Esther 3

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW JERUSALEM
1 In the days of Artaxerxes, who reigned from India to Ethiopia over one hundred twenty-seven provinces,	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 when he sat on the throne of his kingdom, the city of Susa was the root of his kingdom.	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 And so, in the third year of his reign, he made a great feast for all the leaders and his servants, for the most powerful among the Persians and the distinguished among the Medes, and for the rulers of the provinces before him,	3 'Why do you flout the royal command?' the officials of the Chancel ery asked Mordecai.
4 so that he might show the glorious riches of his kingdom, as well as its greatness, and so boast of his power, for a long time, namely, one hundred and eighty days.	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 And when the days of the feast were nearly completed, he invited all the people, who had been found in Susa, from the greatest even to the least, and he commanded a feast to be prepared, for seven days, in the court of the garden and the arboretum, which had been planted by the care and by the hand of the king.	5 Haman could see for himself that Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself in his presence; he becamefuriously angry.
6 And, in every direction, tents the color of the sky and of flax as well as hyacinth were hung up, suspended by cords of linen and even purple, which had been placed through rings of ivory and were held up with marble columns. The couches also, of gold and silver, had been arranged over a pavement of emerald-green, bearing scattered jewels, which was decorated with a wonderful variety of images.	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 Moreover, those who had been invited drank from golden cups, and dishes of foods were brought in one after another. Likewise, choice wine was presented in abundance, as was worthy of royal magnificence.	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 Nor was anyone compelled to drink who was unwilling, but, just as the king had appointed, one of his nobles was set over each table, so that each one might select what he wanted.	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 Likewise, Vashti the queen made a feast for the women, in the palace where king Artaxerxes was accustomed to stay the night.	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 And so, on the seventh day, when the king was more cheerful, and, after excessive drinking, had become warmed with wine, he ordered Mehuman, and Biztha, and Harbona, and Bigtha, and Abagtha, and Zethar, and Charkas, seven eunuchs who served in his presence,	10 The king then took his signet ring off his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, thepersecutor of the Jews.
11 to bring in queen Vashti before the king, with the crown set upon her head, to show her beauty to the whole people and to the leaders, for she was very beautiful.	11 'Keep the money,' he said, 'and you can have the people too; do what you like with them.'
12 She refused, and she showed contempt towards the king’s command, which he had delivered to her by the eunuchs. Whereupon the king, being angry and inflamed with a very great fury,	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 questioned the wise men, who, according to royal custom were always near him and all he did was by their counsel, who knew the laws as well as the judgments of their ancestors,	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 (but first and foremost were Carshena, and Shethar, and Admatha, and Tarshish, and Meres, and Marsena, and Memucan, seven rulers of the Persians as well as the Medes, who saw the face of the king and who were accustomed to sitting down first after him,)	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 and he sent letters to all the provinces of his kingdom, so that every nation was able to hear and to read, in various languages and letters, that husbands are to be the greater rulers in their own houses, and that this should be published to every people.	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.