圣经-旧约（天主教思高圣经）
不认识圣经，就是不认识基督，不认识基督，就是不认识基督所建立的天主教会。
旧约·艾斯德尔传
共10章:
补录甲摩尔德开的梦(17)
补甲:1 本雅明族人克士的曾孙，史米的孙子雅依尔的儿子摩尔德开在薛西斯大王第二年，「尼散」月初一做了一梦。——
补甲:2 他是犹太人，住在稣撒，在朝廷里做大官。
补甲:3 在巴比伦王拿步高从耶路撒冷掳去犹大王那苛尼雅时，他也同被掳去。——
补甲:4 他的梦如下：他听见喧哗呐喊，雷鸣地震，地上一片混乱之声。
补甲:5 忽见两条巨龙前来，准备撕杀，发出狂吼怒号。
补甲:6 万民都应声备战，攻击正义的民族。
补甲:7 那是黑暗和恐怖的日子，世上满布忧患、痛苦、悲哀和暴乱，
补甲:8 所有正义的民族都感到恐惶，害怕灾难；于是准备牺牲，向天主哀号。
补甲:9 当他们哀号之际，由一小泉忽涌出了一条大河，水势汹涌；
补甲:10 同时曙光和太阳出升，贫贱的人受褒扬，显贵的人被吞灭。
补甲:11 摩尔德开梦见此事，就惊醒了；心想天主有何意思，一天到晚思索梦中的意义。
揭破太监的阴谋
补甲:12 此时，摩尔德开与君王的两个看门太监，彼革堂和特勒士住在宫中。
补甲:13 他发觉了他们二人的阴谋，就留心观察他们的行动；察知他们要对薛西斯王下毒手，就将此事报告给君王。
补甲:14 于是君王拷问这两个太监，他们招供后，就处以死刑。
补甲:15 王亲自笔录了这事的原委，存入档案摩尔德开也记录了这件事。
补甲:16 王遂委派摩尔德开在朝廷内供职，并因这功勋，赐给他奖品。
补甲:17 但是在君王前负有名望的阿加格人哈默大达的儿子哈曼，为了这两个太监的事，却有意加害摩尔德开和他的民族。
第一章(22)
宫内盛筵
1:1 在薛西斯为王时，发生了这样的事：—-这薛西斯当时管辖的版图，自印度至雇士，共计一百二十七省——
1:2 他在稣撒禁城登极后，
1:3 第三年，设宴款待所有的公卿朝臣，波斯与玛待德将官，各省的贤达与总督，
1:4 一连一百八十天，天天夸耀他帝国的豪华富裕，和他赫赫堂皇的荣耀。
1:5 这些日子过了以后，王又在宫内的御苑里，一连七天欢宴稣撒禁城的全体人民，不分尊卑都来参加。
1:6 庭院各处装饰着白色和紫红色的壁毡，系着纯白色和朱红色的彩带，悬在白大理石柱的银环上；在碧玉、白玉、珍珠和宝石铺砌的地面上，陈设了金银的床榻。
1:7 进饮的器皿，都是金银制的，大小俱全；御酿丰美，以示王家的富厚。
1:8 饮酒随意，无须强劝，因为王已命宫内侍役，应随各人所好，善加招待。
1:9 同时瓦市提皇后，在薛西斯王的后宫，也摆设盛宴，款待妇女。
薛西斯王废瓦市提后
1:10 至第七日，君王一时酒酣耳热，就命默胡曼、彼次达、哈波纳、彼革达、阿巴革达、则塔尔和加尔加斯，—-七个侍从薛西斯王的宦官——
1:11 去召瓦市提王后，叫她头戴后冠，到君王跟前来，让众百姓与朝臣瞻仰她的美丽，因为她的容貌，娇媚可爱。
1:12 但是瓦市提王后拒绝前来，不肯遵行宦官传来的王命。于是君王勃然大怒，五内如焚，
1:13 遂与通达时务的朝臣商议说：—-因为当时君王要办一事，必与精通法律民情的朝臣商议；
1:14 那时在王身旁有加尔舍纳、舍塔尔、阿德玛达、塔尔史士、默勒斯、玛色、纳默慕干，七位波斯和玛待的公卿；他们常在君王左右，分居国家的高位——
1:15 「按法律应如何处置瓦市提王后呢？因为她没有履行宦官传下的王命。」
1:16 默慕干在君王及公卿前建议说：「瓦市提王后不但得罪了君王，并且还得罪了薛西斯王各省的诸候与人民，
1:17 因为王后的这种行为，一传到所有的妇女耳中，她们必将效尤，轻视自己的丈夫，而且说薛西斯王命人召瓦市提王后到他跟前，她却没有来；
1:18 今日凡听到王后这种举动的波斯与玛待的公主贵妇，也必说同样的话，对一切王家公卿，也照样大为轻视忿怒。
1:19 陛下如果赞成，可下一道上渝，附于波斯与玛待的法典内，成为法律，禁止瓦市提后今后朝见薛西斯王；至于她的后位，王可赐与另一位比她贤淑的国妃。
1:20 当君王下的这道命令，传遍整个版图广阔的国土时，全国的妇女不拘尊卑对自己的丈夫必表示尊敬。
1:21 对这建议君王和公卿都表示赞同；王就依照默慕干的建议施行，
1:22 向全国各省，传递文告，依各省的文字和各民族的语言，敕令天下所有的丈夫应为一家之主，可随意发号施令。
第二章(23)
选立新后
2:1 这些事以后，薛西斯王的盛怒遂平息了，不再回念瓦市提和她所作的事，也不再追究对她所决定的事。
2:2 于是侍奉君王的仆役说：应为大王另选美貌的年轻处女；
2:3 大王可指派委员到全国各省，把所有美貌的年轻处女，都召集到稣撒禁城的后宫来，由管理嫔妃的王家太监赫革负责照应，供给她们美容润身的香料。
2:4 那中悦君王的处女，就得代瓦市提为后。」这建议正合了王的心，王就照样进行。
艾斯德尔应召入宫
2:5 在稣撒禁城内，有一个犹太人名叫摩尔德开,是雅依尔的儿子,史米的孙子,本雅明族人克士的曾孙，
2:6 克士是巴比伦王拿步高由耶路撒冷将犹大王耶苛尼雅掳去时，被掳的俘虏之一。
2:7 摩尔德开抚养了他的堂妹哈达撒又名叫艾斯德尔，她自幼就丧失父母。这女孩身材标致，容貌美丽，自她父母去世后，摩尔德开就收她作自己的女儿。
2:8 不久皇帝的谕旨和诏令，传遍了全国，许多少女都被召到稣撒禁城，受赫革的监护，艾斯德尔也被带到王宫交与管理嫔妃的赫革看管。
2:9 她很讨赫革喜悦，大得他的宠爱，遂立即供给她美容润身的物品和所需食品，并选派了七个美丽的宫女服侍她，又将她和她的侍女迁移到后宫最好的宫院里。
2:10 但艾斯德尔却没有说出她自己的民族和身世，因为摩尔德开早已吩咐她不要提及此事。
2:11 此后摩尔德开天天在后宫的庭院前徘徊，好打听艾斯德尔的消息，想知道她的情形如何。
蒙宠获选
2:12 在每个处女轮流去见薛西斯王以前，都该先按嫔妃的规则，度过十二个月的「润身期」：六个月应用没药汁，六个月应用香液，以及女人润身的修饰品。
2:13 有了这样的准备，少女才可去见君王；凡她所要求的都应让她由后宫带进王宫去。
2:14 她晚上进去，次日早晨回到另一座后宫，受君王管理滨妃的太监沙市加次的监护；除非君王宠爱她，提名召她，她不得再亲近君王。
2:15 一轮到摩尔德开的叔父阿彼海耳的女儿—-即摩尔德开的养女—-艾斯德尔去见君王的时候，除了管理嫔妃的王家太监赫革给她预备的东西以外，她什么也不要；凡看见艾斯德尔的人，没有不喜爱她的。
2:16 艾斯德尔在薛西斯为王第七年十月，「太贝特」月，被召进王宫。
2:17 王爱艾斯德尔超过所有的嫔妃。在所有的处女中，她最得君王的欢心和喜爱。王便将后冠戴在她头上，立她为王后以代瓦市提。
2:18 于是，王给众文武官员摆设盛宴，一连七天，号为艾斯德尔宴，又给全国各省颁赐大赦，并按照君王法度敕赠御品。
2:19 当二次召集处女时，摩尔德开仍在御门供职。
2:20 那时艾斯德尔按着摩尔德开事先给她吩咐了的，还没有透露自己的身世和种族：凡摩尔德开吩咐的，艾斯德尔必尽力遵守，如同昔日受他抚养时一样。
控告太监
2:21 摩尔德开在御门供职的时候，王的两个守门太监，彼革堂和特勒士，因一时忿怒，就设计对薛西斯王下毒手。
2:22 但摩尔德开一发觉了那阴谋就告知艾斯德尔王后，艾斯德尔便以摩尔德开的名义转告君王。
2:23 那阴谋经过调查证实以后，就将他们二人悬在木架上，处以极刑。此事的原委，当着君王的面，记录在年鉴内。
第三章(13)
摩尔德开不理哈曼
3:1 此后，薛西斯王擢升阿加格人哈默大达的儿子哈曼，使他进级，位居所有同僚公卿之上。
3:2 君王下命凡在御门供职的臣仆，都应向哈曼俯首下拜，只有摩尔德开不肯向他低头，也不下拜。
3:3 于是御门供职的臣仆问摩尔德开说：为什么你违犯王命？」
3:4 他们天天这样问他，他也不听；他们便告诉了哈曼，说摩尔德开背叛王命，想观察摩尔德开的态度是否坚持到底，因为他曾给他们说自己是犹太人。
3:5 哈曼见摩尔德开不向他低头下拜，就非常忿怒，
3:6 心想只杀害摩尔德开一人，还不足泄恨，因为人向他告诉了摩尔德开的身世；于是哈曼打算把薛西斯王整个帝国内的一切犹太人，和摩尔德开一起杀尽灭绝。
哈曼设计陷害犹太人
3:7 在薛西斯为王第十二年正月，即「尼散」月，有人在哈曼前抽「普尔」，就是抽签。为定一个日子和月分，好在那一天灭绝摩尔德开的种族。结果抽出了十二月即「阿达尔」月十三日。
3:8 于是哈曼对薛西斯王说：「在你全国各省内，有一个民族，散居在各民族之间，他们的法律和各民族的都不同，又不遵守王法；容留他们，于君王实在不利。
3:9 若君王赞同，可谕令把他们灭绝，我愿捐一万「塔冷通」银子，交与管理国库的人，归入王库。
3:10 于是君王由自己的手上，取下指玺，交与那迫害犹太人的阿加格人哈默大达的儿子哈曼。
3:11 接着对哈曼说：「钱仍还给你，至于这个民族你可任意处置。」
3:12 即在正月十三日召集了众御史，根据哈曼的旨意，用各省习用的文字，和各民族的方言，拟定了一道文书，颁发给各省御史大臣，各省省长，各民族族长；文书用薛西斯王的名义措辞，并盖上君王的指玺；
3:13 然后由众驿使传递至帝国各省，限令在一天内，即十二月，「阿达尔」月十三日把全国所有的犹太人，不论老幼妇孺，一律加以歼灭、屠杀、铲除，财产一律没收。
补录乙谕文
补乙:1 谕文如下：薛西斯大王钦命印度至厄提约丕雅之一百一十七省省长及其属员事：
补乙:2 自朕辖治各邦，管理全国以来，未尝妄用职权，而常以宽容仁慈，抚育我人民，志在庶民皆享康乐，举国共庆升平，勤苦经营，以图国泰民安，恢复人类久已渴望之和平。
补乙:3 朕今谘询枢密，何以克遂此愿。而哈曼首相，秉赋忠贞，信智超群，
补乙:4 上奏朕曰：有一败类，散居天下万邦，风俗律法，与天下异，且不从王法，使朕所颁政令，难奏厥功。
补乙:5 今朕始悉其端，惟此民族与众殊异，固守已法，生活异趣，对朕天下，实存野心，致力破坏，是以国家不获安宁。
补乙:6 因此朕令：凡当今首相—-朕之亚父哈曼—-在文书内所示之人物，务于本年十二月即「阿达尔」月十四日，偕其妻孥子女，应一律刀斩，歼灭九族，不得留情顾惜。
补乙:7 务使古今败类，于一日之间，悉葬身九泉，然后国必永安，乱事方息。」
补乙:8 [原文无此章节]
补乙:9 [原文无此章节]
补乙:10 [原文无此章节]
补乙:11 [原文无此章节]
补乙:12 [原文无此章节]
补乙:13 [原文无此章节]
补乙:14 谕文应在各省公布，通知天下人民，准备应付这一天。
补乙:15 驿使因迫于君令，就迅速出发；在稣撒禁城里立即公布了这道上渝。此时君王与哈曼同席共饮；但是稣撒全城即陷于混乱。
第四章(17)
犹太人哀伤哭泣
4:1 摩尔德开一知道所发生的事，就撕裂了自己的衣服，披上苦衣，撒上灰土，走到京城中心，大声哀号，
4:2 一直走到御门前，因为身披苦衣的，不进准入御门。
4:3 此时在各省里，凡是谕文与敕令传到的地方，犹太人都哀号、禁食、哭泣、悲痛；许多人且身穿苦衣，躺在灰土中。
摩尔德开向艾斯德尔陈情
4:4 艾斯德尔的宫女和太监跑来报告给她，王后得悉，万分悲伤，立即送衣服去，叫摩尔德开穿上，脱下苦衣；但是他没有接受。
4:5 艾斯德尔就叫王派来侍候她的太监哈塔客来，吩咐他去见摩尔德开，探听一下发生了何事，为何如此。
4:6 哈塔客遂走到御门前的广场，去见摩尔德开。
4:7 摩尔德开便将所遭遇的事，也将哈曼为消灭犹太人给王库捐献的银钱，都详细告诉了他，
4:8 并且把在稣撒已公布的灭绝犹太人的一分谕文交给他，转呈艾斯德尔披阅，并请她快去恳求君王为自己的民族求情，且叫他向艾斯德尔说「请你回忆你孤苦零了的时候，怎样在我手下长大成人。如今一人之下的哈曼已求准要处死我们。请你呼求上主，并为我们向君王求情，救我们不死！」
4:9 哈塔客回来，将摩尔德开的话回报给艾斯德尔。
4:10 艾斯德尔吩咐哈塔客去回复摩尔德开说：
4:11 「王所有的公卿与各省的百姓都知道，任何人不论男女，未奉召见，而擅入内庭往谒君王的，除非君王向他伸出金杖赐他生存，一律应依法处死。况且我已三十天未蒙召亲近君王了。」
4:12 哈塔客将艾斯德尔的话转告给摩尔德开。
4:13 摩尔德开叫他回复艾斯德尔说：「不要心想，一个犹太人在王宫里就可保全性命！
4:14 决不会。在这生死关头，你若缄默不言，犹太人也必会从别处得到救援和援助。但是，在这光景下，你和你的家族必遭灭亡。谁知你之所以得涉足朝廷，不正是为了挽救现在的危机呢！」
4:15 艾斯德尔令人转告摩尔德开说：
4:16 「去召集一切住在稣撒的犹太人，为我禁食，三天三夜不吃不喝。同时，我与我的宫女，也同样禁食；此后，我就越规去见君王，即便我死，死也情愿！
4:17 于是摩尔德开走了，进行艾斯德尔所吩咐他的一切事。
补录丙
摩尔德开的哀祷
补丙:1 摩尔德开想起了上主所作的一切，就向上主哀求说：
补丙:2 「上主，上主！全能的君王！万事都属你权下，若你愿意拯救以色列，谁也不能反抗。
补丙:3 你造了天地，以及天下的千奇万妙之物；你是万有的主宰。上主，谁能抵抗你？
补丙:4 上主！你洞察万事，知道我不叩拜蛮横的哈曼，并不是出于傲慢、自大，或任何贪求虚荣的心；反而，若为了以色列的安全，需要跪吻他的脚掌，我也在所不辞。
补丙:5 但是，我这样做，是不愿将人的光荣，置诸天主的光荣以上；并且，我的上主，除了你以外，我决不叩拜任何人。我如此做，不是出于傲慢。
补丙:6 上主，天主，天地的君王，亚巴郎的天主！现今求你怜悯你的民族！因为人决意要消灭我们，要摧残自始就属于你的产业。
补丙:7 求你不要轻视你从埃及为你自己赎出的产业！
补丙:8 愿你俯听我的祈求，怜悯你的家业，化哀伤为喜庆，使我们能生存在世界上，歌颂你的圣名。上主！求你不要让那些赞美你的口舌丧亡！」
补丙:9 此时，全以色列都竭力呼救，因为他们已面临死亡。
艾斯德尔的哀祷
补丙:10 艾斯德尔王后，自觉也有死的威胁，于是投奔到上主前；脱去华服，穿上悲伤哀悼的衣裳，头上撒上灰尘和粪土，以代替贵重的香膏，严厉刻苦肉身，头发散垂，毫无装饰，向上主以色列的天主祈祷说：
补丙:11 「我的上主！只有你是我们的君王，求你援助我这孤苦无靠的人！除你以外，我没有别的救援，因为危险已迫于眉睫。
补丙:12 我自幼在我父家，就听说是你，上主，从各民族中拣选了以色列；又从各民族的祖先中拣选了我们的祖先，作你永远的产业：凡你所预许的，无不一一给他们实践。
补丙:13 但是现今我们犯罪得罪了你，你将我们交在敌人的手中，因为我们敬奉了他们的神抵；上主，你如此作，是公义的。
补丙:14 我们倍受奴役惨痛的苦楚，他们尚以为不足，如今还向他们的神抵宣誓：要废除你发出的号令，消灭你的家业，杜绝颂扬你的口舌，熄灭你圣殿的光辉，折毁你的祭坛，
补丙:15 放纵异教人的口舌，去称扬虚伪的偶像，永远崇拜一个有血肉的君王。
补丙:16 上主！不要将你的权杖，交与那些根本是虚无的人物；不要使他们嘲笑我们的没落，反使他们的阴谋伤害自己，作为那谋害我们者的鉴戒。
补丙:17 上主！求你记念我们，在这灾难之时，求你显现！神明的君王，全能的主宰，求增我勇气！
补丙:18 赐我在猛狮前，口能说动听的话；求你转变他的心意，去憎恨我们的仇人，使那人和与他同谋的人，同归于尽。
补丙:19 惟愿你亲手拯救我们！上主！求你援助我这孤苦无告的人，除你以外，我没有别的依靠。
补丙:20 你洞悉一切，知我憎恨所有不法者的光荣，厌恶未受割损者和一切异民的床褥；
补丙:21 你知道我是迫不得已，因为我憎恶上朝时戴在我头上的那尊贵的徽号：憎厌它象沾了不洁的亵布；在我独居时，我决不佩戴。
补丙:22 况且，你的婢女没有吃过哈曼席上的食物，没有尝过君王的盛宴，也没有饮过奠祭的酒。
补丙:23 从我被带到这里的那一天起，直到现在，上主，亚巴郎的天主！除你以外，你的婢女没有别的喜乐。
补丙:24 威能超众的天主，求你俯听失望者的呼声，拯救我们脱离恶人的毒手，并救我脱离恐怖！」
补录丁
艾斯德尔越规朝见
补丁:1 第三天，艾斯德尔祈祷完毕，脱去苦衣麻服，穿上艳丽服装，
补丁:2 刻意装饰打扮，又呼求了鉴临万物，拯救众生的天主，就带了两个婢女：一个扶着她那弱不禁风的身体；另一个尾随于后，扯起她的长裙。
补丁:3 她体态轻盈容貌娇艳，令人喜爱；但她此时却心惊胆战。
补丁:4 经过几道官门来到君王前；此时君王正高坐龙椅，身着蟒袍玉带，金壁辉煌，使人一见生畏。
补丁:5 君王抬起头来，见王后前来，龙颜大变，怒目而视；王后登时吓的昏迷，面无人色，倒在随侍她的婢女身上。
补丁:6 但天主忽然转变了君王的心，使他的态度转为和颜悦色，急忙跑下龙椅，双手把她抱住，及至王后苏醒，王便以温和的言语抚慰她说：
补丁:7 艾斯德尔，你有什么事？我是你哥哥，尽管放心好了！你不至于死，王法只是限于属下。请上前来！
补丁:8 于是拿起金杖，放在她颈上，且吻她说：「向我说罢！」
补丁:9 她答说：「我主，我见了你，好象见了天主的使者；一见你的威仪，我就心神慌乱了。
补丁:10 我主，你实令人惊奇，仪容又和蔼可亲。」
补丁:11 她正在说话时，又晕倒了。君王因此十分担心，众臣仆便都设法使她苏醒过来。
第五章(14)
请求君王与哈曼赴宴
5:1 第二天，艾斯德尔身穿王后的华服，站在王宫的内院，面向宫殿；那时君王正坐在宫殿的宝座上，面向宫门。
5:2 君王一见艾斯德尔王后在庭院内，就对她起了宠幸的心，于是向艾斯德尔伸出手中的金杖，艾斯德尔遂上前来，摸了金杖的顶端。
5:3 君王问她说：「艾斯德尔后，你有什么事？你要求什么？即使要求一半江山我也必赐给你！」
5:4 艾斯德尔答说：「若大王开恩，请大王令日与哈曼同去饮妾为陛下所预备的酒宴。」
5:5 王遂说：「快叫哈曼来，以满足艾斯德尔的心愿！」于是王和哈曼一同去赴艾斯德尔预备的酒宴。
5:6 酒兴之余，王对艾斯德尔说：「你要求什么，我必给你；不管你求什么，那怕是半壁江山，也必照办。」
5:7 艾斯德尔答说：「这即是我的恳请和要求：
5:8 如果我见宠于大王，如果大王乐意俯允我的恳请，实践我的要求，就请大王明天与哈曼，再来饮妾所设的酒宴；明天我必依照君王的命答复陛下。」
哈曼自鸣得意
5:9 那一天，哈曼出去，非常高兴，满心喜乐；但是哈曼一见在御门前的犹太人摩尔德开既不起立，也不退避，就对他满怀愤恨，
5:10 却仍忍气回了家，且打发人叫他的朋友和爱妻则勒士，
5:11 来向他们夸耀自己如何富贵荣华，子女如何众多，君王如何尊崇他，如何高举他在众公卿和朝臣之上。
5:12 他又说：「甚至艾斯德尔王后，除我以外，没有请任何人与君王一同赴她设的盛宴；明天又请我再同君王到她那里去。
5:13 但每当我一见坐在御门前的犹太人摩尔德开时，这一切于我都乏味了！
5:14 他的爱妻则勒士和他的朋友便对他说：该做一个高五十尺的刑架，天一亮就对君王说：把摩尔德开悬在上面！这样你可欣然与君王同赴盛筵了。」哈曼看这主意不错，就叫人做了一个刑架。
第六章(14)
薛西斯王回忆救命恩人
6:1 那一夜，君王因失眠，便令人取大事录，即年鉴来，在他面前诵读。
6:2 书上这样记载：摩尔德开如何告发了君王的两个守门太监彼革堂和特勒士，企图杀害薛西斯王的事。
6:3 王问说：摩尔德开这事得到什么尊荣和地位？」服侍他的仆役答说：「他什么也没有得到。」
王请教哈曼
6:4 正当君王探听摩尔德开的贤德时，恰巧哈曼在庭院里，于是王问说：「是谁在庭院里？」原来哈曼正走到了王宫的外庭，要请求君王把摩尔德开悬在他竖起的刑架上。
6:5 王的仆役答应说：「是哈曼站在庭院里。」王说：「叫他进来！」
6:6 哈曼进来，王对他说：「假如君王要显耀一个人，应该怎样对待他？」哈曼心想：除我以外，君王还能显耀谁呢？
6:7 于是哈曼对君王说：「大王对愿显耀的人，
6:8 应拿出大王穿的龙袍和大王骑的头戴「卸马冠」的骏马；
6:9 将龙袍和骏马交给大王的一个大臣，叫他给大王所要显耀的人穿上，领他骑着御马在城中的广场上游行，在他前面喊道：看，凡皇上愿意显耀的人就要这样对待他。」
摩尔德开受显耀
6:10 王对哈曼说：「赶快拿龙袍和骏马来，就照你所说的，去对待坐在御门旁的那犹太人摩尔德开罢！凡你所说的，一点也不可忽略！」
6:11 哈曼就拿了龙袍和骏马来，先给摩尔德开穿上龙袍，然后扶他骑上骏马，领他在市内的广场游行，还走在他前面喊道：「凡皇上愿意显耀的人，就要这样对待他。」
6:12 事后，摩尔德开回到御门，哈曼却赶快回了家，蒙头饮泣。
6:13 哈曼将所遭遇的，都给他的爱妻则勒士和朋友述说了。他的谋士和爱妻则勒士对他说：在摩尔德开前，你既开始失败，如果他真是犹太人，你决不能得胜他，终必败于他前。
6:14 他们正同他谈论时，王的太监来催哈曼去赴艾斯德尔设的盛宴。
第七章（10）
艾斯德尔控告哈曼
7:1 君王和哈曼同来与艾斯德尔王后宴饮。
7:2 在这第二天的酒兴之馀，王又对艾斯德尔说：「艾斯德尔后！你要求什麽，我必给你；不论你要求什麽，即便是半壁江山，也必照办。」
7:3 艾斯德尔后答说：「大王！如果我获得你垂青宠爱，如果大王欢喜，请饶我一命，这是我的恳请；也饶我民族一命，这是我的要求，
7:4 因为我和我的民族，已被人出卖，快要遭受蹂躏、屠杀、毁灭。若是我们只被人卖奴婢，那麽我必不开口；但这仇人毫不顾及君王所受的灾害。」
7:5 薛西斯王问艾斯德尔后说：「这人是谁？那心内打算作这事的人在那 ？」
7:6 艾斯德尔答说：「这仇人和死敌，就是这败类哈曼。」哈曼立时在君王及王后前，惊惶万分。
7:7 於是君王勃然大怒，即刻退席，走进了御苑；哈曼遂起来恳求艾斯德尔后饶他一命，因为他看出了君王已决意要将他置於死地。
哈曼被处吊刑
7:8 王由御苑回到餐厅，哈曼正俯伏在艾斯德尔所坐着的榻旁，王恶声吒叱说：「在王宫内，当着我的面，居然胆敢存心侮辱王后！」王的话一出口，仆人就蒙起哈曼的脸。
7:9 君王座前的一个太监哈波纳说：「正巧，在哈曼家 ，有他给那位曾一言造福大王的摩尔德开，竖立的一个五十尺高的刑架。」王说：「将他悬在上面！」
7:10人们遂把哈曼悬在他自己为摩尔德开所做的刑架上；王的忿怒这才平息。
第八章（17）
摩尔德开荣升国卿
8:1 薛西斯王当日就将犹太人的敌人哈曼的家业，赐给了艾斯德尔王后；艾斯德尔同时也说明了摩尔德开与她自己的关系，摩尔德开就来觐见君王。
8:2 君王於是取下由哈曼 拿回来的指玺，给了摩尔德开，艾斯德尔以後叫摩尔德开管理哈曼的家业。
艾斯德尔求君王保护犹太人
8:3 艾斯德尔又去向君王求情，俯伏在他足下，含泪哀求他取消阿加格人哈曼所加的祸害，和他为害犹太人所设的阴谋。
8:4 王向艾斯德尔伸出金杖，艾斯德尔就起来，站在君王前，
8:5 说：「如果大王喜欢，如果我得陛下宠幸，如果大王认为合理且喜爱我，就请写一道谕令，把大王为消灭全国各省的犹太人所颁下的文书，即阿加格人哈默大达的儿子哈曼的阴谋废除。
8:6 事实上，我怎能忍见我的民族遭受迫害？我怎能忍见我的亲属消灭？」
8:7 薛西斯王对艾斯德尔后和犹太人摩尔德开说：「我已将哈曼的家业赐给了艾斯德尔，而他本人已被悬在刑架上，因为他竟要对犹太人下毒手。
8:8 如今就照你们的意思，以君王的名义，为保护犹太人写一道文书，盖上君王的玉印。凡以君王名义所写，且盖有君王玉印的文书，决不得废除。」
8:9 就在那时候，即在叁月 「息汪」月二十叁日，召集了众御史，要依照摩尔德开为保护犹太人提示的一切，用各省的文字，各民族的语言，也给犹太人以他们的文字语言，写了一道文书，公告由印度至雇士一百二十七省的犹太人、御史大臣、各省省长及首长。
8:10摩尔德开遂以薛西斯王的名义，写了这道文书，盖上君王的玉印，然後派遣驿使，骑着御厮的骏马，传递文书。
8:11文书上载着：君王恩准在各城市的犹太人，有团结自卫的权利，也准许他们破坏、杀害、消灭那些侵害他们的各族和各省的军民，也可杀他们的妇孺，抢夺他们的财产；
8:12且应在十二月「阿达尔」月十叁日那一天，在薛西斯帝国各省内开始生效。
补录戊（20）
保护犹太人的谕文
补戊:1 谕文如下：「薛西斯大王致候由印度至厄提约丕雅一百二十七省省长，并忠於朕之官员
补戊:2 查有多人，恩主愈加之高官厚禄，其人反而愈妄自尊大，不仅企图危害朕之所属为满足，进而图谋推倒其恩主。
补戊:3 彼等不惟将知恩报爱之义由人间抹杀，且更与无知之辈，骄矜自大，对常鉴临万物，嫉恶如仇至公义之天主，自以为可以逃避。
补戊:4 彼等多居显位，屡受公卿友朋妄言之煽惑，而共谋倾流无辜者之血，因而陷於不可挽救之祸殃：
补戊:5 彼等利用乖戾欺诈之计谋，迷惑忠贞纯良之公卿。
补戊:6 此处无须引证留传於我侪之古籍，尔辈考察此辈恶劣掌权者所做败德恶行，即可知晓。
补戊:7 是以为防患於未然，使帝国免於祸乱，人人得享安乐，
补戊:8 朕不复妄听谗言，务以正义裁判，处断呈递於朕之案件。
补戊:9 今哈默大达之子，马其顿人哈曼，实非波斯血统，本不堪朕之宽仁，然朕仍收为客卿，
补戊:10 亲历朕各族所有之优惠，竟被尊称为父，受万民敬礼，位居帝座之次。
补戊:11 今高官厚禄，而心犹不足，竟欲夺朕位，害朕命，
补戊:12 更千方百计，企图将朕之救命恩主摩尔德开，并朕之无辜后妃艾斯德尔，与其全族上下，予以消灭。
补戊:13 如此，欲乘朕之孤立，交波斯帝国於马其顿人。
补戊:14 然据朕察知，此败类欲消灭之犹太人，原非作恶歹徒，实乃奉公守法之民，
补戊:15 彼等乃赐朕与朕祖国昌盛之至高至大，永生天主之子民。
补戊:16 是以尔辈不宜履行哈默大达之子哈曼颁发之文书，因其撰者与全家已悬首於稣撒门前矣！此乃主宰万物者天主使其得此报应。
补戊:17 因此，是项文告，尔辈应四处公布，准犹太人遵守其固有之法律，且应在择定迫害彼等之日，即「阿达尔」十二月十叁日，协助彼等敌抗杀害彼等之人。
补戊:18 盖主宰万物者天主，已将此消灭选民之日化为喜乐之日。
补戊:19 是以於尔辈之庆节中，也应隆重庆祝此纪念日，使现今与未来皆庆祝朕与亲善波斯者之胜利，但为图谋害朕之辈，乃灭亡之纪念日。
补戊:20 凡不履行此命令之城市或区域，应毫不留情，一律火焚刀斩，使此城区非但人迹不至，即鸟兽也视为畏途，直达永远。」
犹太人庆祝胜利
8:13 这道文书应视为法律，公布在各省内，通告各民族一律遵守，好使犹太人准备在这一天，可向自己的敌人复仇。
8:14 驿使迫於君令，骑着御马，火速出发。这谕文同时也在稣撒禁城公布。
8:15 摩尔德开於是拜别君王出来，身穿紫白相间的御袍，戴着大金冠，披着纯白和朱红的氅衣。此时稣撒城欢欣雀跃。
8:16 犹太人终於得到了光明、喜乐、幸福和荣耀。
8:17 在各省各城中，凡是君令、上谕所到之处，犹太人无不欢欣雀跃，休假宴饮；各地的异民有许多人因为害怕犹太人，而入了犹太籍。
第九章（32）
犹太人复仇
9:1 十二月，「阿达尔」月十叁日，是该执行君令和上谕的那一天，也是犹太人的敌人原想歼灭犹太人的日期，却变成了犹太人制服敌人的日子。
9:2 住在薛西斯王各省各城的犹太人，都聚集起来，动手致打那些想谋害他们的人，但没有一个人能敌挡他们，因为所有人民都害怕他们。
9:3 各省的首长，御史大臣和省长，以及为君王服务的人，都拥护犹太人，因为害怕摩尔德开。
9:4 的确，摩尔德开在王宫 已掌大权，声誉传遍各省，而摩尔德开的权力越来越大。
9:5 这样犹太人就用刀屠杀，消灭了一切敌人，任意对待了仇恨他们的人；
9:6 只在稣撒禁城，犹太人就杀死了五百人，
9:7 也杀了帕商大达、达耳丰、阿斯帕达、
9:8 颇辣达、阿达里雅、阿黎大达、
9:9 帕玛市达、阿黎赛、阿黎待与耶匝达，
9:10 即哈默大达的儿子，犹太人的仇人哈曼的十个儿子，但没有下手抢夺财物。
9:11 当天，君王就知道了在稣撒禁城内杀死的人数。
9:12 王对艾斯德尔后说：「在稣撒禁城内，犹太人已杀死五百人和哈曼的十个儿子，在帝国其他各省内，他们更将做出何事？如今你还请求什麽，我必赐给你；你还要求什麽，我都必履行。」
9:13 艾斯德尔答说：「如蒙大王赐恩，请恩准住在稣撒的犹太人，明天也照今天的法律行事，把哈曼的十个儿子悬在刑架上。」
9:14 王就下令照办。於是在稣撒发出了一道谕旨，要把哈曼的十个儿子悬在刑架上。
9:15 在「阿达尔」月十四日那一天，住在稣撒的犹太人又集合起来，在那 击杀了叁百人，但没有下手抢夺财物。
9:16 住在君王各省的其他犹太人，也聚集起来保卫自己，摆脱敌人的侵害，把他们的七万五千仇人杀死，但没有下手抢夺财物。
9:17 这是「阿达尔」月十叁日的事；十四日那天，他们安息，举行庆功的欢宴。
9:18 住在稣撒的犹太人，因为在十叁十四日聚集复仇，便於十五日安息，举行庆功的欢宴。
9:19 从此以後，那些住在村庄的犹太乡民，奉「阿达尔」月十四日为庆日，欢宴庆祝，互送礼物；但居住在城市的犹太人却以「阿达尔」月十五日为庆日，互送礼物。
普陵节的来历
9:20摩尔德开於是将这些事记录下来，并向薛西斯王各省远近的犹太人颁发文书，
9:21 通告他们应每年庆祝「阿达尔」月十四十五两天，
9:22 因为这两天是犹太人彻底摆脱仇敌的日子，而这一月为他们是化忧为喜，化凶为吉的一月，因此该以欢宴庆祝这两天，互赠礼物，救济穷困。
9:23 犹太人便把已开始举行的和摩尔德开给他们规定的事，奉为永远当守的盛典。
9:24 原来，阿加格人哈默大达的儿子哈曼，那全犹太人的仇人曾蓄意加害犹太人，要将他们灭绝，就抽出「普尔」即签，来择定铲除歼灭他们的日子。
9:25 但是君王一洞悉此事，便下谕令说：「哈曼加害犹太人想出来的阴谋，应加在他自己头上！」就判处他和他的儿子们悬在刑架上。
9:26 从此，人就援用「普尔」一名，称这两天为「普陵节」。依照这文书记载的，和他们有关此事亲身看见及经历的一切，
9:27 犹太人便给自己，给自己的子孙，给一切加入他们集会的人，规定了「每年该照规定依时庆祝这两天」为不可更改的法律；
9:28 世世代代，家家户户，各省各城，应纪念和庆祝这两天；犹太人决不可废除这两天的「普陵节」，他们的子孙也决不可忘掉这庆节。
9:29 阿彼海耳的女儿艾斯德尔后与犹太人摩尔德开，又以全权再度写了一道核准「普陵节」的文书。
9:30 然後把此文书分发给所有住在薛西斯帝国一百二十七省内的犹太人，以平和诚恳的言词，
9:31 劝他们遵照犹太人摩尔德开对这「普陵节」所规定的，依时举行。至於禁食和哀歌的吟咏等礼，则可依照他们自己及自己的後代所规定的去行。
9:32 从此，艾斯德尔的命令，便成了「普陵节」的规定，并记载於史册。
第十章（3）
结论
10:1 薛西斯王向陆地及各海岛的居民徵税。
10:2 他所行伟大英勇的事迹，以及显耀摩尔德开的详细经过，都记载在玛待和波斯君王的年鉴上。
10:3 犹太人摩尔德开，位仅次於薛西斯王，受犹太人的敬重，受他全体同胞的爱戴；他也努力为他的民族谋幸福，关心他的整个种族的安全。
补录己（10）
补己:1 摩尔德开说：「这一切都是天主一手完成的：
补己:2 对这一切，我还记得我作的梦，果然都一一应验了：
补己:3 那变成大河的小泉，其上照耀着像太阳的曙光，和凶涌的水， 艾斯德尔就是这大河，君王娶了她，立为王后；
补己:4 那两条巨龙，便是我和哈曼；
补己:5 万民就是那些团结起来，要铲除犹太人 名号的群众；
补己:6 我的民族，就是以色列，他们向天主哀号，而获得了救援；上主救了他的百姓，上主使我们脱离了这一切祸患，天主在万民中做了空前未有的奇迹和伟业。
补己:7 因此，天主制定了两签：一签为天主的百姓，一签为其他的民族。
补己:8 这两签在天主为万民所指定的时日，出现在天主前；
补己:9 天主想起了他的民族，保护了他的家业。
补己:10「阿 达尔」在月的十四十五两天，为他们将成为以色列民族中，世世代代，永远天主台前欢聚喜乐的庆辰。仆托肋米与克娄帕特辣执政第四年，自称为司祭兼肋未人的多 息太，与他的儿子仆肋米带来了上述「普陵节」的纪录，他们肯定这纪录是真实可信的，并且说是耶路撒冷居民中的仆托肋米的儿子里息玛苛翻译的。
BOOK ENDS. Seraphim, April 2009.
JB ESTHER Chapter 1
INTRODUCTORY (CHAPTER 1)
Mordecai’s dream[*a]
1:1a In the second year of the reign of the great King Ahasuerus,[*b] on the first day of Nisan, a dream came to Mordecai son of Jair, son ofShimei, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin,
1:1b a Jew living at Susa and holding high office at the royal court.
1:1c He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had deported from Jerusalem with Jeconiah, king of Judah.[*c]
1:1d This was his dream There were cries and noise, thunder and earthquakes, and disorder over the whole earth.
1:1e Then two great dragons came forward, each ready for the fray, and set up a great roar.
1:1f At the sound of them every nation made ready to wage war against the nation of the just.
1:1g A day of darkness and gloom, of affliction and distress, oppression and great disturbance on earth!
1:1h The righteous nation was thrown into consternation at the fear of the evils awaiting them, and prepared for death, crying out to God.
1:1i Then from their cry, as from a little spring, there grew a great river, a flood of water.
1:1k Light came as the sun rose, and the humble were raised up and devoured the mighty.
1:1l On awakening from this dream and vision of God’s designs, Mordecai thought deeply on the matter, trying his best all day to discover what its meaning might be.
A plot against the king
1:1m Lodging at court with Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the palace,
1:1n Mordecai got wind of their intentions and uncovered their plot. Learning that they were preparing to assassinate King Ahasuerus, he warned the king against them.
1:1o The king gave orders for the two eunuchs to be tortured; they confessed and were executed.
1:1p The king then had these events recorded in his Chronicles, while Mordecai himself also wrote an account of them.
1:1q The king then appointed Mordecai to an office at court and rewarded him with presents.
1:1r But Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, who enjoyed high favour with the king, determined to injure Mordecai in revenge for the king’s two eunuchs.
- AHASUERUS AND VASHTI
Ahasuerus‘ banquet
1:1 It was in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus whose empire stretched from India to Ethiopia and comprised one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.
1:2 In those days, when King Ahasuerus was sitting on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa,
1:3 in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet at his court for all his administrators and ministers, chiefs of the army of Persia and Media, nobles and governors of provinces.
1:4 Thus he displayed the riches and splendour of his empire and the pomp and glory of his majesty; the festivities went on for a long time, a hundred and eighty days.
1:5 When this period was over, for seven days the king gave a banquet for all the people living in the citadel of Susa, to high and low alike, in the enclosure adjoining the king’s palace.
1:6 There were white and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple thread to silver rings on marble columns, couches of gold and silver on a pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and precious stones.
1:7 For drinking there were golden cups of various design and the royal wine in plenty according to the king’s bounty.
1:8 By royal command however, drinking was not obligatory, the king having instructed the officials of his household to treat each guest according to his own wishes.
The affair of Vashti
1:9 Queen Vashti,[*d] too, had given a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.
1:10 On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs in attendance on the person of King Ahasuerus,
1:11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king crowned with her royal diadem, in order to display her beauty to the people and the administrators, for she was very beautiful.
1:12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. The king was very angry at this and his rage grew hot.
1:13 He then consulted the wise men who were versed in the law, since it was the practice to refer matters affecting the king to expert lawyers and jurists.
1:14 He summoned Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven administrators of Persia and Media who had privileged access to the royal presence and occupied the leading positions in the kingdom.
1:15 ‘According to law,’ he said ‘what is to be done to Queen Vashti for not obeying the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?’
1:16 In the presence of the king and of the administrators Memucan answered, ‘Vashti has wronged not only the king, but also all the administrators and nations inhabiting the provinces of King Ahasuerus.
1:17 The queen’s conduct will soon become known to all the women and encourage them in a contemptuous attitude towards their husbands, since they will say, “King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti to appear before him and she did not come”.
1:18 The wives of all the Persian and Median administrators will hear of the queen’s answer before the day is out, and will start talking to the king’s administrators in the same way; that will mean contempt and anger all round.
1:19 If it is the king’s pleasure, let him issue a royal edict, to be irrevocably incorporated into the laws of the Persians and Medes, to the effect thatVashti is never to appear again before King Ahasuerus, and let the king confer her royal dignity on a worthier woman.
1:20 Let this edict issued by the king be proclaimed throughout the length and breadth of his realm, and all the women will henceforth bow to the authority of their husbands, both high and low alike.’
1:21 This speech pleased the king and the administrators and the king did as Memucan advised.
1:22 He sent letters to all the provinces of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each nation in its own language, ensuring that every husband should be master in his own house.
JB ESTHER Chapter 2
- MORDECAI AND ESTHER
Esther becomes queen
2:1 Some time after this, when the king’s wrath had abated, Ahasuerus remembered Vashti, how she had behaved, and the measures taken against her.
2:2 The king’s courtiers-in-waiting said, ‘Let beautiful girls be selected for the king.
2:3 Let the king appoint commissioners throughout the provinces of his realm to bring all these beautiful young virgins to the citadel of Susa, to the harem under the authority of Hegai the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. Let him provide them with what they need for their adornment,
2:4 and let the girl who pleases the king take Vashti’s place as queen.’ This advice pleased the king and he acted on it.
2:5 Now in the citadel of Susa there lived a Jew called Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin,
2:6 who had been deported from Jerusalem among the captives taken away with Jeconiah king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
2:7 He had brought up Hadassah, otherwise called Esther,[*a] his uncle’s daughter, who had lost both father and mother; the girl had a good figure and a beautiful face, and on the death of her parents Mordecai had adopted her as his daughter.
2:8 Following the promulgation of the king’s edict, a great number of girls were brought to the citadel of Susa where they were entrusted to Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, the custodian of the women.
2:9 The girl pleased him and won his favour. Not only did he quickly provide her with all she needed for her dressing room and her meals, but he gave her seven special maids from the king’s household and transferred her and her maids to the best part of the harem.
2:10 Esther did not reveal her race or kindred, since Mordecai had forbidden her to do so.
2:11 Mordecai walked up and down in front of the courtyard of the harem every day, to learn how Esther was and how she was being treated.
2:12 Each girl had to appear in turn before King Ahasuerus, after a delay of twelve months fixed by the regulations for the women; this preparatory period was occupied as follows: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices and lotions commonly used for feminine beauty treatment.
2:13 Before going into the king, each girl was allowed to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace whatever she chose.
2:14 She went there in the evening, and the following morning returned to another harem entrusted to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, custodian of the concubines. She did not go to the king any more, unless he was particularly pleased with her and had her summoned by name.
2:15 But when it was the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail whose nephew Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter, to go into the king’s presence, she did not ask for anything beyond what had been assigned her by Hegai, the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And Esther soon won the admiration of all who saw her.
2:16 She was brought to King Ahasuerus in his royal palace in the tenth month, which is called Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign;
2:17 and the king liked Esther better than any of the other women; none of the other girls found so much favour and approval with him. So he set the royal diadem on her head and proclaimed her queen instead of Vashti.
2:18 Then the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his administrators and ministers, decreed a holiday for all the provinces and distributed largesse with royal prodigality.
Mordecai and Haman
2:19 When Esther, like the other girls, had been transferred to the second harem, she had not revealed her kindred or race, in obedience to the orders of Mordecai, whose instructions she continued to follow as when she had been under his care.
2:20 At this time Mordecai was attached to the Chancellery and two malcontents, Bigthan and Teresh, king’s eunuchs belonging to the Guardians of the Threshold, plotted to assassinate King Ahasuerus.
2:22 Mordecai came to hear of this and informed Queen Esther, who in turn, on Mordecai’s authority, told the king.
2:23 The matter was investigated and proved to be true. The two conspirators were sent to the gallows, and the incident was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.
JB ESTHER Chapter 3
3:1 Shortly afterwards, King Ahasuerus singled out Haman son of Hammedatha, from the land of Agag,[*a] for promotion. He raised him in rank and precedence above all his colleagues, the other officers of state,
3:2 and gave orders that all the officials employed at the Chancellery were to bow down and prostrate themselves before Haman. Mordecai refused either to bow or prostrate himself.
3:3 ‘Why do you flout the royal command?’ the officials of the Chancellery asked Mordecai.
3:4 They asked him this day after day, but he took no notice of them. In the end they reported the matter to Haman, wishing to see whether Mordecai would persist in his attitude, since he had told them he was a Jew.
3:5 When Haman had seen for himself that Mordecai did not bow or prostrate himself before him, he was seized with fury.
3:6 Having been told what race Mordecai belonged to, he could not be content with murdering Mordecai but made up his mind to wipe out all the members of Mordecai’s race, the Jews, throughout the empire of Ahasuerus.
III. THE JEWS IN PERIL
The decree of extermination against the Jews
3:7 In the first month, that is the month of Nisan, of the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast the pur (that is, the lot) before Haman for the day and the month. The lot falling on the twelfth month, which is Adar,
3:8 Haman said to King Ahasuerus, ‘There is a certain unassimilated nation scattered among the other nations throughout the provinces of your realm; their laws are different from those of all the other nations and they ignore the royal edicts; hence it is not in the king’s interests to tolerate them.
3:9 If it please the king to decree their destruction, I am prepared to pay ten thousand talents of silver to the king’s receivers, to be credited to the royal treasury.’
3:10 The king then took his signet ring off his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the persecutor of the Jews.
3:11 ‘Keep the money,’ he said ‘and you can have the people too; do what you like with them.’
3:12 Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal scribes were summoned, and copies were made of the orders addressed by Haman to the king’s satraps, to the governors ruling each province and to the principal officials of each people, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language. The edict was signed in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with his ring,
3:13 and letters were sent by runners to every province of the realm ordering the destruction, slaughter and annihilation of all Jews, young and old, women and children, on the one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and the seizing of their possessions.
3:13a The text of the letter was as follows: ‘The great King, Ahasuerus, to the governors of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia, and to their subordinate district commissioners.
3:13b ‘Being placed in authority over many nations and ruling the whole world, I have resolved never to be carried away by the insolence of power, but always to rule with moderation and clemency, so as to assure for my subjects a life ever free from storms and, offering my kingdom the benefits of civilisation and free transit from end to end, to restore that peace which all men desire.
3:13c 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 well proved for his unfailing devotion and unshakeable trustworthiness, and in rank second only to our majesty, Haman by name,
3:13d that there is, mingled among all the tribes of the earth a certain ill-disposed people, opposed by its laws to every other nation and continually defying the royal ordinances, in such a way as to obstruct that form of government assured by us to the general good.
3:13e ‘Considering therefore that this people, unique of its kind, is in complete opposition to all mankind from which it differs by its outlandish system of laws, that it is hostile to our interests and that it commits the most heinous crimes, to the point of endangering the stability of the realm:
3:13f ‘We command that the people designated to you in the letters written by Haman, appointed to watch over our interests and a second father to us, are all, including women and children, to be destroyed root and branch by the swords of their enemies, without any pity or mercy, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, of the present year,
3:13g so that, these past and present malcontents being in one day forcibly thrown down to Hades, our government may henceforward enjoy perpetual stability and peace.’
3:14 The text of this decree, to be promulgated as law in each province, was published to the various peoples, so that each might be ready for the day aforementioned.
3:15 At the king’s command, the runners set out with all speed; the decree was first promulgated in the citadel of Susa. While the king and Haman gave themselves up to feasting and drinking, consternation reigned in the city of Susa.
JB ESTHER Chapter 4
Mordecai and Esther try to avert the danger
4:1 When Mordecai learned what had happened, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth and ashes. Then he went right through the city, wailing loud and bitterly,
4:2 until he arrived in front of the Chancellery, which no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter.
4:3 And in every province, no sooner had the royal edict been read than among the Jews there was great mourning, fasting, weeping and wailing, and many lay on sackcloth and ashes.
4:4 When Queen Esther’s maids and eunuchs came and told her, she was overcome with grief. She sent clothes for Mordecai to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he refused them.
4:5 Then Esther summoned Hathach, a eunuch whom the king had appointed to wait on her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai and enquire whatwas the matter and why he was acting in this way.
4:6 Hathach went out to Mordecai, who was still in the city square in front of the Chancellery,
4:7 and Mordecai told him what had happened to him personally, and also about the sum of money which Haman had offered to pay into the royal treasury as compensation for the destruction of the Jews.
4:8 He also gave him a copy of the edict of extermination published in Susa for him to show Esther for her information, with the message that she was to go to the king and implore his favour and plead with him for her people.
4:8a ‘Remember your humbler circumstances,’ he said ‘when you were fed by my hand. Since Haman, the second person in the realm, has petitioned the king for our deaths,
4:8b invoke the Lord, speak to the king for us and save us from death!’
4:9 Hathach came back and told Esther what Mordecai had said;
4:10 and she replied with the following message for Mordecai,
4:11 ‘All the king’s servants and the people of his provinces know that for a man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned there is one penalty: death, unless, by pointing his golden sceptre towards him, the king grants him his life. And I have not been summoned to the king for the last thirty days.’
4:12 These words of Esther were reported to Mordecai,
4:13 who sent back the following reply, ‘Do not suppose that, because you are in the king’s palace, you are going to be the one Jew to escape.
4:14 No; if you persist in remaining silent at such a time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place,[*a] but both you and the House of your father will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to the throne for just such a time as this.’
4:15 Whereupon Esther sent this reply to Mordecai,
4:16 ‘Go and assemble all the Jews now in Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink day or night for three days. For my part, I and my maids will keep the same fast, after which I shall go to the king in spite of the law; and if I perish, I perish.’
4:17 Mordecai went away and carried out Esther’s instructions.
Mordecai’s prayer
4:17a Then calling to mind all the wonderful works of the Lord, he offered this prayer:
4:17b ‘Lord, Lord, King and Master of all things, everything is subject to your power, and there is no one who can withstand you in your will to save Israel.
4:17c ‘Yes, you have made heaven and earth, and all the marvels that are under heaven. You are the Lord of all, and there is none who can resist you, Lord.
4:17d ‘You know all things; you know, Lord, you know, that no insolence, arrogance, vainglory prompted me to this, to this refusal to bow down before proud Haman. I would readily have kissed his feet for the safety of Israel.
4:17e ‘But what I did, I did rather than place the glory of a man above the glory of God; and I will not bow down to any but to you, Lord; in so refusing I will not act in pride.
4:17f ‘And now, Lord God, King, God of Abraham, spare your people! For men are seeking our ruin and plan to destroy your ancient heritage.
4:17g Do not overlook your inheritance, which you redeemed for your own out of the land of Egypt.
4:17h Hear my supplication, have mercy on your heritage, and turn our grief into rejoicing, that we may live to hymn your name, Lord. Do not suffer the mouths of those who praise you to perish.’
4:17i And all Israel cried out with all their might, for they were faced with death.
Esther’s prayer
4:17k Queen Esther also took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She took off her sumptuous robes and put on sorrowful mourning. Instead of expensive perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung. She humbled her body severely, and the former scenes of her happiness and elegance were now littered with tresses torn from her hair. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words:
4:17l ‘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.
4:17m ‘I have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family, that you, Lord, chose Israel out of all the nations and our ancestors out of all the people of old times to be your heritage for ever; and that you have treated them as you promised.
4:17n ‘But then we sinned against you, and you handed us over to our enemies for paying honour to their gods. Lord, you are just.
4:17o ‘But even now they are not satisfied with the bitterness of our slavery: they have put their hands in the hands of their idols[*b] 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,
4:17p and instead to open the mouths of the heathen, to sing the praise of worthless idols and forever to idolise a king of flesh.
4:17q ‘Do not yield your sceptre, Lord, to non-existent beings. Never let men mock at our ruin. Turn their designs against themselves, and make an example of him who leads the attack on us.
4:17r Remember, Lord; reveal yourself in the time of our distress. As for me, give me courage, King of gods and master of all power.
4:17s Put persuasive words into my mouth when I face the lion; change his feeling into hatred for our enemy, that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.
4:17t ‘As for ourselves, save us by your hand, and come to my help, for I am alone and have no one but you, Lord.
4:17u You have knowledge of all things, and you know that I hate honours from the godless, that I loathe the bed of the uncircumcised, of any foreigner whatever.
4:17w You know I am under constraint, that I loathe the symbol of my high position bound round my brow when I appear at court; I loathe it as if it were a filthy rag and do not wear it on my days of leisure.
4:17x Your handmaid has not eaten at Haman’s table, nor taken pleasure in the royal banquets, nor drunk the wine of libations.
4:17y Nor has your handmaid found pleasure from the day of her promotion until now except in you, Lord, God of Abraham.
4:17z O God, whose strength prevails over all, listen to the voice of the desperate, save us from the hand of the wicked, and free me from my fear.’
JB ESTHER Chapter 5
Esther presents herself at the palace
5:1a On the third day, when she had finished praying, she took off her suppliant’s mourning attire and dressed herself in her full spendour. Radiant as she then appeared, she invoked God who watches over all men and saves them. Then she took two maids with her. With a delicate air she leaned on one, while the other accompanied her carrying her train. She leaned on the maid’s arm as though languidly, but in fact because her body was too weak to support her; the other maid followed her mistress, lifting her robes which swept the ground.
5:1b Rosy with the full flush of her beauty, her face radiated joy and love: but her heart shrank with fear.
5:1c Having passed through door after door, she found herself in the presence of the king. He was seated on the royal throne, dressed in all his robes of state, glittering with gold and precious stones-a formidable sight.
5:1d Raising his face, afire with majesty, he looked on her, blazing with anger. The queen sank down. She grew faint and the colour drained from her face, and she leaned her head against the maid who accompanied her.
5:1e But God changed the king’s heart, inducing a milder spirit. He sprang from his throne in alarm and took her in his arms until she recovered, comforting her with soothing words.
5:1f ‘What is the matter, Esther?’ he said ‘I am your brother. Take heart; you will not die; our order only applies to ordinary people. Come to me.’
5:2 And raising his golden sceptre he laid it on her neck, embraced her and said, ‘Speak to me’.
5:2a ‘My lord,’ she said ‘you looked to me like an angel of God, and my heart was moved with fear of your majesty. For you are a figure of wonder, my lord, and your face is full of graciousness.’
5:2b But as she spoke she fell down in a faint. The king was distressed, and all his attendants tried their best to revive her.
5:3 ‘What is the matter, Queen Esther?’ the king said. ‘Tell me what you desire; even if it is half my kingdom, I grant it you.’
5:4 ‘Would the king be pleased’ Esther replied ‘to come with Haman today to the banquet I have prepared for him?’
5:5 The king said, ‘Tell Haman to come at once, so that Esther may have her wish’. So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
5:6 As they drank their wine, the king again said to Esther, ‘Tell me what you request; I grant it to you. Tell me what you desire; even if it is half my kingdom, it is yours for the asking.’
5:7 ‘What do I desire, what do I request?’ Esther replied.
5:8 ‘If I have found favour in the king’s eyes, and if it is his pleasure to grant what I ask and to agree to my request, let the king and Haman come to the other banquet I intend to give them tomorrow, and then I will do as the king says.’
5:9 Haman left full of joy and high spirits that day; but when he saw Mordecai at the Chancellery, neither standing up nor stirring at his approach, he felt a gust of anger.
5:10 He restrained himself, however. Returning home, he sent for his friends and Zeresh his wife
5:11 and held forth to them about his dazzling wealth, his many children, how the king had raised him to a position of honour and promoted him over the heads of the king’s administrators and ministers.
5:12 ‘What is more,’ he added ‘Queen Esther just invited me and the king-no one else except me-to a banquet she was giving, and better still she has invited me and the king again tomorrow.
5:13 But what do I care about all this when all the while I see Mordecai the Jew sitting there at the Chancellery?’
5:14 ‘Have a fifty-cubit gallows run up,’ Zeresh his wife and all his friends said ‘and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it. Then accompany the king to the feast without a care in the world!’ Delighted with this advice, Haman had the gallows erected.
JB ESTHER Chapter 6
- THE JEWS’ REVENGE
The discomfiture of Haman
6:1 That night, the king could not sleep; he called for the Record Book, the Chronicles, to be brought and read to him.
6:2 They contained an account of how Mordecai had denounced Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs serving as Guardians of the Threshold, who had plotted to assassinate king Ahasuerus.
6:3 ‘And what honour and dignity’ the king asked ‘was conferred on Mordecai for this?’ ‘Nothing has been done for him’ the courtiers in attendance replied.
6:4 Then the king said, ‘Who is on duty in the antechamber?’ Haman had at that moment entered the outer antechamber of the king’s palace to ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on the gallows which he had just put up for the purpose.
6:5 So the king’s courtiers replied, ‘Haman is waiting in the antechamber’. ‘Bring him in’ the king said,
6:6 and went on to ask as soon as Haman had entered, ‘What is the right way to treat a man whom the king wishes to honour?’ ‘Whom’ thought Haman ‘would the king wish to honour, if not me?’
6:7 So he replied, ‘If the king wishes to honour someone,
6:8 have royal robes brought, which the king has worn, and a horse which the king has ridden, with a royal diadem on its head.
6:9 The robes and horse should be handed to one of the noblest of the king’s officers, and he should array the man whom the king wishes to honourand lead him on horseback, through the city square, proclaiming before him: “This is the way to treat a man whom the king wishes to honour”.’
6:10 ‘Hurry,’ the king said to Haman ‘take the robes and the horse, and do everything you have just said to Mordecai the Jew, who works at the Chancellery. On no account leave anything out that you have mentioned.’
6:11 So taking the robes and the horse, Haman arrayed Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, proclaiming before him: ‘This is the way to treat a man whom the king wishes to honour’.
6:12 After this Mordecai returned to the Chancellery, while Haman went hurrying home dejected, covering his face.
6:13 He told his wife Zeresh and all his friends what had just happened. His wife Zeresh and his friends said, ‘Thanks to Mordecai, you have just had a fall; if he happens to belong to the Jewish race, you will never recover the upper hand again. Far from it; once having begun, thanks to him you will fall and fall again.’
Haman at Esther’s banquet
6:14 While they were still talking, the king’s eunuchs arrived in a hurry to escort Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
JB ESTHER Chapter 7
7:1 When the king and Haman were seated at the banquet with Queen Esther
7:2 this second day, the king again said to Esther as they drank their wine, ‘Tell me what you request, Queen Esther? I grant it to you. Tell me what you desire; even if it is half my kingdom, it is yours for the asking.’
7:3 ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, O king,’ Queen Esther replied ‘and if it please your majesty, grant me my life-that is what I request; and the lives of my people-that is what I desire.
7:4 For we are doomed, I and my people, to destruction, slaughter and annihilation; if we had merely been condemned to become slaves and servant-girls, I would have said nothing; but as things are, it will be beyond the means of the persecutor to make good the loss that the king is about to sustain.’
7:5 King Ahasuerus interrupted Queen Esther, ‘Who is this man?’ he exclaimed. ‘Where is he, the schemer of such an outrage?’
7:6 Esther replied, ‘The persecutor, the enemy? Why, this wretch Haman!’ Haman quaked with terror in the presence of the king and queen.
7:7 In a rage the king rose and left the banquet to go into the palace garden; while Haman, realising that the king was determined on his ruin, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.
7:8 When the king returned from the palace garden into the banqueting hall, he found Haman huddled across the couch where Esther was reclining. ‘What!’ the king exclaimed. ‘Is he going to rape the queen before my eyes in my own palace?’ The words were scarcely out of his mouth than a veil was thrown over Haman’s face.
7:9 Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, was present. He said, ‘How convenient! There is that fifty-cubit gallows which Haman ran up for Mordecai, whose report saved the king’s life. It is all ready at his house.’ ‘Hang him on it’ said the king.
7:10 So Haman was hanged on the gallows which he had erected for Mordecai, and the king’s wrath subsided.
JB ESTHER Chapter 8
The royal favour passes to the Jews
8:1 That same day King Ahasuerus gave Queen Esther the house of Haman, the persecutor of the Jews. Mordecai was presented to the king, Esther having revealed their mutual relationship.
8:2 The king, who had recovered his signet ring from Haman, took it off and gave it to Mordecai, while Esther gave Mordecai charge of Haman’s house.
8:3 Esther again went to speak to the king. She fell at his feet, weeping and imploring his favour, to frustrate the wicked scheme devised by Haman the Agagite and his plot against the Jews.
8:4 The king held out the golden sceptre to her, whereupon Esther rose and stood face to face with him.
8:5 ‘If such is the king’s good pleasure,’ she said ‘and if I have found favour before him, if my petition seems proper to him and if I myself am pleasing to his eyes, may he be pleased to issue a written revocation of the letters which Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, contrived to have written to procure the destruction of the Jews in every province of the realm.
8:6 For how can I look on, while my people suffer what is in store for them? How can I bear to witness the extermination of my race?’
8:7 King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, ‘I for my part have given Esther Haman’s house, and have had him hanged on the gallows for planning to destroy the Jews.
8:8 You are free now to write to them as you judge best, in the king’s name, and seal what you write with the king’s signet; for an order written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet is irrevocable.’
8:9 The royal scribes summoned at once-it was the third month, the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day-and at Mordecai’s dictation an order was written to the Jews, the satraps, governors and administrators of the provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, 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.
8:10 These letters, written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet, were carried by couriers mounted on horses from the king’s own stud-farms.
8:11 In them the king granted the Jews, in whatever city they lived, the right to assemble in self-defence, with permission to destroy, slaughter and annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, together with their women and children, and to plunder their possessions,
8:12 with effect from the same day throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus – the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar.
The decree of rehabilitation
8:12a The text of the letter was as follows:
8:12b ‘The great King, Ahasuerus, to the satraps of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces which stretch from India to Ethiopia, to the provincial governors and to all our loyal subjects, greeting.
8:12c ‘Many men, repeatedly honoured by the extreme bounty of their benefactors, only grow the more arrogant. It is not enough for them to seek our subjects’ injury, but unable as they are to support the weight of their own surfeit they turn to scheming against their benefactors themselves.
8:12d Not content with banishing gratitude from the human heart, but elated by the plaudits of men unacquainted with goodness, notwithstanding that all is for ever under the eye of God, they vainly expect to escape his justice, so hostile to the wicked.
8:12e Thus it has often happened to those placed in authority that, having entrusted friends with the conduct of affairs and allowed themselves to be influenced by them, they find themselves sharing with these the guilt of innocent blood and involved in irremediable misfortunes,
8:12f the upright intentions of rulers having been misled by false arguments of the evilly disposed.
8:12g This may be seen without recourse to the history of earlier times to which we have referred; you have only to look at what is before you, at the crimes perpetrated by a plague of unworthy officials.
8:12h For the future we will exert our efforts to assure the tranquillity and peace of the realm for all,
8:12i by adopting new policies and by always judging matters that are brought to our notice in the most equitable spirit.
8:12k ‘Thus Haman son of Hammedatha, a Macedonian, without a drop of Persian blood and far removed from our goodness, enjoyed our hospitality
8:12l and was treated by us with the benevolence which we show to every nation, even to the extent of being proclaimed our ‘father’ and being accorded universally the prostration of respect as second in dignity to the royal throne.
8:12m But he, unable to keep within his own high rank, schemed to deprive us of our realm and of our life.
8:12n Furthermore, by tortuous wiles and arguments, he would have had us destroy Mordecai, our saviour and constant benefactor, with Esther the blameless partner of our majesty, and their whole nation besides.
8:12o He thought by these means to leave us without support and so to transfer the Persian empire to the Macedonians.
8:12p But we find that the Jews, marked out for annihilation by this arch-scoundrel, are not criminals; they are in fact governed by the most just of laws.
8:12q They are sons of the Most High, the great and living God to whom we and our ancestors owe the continuing prosperity of our realm.
8:12r You will therefore do well not to act on the letters sent by Haman son of Hammedatha, since their author has been hanged at the gates of Susa with his whole household: a well-earned punishment which God, the ruler of all things, has speedily inflicted on him.
8:12s Put up copies of this letter everywhere, allow the Jews freedom to observe their own customs, and come to their help against anyone who attacks them on the day originally chosen for their maltreatment, that is the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar.
8:12t For the all-powerful God has made this day a day of joy and not of ruin for his chosen people.
8:12u Jews, for your part, among your solemn festivals celebrate this as a special day with every kind of feasting, so that now and in the future, for you and for Persians of good will it may commemorate your rescue, and for your enemies may stand as a reminder of their ruin.
8:12v ‘Every city and, more generally, every country, w