Esther 9

Wycliffe Bible

9 Therefore in the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which we said now before to be called Adar, (that is, March,) when slaying was made ready to all the Jews by Haman, and their enemies setted treason to their blood, on the contrary, the Jews now began to be the higher part, and to venge them(selves) of their adversaries. (And so on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which earlier we said was called Adar, or March, when their enemies had intended slaughter for all the Jews, and had set treason for their blood, now, on the contrary, the Jews took the upper hand, to avenge themselves on their adversaries.)

² And the Jews were gathered together by all cities, castles, and places, to stretch forth (their) hand against their enemies and pursuers; and no man was hardy to against-stand them, for the dread of their greatness had pierced all peoples. (And the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities, in all the provinces, to put forth their hands against their enemies and pursuers; and no one was fool-hardy enough to stand against them/and no one was hardy enough to withstand them, for the fear of their greatness had pierced through all peoples.)

³ For why both the judges, dukes, and procurators of provinces, and each dignity, that were sovereigns of all places and works, enhanced the Jews, for the dread of Mordecai (was upon them), (And the judges, governors, and procurators of the provinces, who were the rulers of all the places and works, helped the Jews, because they all feared Mordecai,)

⁴ whom they knew to be (a) prince of the king’s palace (whom they knew to be a prince, or one of the leaders, in the king’s palace), and to be able to do full much; and the fame of his name increased each day, and (it) flew by the mouths of all men.

⁵ Therefore the Jews smote their enemies with great vengeance, and killed them, and yielded to their enemies that, that they had made ready to do to them, (And so the Jews struck down their enemies with a great vengeance, and killed them, and yielded to their enemies, what they had prepared to do to them,)

⁶ in so much, that also in the city of Susa the Jews killed five hundred men, without the ten sons of Haman of the kindred of Agag, the enemy of Jews, of the which sons these be the names; (and so in the capital city of Susa, the Jews killed five hundred men, besides the ten sons of Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, of which sons these be the names;)

⁷ Parshandatha, Dalphon, and Aspatha,

⁸ and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha,

⁹ and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vajezatha.

¹⁰ And when the Jews had slain the sons of Haman, they would not touch the preys of the chattels, or substance, of them. (And after the Jews had killed Haman’s sons, they did not take away any of the spoils of their chattel, or their possessions.)

¹¹ And anon the number of them, that were slain in the city of Susa, was told to the king. (And that same day, the number of people killed in the capital city of Susa, was told to the king.)

¹² And he said to the queen, The Jews have slain five hundred men in the city of Susa, and the ten sons of Haman; how great slaying guessest thou, that they haunt in all (the) provinces? what askest thou more? and what wilt thou, that I command to be done? (And he said to the queen, The Jews have killed five hundred men here in the capital city of Susa, and the ten sons of Haman as well; how great a slaughter thinkest thou that they have done in all the provinces? what more askest thou for? and what wilt thou, that I command to be done?)

¹³ To whom Esther answered, If it pleaseth the king, (let) power be given to the Jews, that as they have done today in Susa, so do they also tomorrow, and (also) that the (bodies of the) ten sons of Haman be hanged up in gibbets. (To whom Esther answered, If it please the king, let power be given to the Jews, so that as they have done today in Susa, let them do here also tomorrow, and let the bodies of the ten sons of Haman be hung up on the gallows.)

¹⁴ And the king commanded, that it should be done so; and anon the behest of the king hanged in Susa, and the (bodies of the) ten sons of Haman were hanged (up). (And the king commanded, that it be done so; and at once the king’s order was hung up in Susa, and the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were hung up as well.)

¹⁵ Therefore when the Jews were gathered together, in the fourteenth day of the month [of] Adar, that is, March, three hundred men were slain in Susa, and the Jews took not away the chattel of those men. (And so when the Jews were gathered together, on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, or of March, three hundred more men were killed in Susa, and again the Jews did not take away any of their chattel, or their possessions.)

¹⁶ But also by all the provinces, that were subject to the lordship of the king, Jews stood for their lives, when their enemies and pursuers were slain, in so much, that five and seventy thousand of slain men were filled, and no man touched any thing of the chattels of them. (And in all the provinces, which were subject to the king’s rule, when the Jews stood up for their lives, their enemies and pursuers were killed, indeed, over seventy-five thousand people were killed that day, but no Jew ever touched anything of their possessions.)

¹⁷ Certainly the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, or March, was the day of slaying with all them, and in the fourteenth day they ceased to slay; and that day they ordained to be solemn, so that therein in each time afterward, they should give attention to meats, to joy, and to feasts. (And so the thirteenth day of the month of Adar was the day that the Jews, outside the city of Susa, slaughtered their enemies, and then on the fourteenth day they ceased their slaughter; and that day they ordained as a time for feasting, so that at that time each year thereafter, they would give attention to food, and to joy, and to feasts.)

¹⁸ And those Jews, that used, or haunted, the slaying in the city of Susa, lived in (the) slaying in the thirteenth and fourteenth day(s) of the same month. But in the fifteenth day they ceased to slay; and therefore they ordained the same day to be solemn of feasts and of gladness. (But the Jews, who did the slaughter in the capital city of Susa, continued their slaughter from the thirteenth to the fourteenth day of the month. And then on the fifteenth day they ceased the slaughter of their enemies; and so they ordained that day to be a time for feasts and for gladness.)

¹⁹ And these Jews, that dwelled in burg towns not walled, and in villages, deemed the fourteen day of the month [of] Adar to be solemn of feasts, and of joy, so that they be joyful therein, and send, each to (the) other, parts of their feasts, and of their meats. (And this is why those Jews who live in remote towns without walls, and in villages, deem the fourteen day of the month of Adar, or of March, to be a time for feasts, and for joy, and indeed they be joyful on that day, and send portions of the food from their feasts to one another.)

²⁰ And Mordecai wrote all these things, and he sent all these things written by letters to the Jews, that dwelled in all the provinces of the king, as well to Jews dwelling nigh as far, (And Mordecai wrote down all these things, and he sent letters concerning all these things, to the Jews who lived in all the king’s provinces, yea, to the Jews living nearby, as well as to those living afar off,)

²¹ that they should receive and hold for their feast days the fourteenth and the fifteenth day(s) of the month [of] Adar, and ever[more] when the year turneth again, to hallow these days with solemn honour; (so that they would keep the fourteenth and the fifteenth days of the month of Adar, for their feast days, and forevermore when the year turneth again, celebrate these days with feasts of honouring;)

²² for in those days the Jews venged themselves of their enemies, and then their mourning and their sorrow were turned into gladness and joy; and therefore these days should be days of feasts, and of gladness, and that they should send, each to (the) other, parts of (their) meats, and give little gifts to poor men. (for in those days the Jews avenged themselves upon their enemies, and mourning and sorrow were turned into gladness and joy; and so these days should be feast days, filled with gladness, and they should send portions of their food to one another, and give little gifts to the poor.)

²³ And the Jews received into a solemn custom all those things, which they began to do in that time, and which things Mordecai had commanded by letters to be done. (And so the Jews undertook as a festive custom all these things, which they began to do at that time, and which Mordecai had commanded in his letters to be done.)

²⁴ For Haman, the son of Hammedatha, of the kindred of Agag, the enemy and adversary of Jews, thought evil against them, to slay them, and to do them away, and he cast pur, that is to say in our language, (a) lot, to do it. (For Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted evil against them, to kill them, and to do them away, and so he cast pur, that is to say, a lot, to determine when to do it.)

²⁵ And after this Esther entered in to the king, and besought, that the enforcings of Haman should be made void by the letters of the king, and that the evil, which he had thought against the Jews, should turn again into his head. Forsooth they hanged on the cross both him and his sons. (But then Esther went in to the king, and beseeched him, that Haman’s endeavours should be stopped with new written orders from the king, and that the evil, which Haman had plotted against the Jews, should return onto his own head. And so they hanged him and his sons on the gallows.)

²⁶ And from that time these days were called Purim, that is, (the days) of lots, for pur, that is, (a) lot, was sent, or cast, into a vessel; and the Jews received upon themselves, and upon their seed, and upon all men that would be coupled to their religion, all things that were done, and (that) be contained in the volume of the epistle, that is, of this book, (And from that time, these days were called Purim, that is, the Days of Lots, for pur, that is, a lot, was cast to determine the day that they would die; and the Jews took upon themselves, and upon their descendants, and upon all people who would be coupled to their religion, all the things that were done, and that be contained in this book,)

²⁷ and which things they suffered, and which things were changed afterward, so that it be not leaveful to any man to pass these two days without solemnity, which days the scripture witnesseth, and certain times ask, while the years come continually one after another. (and what things they suffered, and what things happened afterwards, so that it be not lawful for anyone to pass these two days without feasting, yea, the days to which this writing witnesseth, and for which a certain time is ordained, while the years continue to come, one after the other.)

²⁸ These be the days, which never any forgetting shall do away, but by all generations all the provinces, that be in all the world, shall hallow them; neither there is any city, in which the days of Purim, that is, (the days) of lots, shall not be kept of [the] Jews, and of the generation of them, which is bound to these ceremonies. (These be the days, which no forgetting shall do away, that is, they should always be remembered, and all the generations, or the descendants, of the people, who be in all the provinces, in all the world, shall keep and honour them; and there shall be no city, in which the Days of Purim, that is, the Days of Lots, shall not be kept by the Jews, and by their generations, or their descendants, who be bound and obliged to keep these ceremonies.)

²⁹ And Esther, the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai, the Jew, wrote also the second epistle, that this solemn day should be hallowed afterward with all busyness. (And Queen Esther, Abihail’s daughter, and Mordecai, the Jew, confirmed in writing with a second letter, that these feast days should be kept thereafter with all diligence.)

³⁰ And they sent (their letter) to those Jews, that dwelled in an hundred and seven and twenty provinces of king Ahasuerus, that they should have peace, and receive the truth, (And they sent their letter to all the Jews, who lived in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of King Ahasuerus, so that they would have peace, and receive the truth,)

³¹ and that they should keep the days of lots, and hallow them with joy in their time, as Mordecai and Esther had ordained; and they received the (rules for the) fastings, and the cries, and the days of lots, to be kept of themselves and of their seed, (and so that they would keep the Days of Purim, that is, the Days of Lots, and celebrate them with joy at their proper time, as Mordecai and Esther had ordained; just as they had received the rules for fasting, and mourning, or lamenting, to be kept by themselves, and by their descendants.)

³² and they received all things that be contained in the story of this book, that is called Esther. (And so Esther’s command confirmed these rules for Purim, or Lots, that be contained in this book.)