Esther 8

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Die illo dedit rex Assuerus Esther reginæ domum Aman adversarii Judæorum, et Mardochæus ingressus est ante faciem regis. Confessa est enim ei Esther quod esset patruus suus.	1 That day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai was admitted to the king's presence, for Esther had revealed his relationship to her.
2 Tulitque rex annulum, quem ab Aman recipi jusserat, et tradidit Mardochæo. Esther autem constituit Mardochæum super domum suam.	2 The king removed his signet ring from Haman, and transferred it into the keeping of Mordecai; and Esther put Mordecai in charge of the house of Haman.
3 Nec his contenta, procidit ad pedes regis, flevitque, et locuta ad eum oravit ut malitiam Aman Agagitæ, et machinationes ejus pessimas quas excogitaverat contra Judæos, juberet irritas fieri.	3 In another audience with the king, Esther fell at his feet and tearfully implored him to revoke the harm done by Haman the Agagite, and the plan he had devised against the Jews.
4 At ille ex more sceptrum aureum protendit manu, quo signum clementiæ monstrabatur : illaque consurgens stetit ante eum,	4 The king stretched forth the golden scepter to Esther. So she rose and, standing in his presence,
5 et ait : Si placet regi, et si inveni gratiam in oculis ejus, et deprecatio mea non ei videtur esse contraria, obsecro ut novis epistolis, veteres Aman litteræ, insidiatoris et hostis Judæorum, quibus eos in cunctis regis provinciis perire præceperat, corrigantur.	5 said: "If it pleases your majesty and seems proper to you, and if I have found favor with you and you love me, let a document be issued to revoke the letters which that schemer Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, wrote for the destruction of the Jews in all the royal provinces.
6 Quomodo enim potero sustinere necem et interfectionem populi mei ?	6 For how can I witness the evil that is to befall my people, and how can I behold the destruction of my race?"
7 Responditque rex Assuerus Esther reginæ, et Mardochæo Judæo : Domum Aman concessi Esther, et ipsum jussi affigi cruci, quia ausus est manum mittere in Judæos.	7 King Ahasuerus then said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai: "Now that I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gibbet because he attacked the Jews,
8 Scribite ergo Judæis, sicut vobis placet, regis nomine, signantes litteras annulo meo. Hæc enim consuetudo erat, ut epistolis, quæ ex regis nomine mittebantur et illius annulo signatæ erant, nemo auderet contradicere.	8 you in turn may write in the king's name what you see fit concerning the Jews and seal the letter with the royal signet ring." For whatever is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.
9 Accitisque scribis et librariis regis (erat autem tempus tertii mensis, qui appellatur Siban) vigesima et tertia die illius scriptæ sunt epistolæ, ut Mardochæus voluerat, ad Judæos, et ad principes, procuratoresque et judices, qui centum viginti septem provinciis ab India usque ad Æthiopiam præsidebant : provinciæ atque provinciæ, populo et populo juxta linguas et litteras suas, et Judæis, prout legere poterant et audire.	9 At that time, on the twenty-third day of the third month, Sivan, the royal scribes were summoned. Exactly as Mordecai dictated, they wrote to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and officials of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia: to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
10 Ipsæque epistolæ, quæ regis nomine mittebantur, annulo ipsius obsignatæ sunt, et missæ per veredarios : qui per omnes provincias discurrentes, veteres litteras novis nuntiis prævenirent.	10 These letters, which he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the royal signet ring, he sent by mounted couriers riding thoroughbred royal steeds.
11 Quibus imperavit rex, ut convenirent Judæos per singulas civitates, et in unum præciperent congregari ut starent pro animabus suis, et omnes inimicos suos cum conjugibus ac liberis et universis domibus, interficerent atque delerent, et spolia eorum diriperent.	11 In these letters the king authorized the Jews in each and every city to group together and defend their lives, and to kill, destroy, wipe out, along with their wives and children, every armed group of any nation or province which should attack them, and to seize their goods as spoil
12 Et constituta est per omnes provincias una ultionis dies, id est tertiadecima mensis duodecimi Adar.	12 throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on a single day, the thirteenth of the twelfth month, Adar.
13 Summaque epistolæ hæc fuit, ut in omnibus terris ac populis qui regis Assueri subjacebant imperio, notum fieret paratos esse Judæos ad capiendam vindictam de hostibus suis.	13 A copy of the letter to be promulgated as law in each and every province was published among all the peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
14 Egressique sunt veredarii celeres nuntia perferentes, et edictum regis pependit in Susan.	14 Couriers mounted on royal steeds sped forth in haste at the king's order, and the decree was promulgated in the stronghold of Susa.
15 Mardochæus autem de palatio et de conspectu regis egrediens, fulgebat vestibus regiis, hyacinthinis videlicet et æriis, coronam auream portans in capite, et amictus serico pallio atque purpureo. Omnisque civitas exultavit atque lætata est.	15 Mordecai left the king's presence clothed in a royal robe of violet and of white cotton, with a large crown of gold and a cloak of crimson byssus. The city of Susa shouted with joy,
16 Judæis autem nova lux oriri visa est, gaudium, honor, et tripudium.	16 and there was splendor and merriment for the Jews, exultation and triumph.
17 Apud omnes populos, urbes, atque provincias, quocumque regis jussa veniebant, mira exultatio, epulæ atque convivia, et festus dies : in tantum ut plures alterius gentis et sectæ eorum religioni et cæremoniis jungerentur. Grandis enim cunctos judaici nominis terror invaserat.	17 In each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king's order arrived, there was merriment and exultation, banqueting and feasting for the Jews. And many of the peoples of the land embraced Judaism, for they were seized with a fear of the Jews.