Esther 8
Living Bible
8 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king that he was her cousin and foster father.[a] 2 The king took off his ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai appointing him Prime Minister;[b] and Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.
3 And now once more Esther came before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop Haman’s plot against the Jews. 4 And again the king held out the golden scepter to Esther. So she arose and stood before him, 5 and said, “If it please Your Majesty, and if you love me, send out a decree reversing Haman’s order to destroy the Jews throughout the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I endure it, to see my people butchered and destroyed?”
7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the palace of Haman, and he has been hanged upon the gallows because he tried to destroy you. 8 Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews, telling them whatever you want to in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring so that it can never be reversed.”[c]
9-10 Immediately the king’s secretaries were called in—it was now the 23rd day of the month of July—and they wrote as Mordecai dictated—a decree to the Jews and to the officials, governors, and princes of all the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 in all: the decree was translated into the languages and dialects of all the people of the kingdom. Mordecai wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed the message with the king’s ring and sent the letters by swift carriers—riders on camels, mules, and young dromedaries used in the king’s service. 11 This decree gave the Jews everywhere permission to unite in the defense of their lives and their families, to destroy all the forces opposed to them, and to take their property. 12 The day chosen for this throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus was the 28th day of February![d] 13 It further stated that a copy of this decree, which must be recognized everywhere as law, must be broadcast to all the people so that the Jews would be ready and prepared to overcome their enemies. 14 So the mail went out swiftly, carried by the king’s couriers and speeded by the king’s commandment. The same decree was also issued at Shushan Palace.
15 Then Mordecai put on the royal robes of blue and white and the great crown of gold, with an outer cloak of fine linen and purple, and went out from the presence of the king through the city streets filled with shouting people. 16 And the Jews had joy and gladness and were honored everywhere. 17 And in every city and province, as the king’s decree arrived, the Jews were filled with joy and had a great celebration and declared a holiday. And many of the people of the land pretended to be Jews, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.
Footnotes
- Esther 8:1 told the king that he was her cousin and foster father, literally, “had made known how they were related.”
- Esther 8:2 appointing him Prime Minister, implied.
- Esther 8:8 so that it can never be reversed. Haman’s message, too, had been sealed with the king’s ring and could not be reversed, even by the king. This was part of the famed “law of the Medes and Persians.” Now the king is giving permission for whatever other decree Mordecai can devise that will offset the first without actually canceling it.
- Esther 8:12 the 28th day of February. This was the same day set by Haman for the extermination of the Jews.
Esther 8
Maori Bible
8 No taua ra ka homai e Kingi Ahahueruha ki a Kuini Ehetere te whare o Hamana, hoariri o nga Hurai. A ka haere a Mororekai ki te aroaro o te kingi, na Ehetere hoki i whakaatu he whanaunga ia nona.
2 E unuhia ana e te kingi tona mowhiti i tangohia mai nei e ia i a Hamana, a hoatu ana ki a Mororekai; a i whakanohoia a Mororekai e Ehetere ki te whare o Hamana.
3 A i korero ano a Ehetere ki te aroaro o te kingi, me te takoto ano ki ona waewae, me te tangi ano, i inoi ki a ia kia karohia te kino a Hamana Akaki, me te whakaaro i whakaaro ai ia mo nga Hurai.
4 Katahi ka torona atu e te kingi te hepeta koura ki a Ehetere. Heoi ka whakatika a Ehetere, ka tu ki te aroaro o te kingi,
5 A ka mea, Ki te pai te kingi, ki te manakohia hoki ahau e ia, ki te mea he tika tenei mea ki to te kingi whakaaro, ki te mea he pai ahau ki tana titiro, me tuhituhi kia whakataka nga pukapuka i whakaaroa e Hamana tama a Hamerata Akaki ana i tuhit uhi ai kia huna nga Hurai i nga kawanatanga katoa a te kingi.
6 Me pehea hoki e ahei ai ahau te titiro ki te he e pa ki toku iwi? me pehea hoki e ahei ai ahau te titiro ki te hunanga o oku whanaunga?
7 Ano ra ko Kingi Ahahueruha ki a Kuini Ehetere raua ko Mororekai Hurai, Nana, kua oti te hoatu e ahau ki a Ehetere te whare o Hamana; kua oti ano tera te tarona ki runga ki te rakau mo tona ringa i totoro ki nga Hurai.
8 Ma korua ano e tuhituhi ta korua e pai ai mo nga Hurai, i runga i te ingoa o te kingi, hiri rawa ki te mowhiti o te kingi: he tuhituhi hoki i tuhituhia i runga i te ingoa o te kingi, a i hiritia ki te mowhiti o te kingi, e kore e whakataka.
9 Katahi ka karangatia nga karaipi a te kingi i taua wa, i te toru o nga marama, ara i te marama Hiwana, i te rua tekau ma toru o nga ra o taua marama; a ka tuhituhia nga mea katoa i whakahau ai a Mororekai ki nga Hurai, ki nga kawana, ratou ko nga kawana iti, ko nga rangatira ano o nga kawanatanga, o Inia mai ano a tae noa ki Etiopia, kotahi rau e rua tekau ma whitu nga kawanatanga; ki tenei kawanatanga, ki tenei kawanatanga, he mea whakarite ki ta ratou tuhituhi; ki tenei iwi, ki tenei iwi, he mea whakarite ano ki to ratou reo; ki nga Hurai ano, he mea whakarite ki ta ratou tuhituhi, ki to ratou reo.
10 Tuhituhia ana e ia i runga i te ingoa o Kingi Ahahueruha, hiri rawa ki te mowhiti o te kingi, a tukua ana nga pukapuka kia maua e nga kaikawe pukapuka i runga hoiho, i eke i runga i nga kararehe tere o nga mahi a te kingi, he momo:
11 E mea ana i roto te tukunga a te kingi i nga Hurai o nga pa katoa kia huihui, kia tu ki runga, kia ora ai ratou, kia whakangaro, kia whakamate, kia huna i nga ope katoa o te iwi o te kawanatanga e tauria ai ratou ko a ratou kohungahunga, ko a ra tou wahine, kia pahua hoki i o ratou taonga hei mea parakete,
12 I taua ra kotahi i nga kawanatanga katoa a Kingi Ahahueruha, ara i te tekau ma toru o nga ra o te tekau ma rua o nga marama, koia nei te marama Arara.
13 I whakapuakina ki nga iwi katoa nga kupu i tuhituhia mo te ture kia whakatakotoria i nga kawanatanga katoa, kia mataara ai nga Hurai i taua ra ki te rapu utu i o ratou hoariri.
14 Heoi haere ana nga kaikawe pukapuka, he mea waha e nga kararehe tere o nga mahi a te kingi, he mea whakahohoro, he mea akiaki e te kupu a te kingi. I homai ano te ture i Huhana, i te whare kingi.
15 Na haere ana a Mororekai i te aroaro o te kingi, ko tona kakahu he kakahu kingi, he puru, he ma, me te karauna koura nui, me tetahi kakahu hoki he rinena pai, he papura. Na hamama ana, hari ana te pa, a Huhana.
16 Na ko nga Hurai i maha, i koa, me te hari me te honore.
17 I nga kawanatanga katoa ano, i nga pa katoa i nga wahi i tae ai te kupu a te kingi me tana ture, he hari, he koa to nga Hurai, he kai hakari, he ra pai. A he tokomaha o nga iwi o te whenua i mea i a ratou hei Hurai; i tau hoki te wehi o nga Hura i ki a ratou.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.