him a copy of the edict of extermination published in Susa for him to show Esther for herinformation, with the message that she was to go to the king and implore his favour and plead with him for therace to which she belonged. (a) 'Remember your humbler circumstances,' he said, 'when you were fed by myhand. Since Haman, the second person in the realm, has petitioned the king for our deaths, (b) invoke the Lord,speak to the king for us and save us from death!'	8 Il lui remit aussi une copie de l'édit d'extermination publié à Suse: il devait la montrer à Esther pourqu'elle soit renseignée. Et il enjoignait à la reine d'aller chez le roi implorer sa clémence et plaider la cause dupeuple auquel elle appartenait.
9 Hathach came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said;	9 Hataq revint et rapporta ce message à Esther.
10 and she replied with the following message for Mordecai,	10 Celle-ci répondit, avec ordre de répéter ses paroles à Mardochée:
11 'Royal officials and people living in the provinces alike al know that for anyone, man or woman, whoapproaches the king in the private apartments without having been summoned there, there is only one law: hemust die, unless the king, by pointing his golden sceptre towards him, grants him his life. And I have not beensummoned to the king for the last thirty days.'	11 "Serviteurs du roi et habitants des provinces, tous savent que pour quiconque, homme ou femme,pénètre sans convocation chez le roi jusque dans le vestibule intérieur, il n'y a qu'une loi: il doit mourir, à moinsqu'en lui tendant son sceptre d'or le roi ne lui fasse grâce de la vie. Et il y a 30 jours que je n'ai pas été invitée àapprocher le roi!"
12 These words of Esther were reported to Mordecai,	12 Ces paroles d'Esther furent transmises à Mardochée,
13 who sent back the fol owing reply, 'Do not suppose that, because you are in the king's palace, you aregoing to be the one Jew to escape.	13 qui répondit à son tour: "Ne va pas t'imaginer que, parce que tu es dans le palais, seule d'entre lesJuifs tu pourras être sauvée.
14 No; if you persist in remaining silent at such a time, relief and deliverance wil come to the Jews fromanother quarter, but both you and your father's whole family wil perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come tothe throne for just such a time as this.'	14 Ce sera tout le contraire. Si tu t'obstines à te taire quand les choses en sont là, salut et délivranceviendront aux Juifs d'un autre lieu, et toi et la maison de ton père vous périrez. Qui sait? Peut-être est-ce enprévision d'une circonstance comme celle-ci que tu as accédé à la royauté?"
15 Whereupon Esther sent this reply to Mordecai,	15 Esther lui fit dire:
16 'Go and assemble all the Jews now in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink day or night for threedays. For my part, I and my waiting-women shall keep the same fast, after which I shal go to the king in spite ofthe law; and if I perish, I perish.'	16 "Va rassembler tous les Juifs de Suse. Jeûnez à mon intention. Ne mangez ni ne buvez de trois jourset de trois nuits. De mon côté, avec mes servantes, j'observerai le même jeûne. Ainsi préparée, j'entrerai chez leroi malgré la loi et, s'il faut périr, je périrai."
17 Mordecai went away and carried out Esther's instructions. (a) Then cal ing to mind al the wonderfulworks of the Lord, he offered this prayer: (b) Lord, Lord, Almighty King, everything is subject to your power, andthere is no one who can withstand you in your determination to save Israel. (c) You have made heaven andearth, and al the marvels that are under heaven. You are the Master of the universe and no one can resist you,Lord. (d) You know al things, you, Lord, know that neither pride, self-esteem nor vainglory prompted me to dowhat I have done: to refuse to prostrate myself before proud Haman. Gladly would I have kissed the soles of hisfeet, had this assured the safety of Israel. (e) But what I have done, I have done, rather than place the glory of aman above the glory of God; and I shall not prostrate myself to anyone except, Lord, to you, and, in so doing, Ishall not be acting in pride. (f) And now, Lord God, King, God of Abraham spare your people! For our ruin isbeing plotted, there are plans to destroy your ancient heritage. (g) Do not overlook your inheritance, which youredeemed from Egypt to be yours. (h) Hear my supplication, have mercy on your heritage, and turn our grief intorejoicing, so that we may live, Lord, to hymn your name. Do not suffer the mouths of those who praise you toperish. (i) And al Israel cried out with al their might, since death was staring them in the face. (k) Queen Estheralso took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She took off her sumptuous robes andput on sorrowful mourning. Instead of expensive perfumes, she covered her head with ashes and dung. Shemortified her body severely, and the former scenes of her happiness and elegance were now littered with tressestorn from her hair. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words: (l) My Lord, our King, the Only One,come to my help, for I am alone and have no helper but you and am about to take my life in my hands. (m) Ihave been taught from infancy in the bosom of my family that you, Lord, have chosen Israel out of al the nationsand our ancestors out of al before them, to be your heritage for ever; and that you have treated them as youpromised. (n) But we have sinned against you and you have handed us over to our enemies for paying honour totheir gods. Lord, you are upright. (o) But they are not satisfied with the bitterness of our slavery: they havepledged themselves to their idols to abolish the decree that your own lips have uttered, to blot out your heritage,to stop the mouths of those who praise you, to quench your altar and the glory of your House, (p) and instead toopen the mouths of the heathen, to sing the praise of worthless idols and for ever to idolise a king of flesh. (q) Donot yield your sceptre, Lord, to what does not exist. Never let our ruin be matter for laughter. Turn these plots against their authors, and make an example of the man who leads the attack on us. (r) Remember, Lord; revealyourself in the time of our distress. As for me, give me courage, King of gods and Master of al powers! (s) Putpersuasive words into my mouth when I face the lion; change his feeling into hatred for our enemy, so that hemay meet his end, and al those like him! (t) As for ourselves, save us by your hand, and come to my help, for Iam alone and have no one but you, Lord. (u) You have knowledge of al things, and you know that I hatehonours from the godless, that I loathe the bed of the uncircumcised, of any foreigner whatever. (w) You know Iam under constraint, that I loathe the symbol of my high position bound round my brow when I appear at court; Iloathe it as if it were a filthy rag and do not wear it on my days of leisure. (x) Your servant has not eaten atHaman's table, nor taken pleasure in the royal banquets, nor drunk the wine of libations. (y) Nor has yourservant found pleasure from the day of her promotion until now except in you, Lord, God of Abraham. (z) O God,whose strength prevails over al , listen to the voice of the desperate, save us from the hand of the wicked, andfree me from my fear!	17 Mardochée se retira et exécuta les instructions d'Esther.