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¶ Kèk tan apre sa, wa Asyeris mete yon nonm ki te rele Aman nan yon gwo pozisyon. Li nonmen l' chèf sou tout lòt chèf nan peyi a apre wa a. Aman sa a te pitit Amedata, moun fanmi wa Agag.

Wa a pase lòd pou tout anplwaye gouvènman li mete ajenou, bese tèt yo jouk atè devan Aman pou montre jan yo respekte l'. Tout anplwaye yo te fè sa vre esepte Madoche ki te derefize fè bagay konsa.

Lòt anplwaye yo mande Madoche poukisa li t'ap dezobeyi lòd wa a te bay la.

Chak jou yo te dèyè l' pou l' te konfòme l'. Men, li te refize koute yo. Li esplike yo se jwif li ye, li pa kapab bese tèt li jouk atè devan Aman. Se konsa mesye yo al di Aman sa pou yo wè si li pa t'ap di Madoche anyen.

Lè Aman wè Madoche te derefize ni mete ajenou, ni bese tèt li jouk atè devan li lè l'ap pase, li ofiske.

Lè li vin konnen menm se jwif Madoche te ye, li fè lide se pa Madoche sèlman l'ap pini. L'ap òganize l' pou l' touye dènye kras jwif ki nan peyi wa Asyeris la.

¶ Lè sa a, wa Asyeris t'ap mache sou douzan depi li t'ap gouvènen. Nan premye mwa a, mwa Nisan an, Aman mande yon divinò fè l' konnen ki jou ak ki mwa ki pi bon pou l' fè sa l' te vle fè a. Se konsa yo tonbe sou douzyèm mwa a, mwa Ada a.

Lè sa a, Aman al di wa a: -Monwa, gen yon ras moun ki gaye nan tout peyi w'ap gouvènen yo, yo toupatou nan mitan pèp yo, men yo viv apa. Mès pa yo pa menm ak mès lòt pèp yo. Lèfini, yo derefize obeyi lòd ou bay yo. Li pa ta bon pou wa a fèmen je l' sou sa.

Si wa a ta vle, li ta bay lòd pou yo touye yo. Si wa a fè sa, m'ap ranmase twasanswasannkenz (375) tòn ajan nan men anplwaye leta yo m'a mete nan kès wa a.

10 Wa a ba li kat blanch. Li wete gwo bag ki nan dwèt li a bay Aman, pitit gason Amedata, moun ras Agag la, ki pa t' vle wè jwif yo.

11 Epi wa a di l' konsa: -Mwen ba ou pèp sa a ansanm ak richès li yo. Fè sa ou vle ak yo.

12 Se konsa, nan trèzyèm jou premye mwa a, Aman fè rele tout sekretè wa yo, li ba yo yon piblikasyon pou yo mete nan lang chak peyi, jan yo ekri lang lan nan peyi a. Lèfini, li bay lòd pou yo voye l' bay tout prefè wa a, tout gouvènè pwovens yo ak tout chèf lòt pèp yo. Piblikasyon an te fèt nan non wa Asyeris. Lèfini, li mete so bag wa a anba li.

13 Yo voye mesaje kouri pote piblikasyon an nan tout peyi ki anba kòmandman wa a. Piblikasyon an te bay lòd pou lè trèzyèm jou mwa Ada a va rive, yon sèl jou a pou yo te touye tout jwif yo, granmoun kou jennmoun, fanm kou timoun. Se pou yo te masakre yo san pitye, lèfini pou yo te piye tout byen yo.

14 Yo voye yon kopi piblikasyon an nan chak pwovens avèk lòd esprès pou yo te fè tout moun konnen pou yo pare kò yo pou jou sa a.

15 Dapre lòd wa a, mesaje yo kouri pote mesaj la nan tout pwovens yo. Yo pibliye nouvèl la tou nan lavil Souz, kapital la. Tout lavil Souz te tèt anba, wa a menm te chita ap bwè ak Aman.

Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews

After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,(A) elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?”(B) Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply.(C) Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged.(D) Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way(E) to destroy(F) all Mordecai’s people, the Jews,(G) throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur(H) (that is, the lot(I)) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on[a] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.(J)

Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs(K) are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey(L) the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.(M) If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”(N)

10 So the king took his signet ring(O) from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. 11 “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”

12 Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language(P) of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed(Q) with his own ring. 13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews(R)—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar,(S) and to plunder(T) their goods. 14 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 they would be ready for that day.(U)

15 The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.(V) The king and Haman sat down to drink,(W) but the city of Susa was bewildered.(X)

Footnotes

  1. Esther 3:7 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have And the lot fell on.
  2. Esther 3:9 That is, about 375 tons or about 340 metric tons