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Kabaka Awa Ekiragiro Obutatta Bayudaaya

(A)Awo ku lunaku olwo Kabaka Akaswero n’awa Nnabagereka Eseza ebintu byonna[a] ebya Kamani omulabe w’Abayudaaya. Eseza n’ategeeza Kabaka nti alina oluganda ku Moluddekaayi, era okuva mu kiseera ekyo Moluddekaayi n’ajjanga mu maaso ga Kabaka. (B)Kabaka n’aggyako empeta ye gye yaggya ku Kamani n’agiwa Moluddekaayi, ate era ne Eseza n’afuula Moluddekaayi okuvunaanyizibwa ebintu ebyali ebya Kamani.

Awo Eseza n’agenda ewa Kabaka nate ng’amwegayirira ng’agwa ku bigere bye n’okukaaba nga bw’akaaba, ng’amusaba akomye enteekateeka embi zonna eza Kamani Omwagaagi, n’enkwe ze yali asalidde Abayudaaya. (C)Kabaka n’agololera Eseza omuggo ogwa zaabu, amangu ago Eseza n’agolokoka n’ayimirira mu maaso ga Kabaka.

Eseza n’ayogera nti, “Kabaka bw’anasiima, era obanga ŋŋaanze mu maaso ga Kabaka, nange obanga musanyusa, bawandiike ekiragiro okujjulula ebbaluwa Kamani mutabani wa Kammedasa Omwagaagi, ze yayiiya era n’awandiika okuzikiriza Abayudaaya mu bitundu byonna ebya kabaka. (D)Nnyinza ntya okugumiikiriza okulaba obulabe obulijja ku bantu bange, era n’okulaba okuzikirizibwa okw’ennyumba yange?”

Awo Kabaka Akaswero n’agamba Nnabagereka Eseza ne Moluddekaayi Omuyudaaya nti, “Olw’okuba Kamani yali ayagala kuzikiriza Abayudaaya, ebintu bye mbiwadde Eseza, era n’okuwanikibwa awanikibbwa ku Kalabba. (E)Noolwekyo muwandiike ekiwandiiko ekirala mu linnya lya Kabaka ku lw’Abayudaaya nga bwe musiima, era mukisseeko akabonero n’empeta ya Kabaka, kubanga tewali kiwandiiko ekiwandiikiddwa mu linnya lya Kabaka era ekiteekeddwako akabonero n’empeta ya Kabaka ekiyinza okujjululwa.”

(F)Ku lunaku olw’amakumi abiri mu esatu mu mwezi ogwokusatu, gwe mwezi Sivaani abawandiisi ba Kabaka ne bayitibwa ne bawandiika byonna Moluddekaayi bye yalagira Abayudaaya, ebbaluwa n’eweerezebwa eri abaamasaza, ne bagavana n’abakungu abaafuganga mu bitundu ekikumi mu abiri mu omusanvu (127) okuva e Buyindi okutuusa ku Buwesiyopya. Ebiragiro by’awandiikibwa eri buli ssaza ng’empandiika yaalyo bwe yali, n’eri buli ggwanga ng’olulimi lwabwe bwe lwali, n’eri Abayudaaya mu mpandiika yaabwe era ne mu lulimi lwabwe. 10 Moluddekaayi n’awandiika mu linnya lya Kabaka Akaswero, ebbaluwa n’azissaako akabonero n’empeta ya Kabaka, n’aziweereza zitwalibwe ababaka abeebagala embalaasi ezidduka ennyo ate nga zaakuzibwa mu bisibo bya Kabaka.

11 (G)Ekiragiro kya Kabaka ky’awa Abayudaaya mu buli kibuga olukusa okukuŋŋaana n’okwekuuma; okuzikiriza, n’okutta, n’okusaanyaawo eggye lyonna ery’eggwanga lyonna oba essaza lyonna erinaabalumba, abakazi baabwe n’abaana baabwe abato, ate era n’okunyaga ebintu by’abalabe baabwe. 12 (H)Olunaku olwalondebwa Abayudaaya okukola bino mu bitundu byonna ebya Kabaka Akaswero lwe lwali olunaku olw’ekkumi n’essatu mu mwezi ogw’ekkumi n’ebiri, gwe mwezi Adali. 13 (I)Ebyaggyibwa mu kiragiro ekyo byali bya kuba nga tteeka mu buli kitundu, era n’okumanyibwa eri abantu aba buli ggwanga, nti ku lunaku olwo Abayudaaya beeteekereteekere okulwanyisa abalabe baabwe.

14 Awo ababaka abeebagala embalaasi za Kabaka, ne bagenda mbiro, ku kiragiro kya Kabaka, era n’ekiragiro ekiwandiikiddwa ne kirangirirwa mu lubiri lw’e Susani.

Abayudaaya Bawangula Abalabe Baabwe

15 (J)Awo Moluddekaayi n’ava mu maaso ga Kabaka ng’ayambadde ebyambalo bya Kabaka ebya kaniki n’ebyeru, era ng’atikkiddwa engule ennene eya zaabu, era ng’ayambadde omunagiro ogwa bafuta ennungi n’olugoye olw’effulungu. Ekibuga ekya Susani ne kisanyuka nnyo. 16 (K)Ate n’eri Abayudaaya kyali kiseera kya ssanyu, n’okujaguza n’ekitiibwa. 17 (L)Mu buli kitundu, ne mu buli kibuga, ekiragiro kya Kabaka we kyatuuka, waaliyo essanyu n’okujaguza n’embaga nnene ddala mu Bayudaaya. Era abantu bangi abamawanga amalala ne bafuuka Abayudaaya olw’entiisa ey’Abayudaaya eyali ebakutte.

Footnotes

  1. 8:1 Mu kiseera ekyo, kabaka yaggyanga ku muntu asaliddwa omusango ogw’okufa ebintu by’omuntu oyo byonna.

The King Acts to Protect the Jews

On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate[a] of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her. The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet. She wept and begged him for mercy, that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had intended against the Jews.[b] When the king extended to Esther the gold scepter, she[c] arose and stood before the king.

She said, “If the king is so inclined, and if I have met with his approval, and if the matter is agreeable to the king, and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,[d] which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces. For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?”[e]

King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action[f] against the Jews. Now write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.”

The king’s scribes were quickly[g] summoned—in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day.[h] They wrote out[i] everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors, and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia[j]—127 provinces in all—to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language. 10 Mordecai[k] wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. He then sent letters by couriers, who rode royal horses that were very swift.

11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves—to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children,[l] and to confiscate their property. 12 This was to take place on a certain day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus—namely, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). 13 A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that[m] day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

14 The couriers who were riding the royal horses went forth with the king’s edict without delay.[n] And the law was presented in Susa the citadel as well.

15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in blue and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy.[o] 16 For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor.[p] 17 Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king’s edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples[q] pretended to be Jews,[r] because the fear of the Jews had overcome them.[s]

Footnotes

  1. Esther 8:1 tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV; also in vv. 2, 7). Cf. TEV “all the property.”
  2. Esther 8:3 sn As in 7:4 Esther avoids implicating the king in this plot. Instead Haman is given sole responsibility for the plan to destroy the Jews.
  3. Esther 8:4 tn Heb “Esther.” The pronoun (“she”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name is redundant here in terms of contemporary English style.
  4. Esther 8:5 tc The LXX does not include the expression “the Agagite.”
  5. Esther 8:6 tn Heb “my kindred” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “my race”; NIV “my family”; NLT “my people and my family.”
  6. Esther 8:7 tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.
  7. Esther 8:9 tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”
  8. Esther 8:9 sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.
  9. Esther 8:9 tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  10. Esther 8:9 tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”
  11. Esther 8:10 tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. Esther 8:11 tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
  13. Esther 8:13 tn Heb “this” (so NASB); most English versions read “that” here for stylistic reasons.
  14. Esther 8:14 tn Heb “making haste and hurrying”; KJV, ASV “being hastened and pressed.”
  15. Esther 8:15 tn Heb “shouted and rejoiced.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).
  16. Esther 8:16 tn Heb “light and gladness and joy and honor” (so NASB). The present translation understands the four terms to be a double hendiadys.
  17. Esther 8:17 tn Heb “peoples of the land” (so NASB); NIV “people of other nationalities”; NRSV “peoples of the country.”
  18. Esther 8:17 tn Heb “were becoming Jews”; NAB “embraced Judaism.” However, the Hitpael stem of the verb is sometimes used of a feigning action rather than a genuine one (see, e.g., 2 Sam 13:5, 6), which is the way the present translation understands the use of the word here (cf. NEB “professed themselves Jews”; NRSV “professed to be Jews”). This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Hebrew Bible, so there are no exact parallels. However, in the context of v. 17 the motivation of their conversion (Heb “the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them”) should not be overlooked. The LXX apparently understood the conversion described here to be genuine, since it adds the words “they were being circumcised and” before “they became Jews.”
  19. Esther 8:17 tn Heb “had fallen upon them” (so NRSV); NIV “had seized them.”

The King’s Edict in Behalf of the Jews

That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman,(A) the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring,(B) which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.(C)

Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite,(D) which he had devised against the Jews. Then the king extended the gold scepter(E) to Esther and she arose and stood before him.

“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor(F) and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”(G)

King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled(H) him on the pole he set up. Now write another decree(I) in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal(J) it with the king’s signet ring(K)—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”(L)

At once the royal secretaries were summoned—on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai’s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush.[a](M) These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language.(N) 10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king’s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.

11 The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children,[b] and to plunder(O) the property of their enemies. 12 The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.(P) 13 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day(Q) to avenge themselves on their enemies.

14 The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.(R)

The Triumph of the Jews

15 When Mordecai(S) left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold(T) and a purple robe of fine linen.(U) And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration.(V) 16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy,(W) gladness and honor.(X) 17 In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy(Y) and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear(Z) of the Jews had seized them.(AA)

Footnotes

  1. Esther 8:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Esther 8:11 Or province, together with their women and children, who might attack them;