Esther 1
1 In diebus Assueri, qui regnavit ab India usque Æthiopiam super centum viginti septem provincias,
And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (that is, the Ahasuerus that reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces),
2 quando sedit in solio regni sui, Susan civitas regni ejus exordium fuit.
in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the fortress,
3 Tertio igitur anno imperii sui fecit grande convivium cunctis principibus et pueris suis, fortissimis Persarum, et Medorum inclytis, et præfectis provinciarum coram se,
in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of the provinces being before him;
4 ut ostenderet divitias gloriæ regni sui, ac magnitudinem atque jactantiam potentiæ suæ, multo tempore, centum videlicet et octoginta diebus.
when he shewed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the splendid magnificence of his grandeur many days, a hundred and eighty days.
5 Cumque implerentur dies convivii, invitavit omnem populum, qui inventus est in Susan, a maximo usque ad minimum: et jussit septem diebus convivium præparari in vestibulo horti, et nemoris quod regio cultu et manu consitum erat.
And when these days were expired, the king made a feast to all the people that were present in Shushan the fortress, both to great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
6 Et pendebant ex omni parte tentoria ærii coloris et carbasini ac hyacinthini, sustentata funibus byssinis atque purpureis, qui eburneis circulis inserti erant, et columnis marmoreis fulciebantur. Lectuli quoque aurei et argentei, super pavimentum smaragdino et pario stratum lapide, dispositi erant: quod mira varietate pictura decorabat.
White, green, and blue [hangings] were fastened with cords of byssus and purple to silver rings and pillars of white marble; couches of gold and silver [lay] upon a pavement of red and white marble, and alabaster, and black marble.
7 Bibebant autem qui invitati erant aureis poculis, et aliis atque aliis vasis cibi inferebantur. Vinum quoque, ut magnificentia regia dignum erat, abundans, et præcipuum ponebatur.
And they gave drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance, according to the king's bounty.
8 Nec erat qui nolentes cogeret ad bibendum, sed sicut rex statuerat, præponens mensis singulos de principibus suis ut sumeret unusquisque quod vellet.
And the drinking was, according to commandment, without constraint; for so the king had appointed to all the magnates of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
9 Vasthi quoque regina fecit convivium feminarum in palatio, ubi rex Assuerus manere consueverat.
Also the queen Vashti made a feast for the women of the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
10 Itaque die septimo, cum rex esset hilarior, et post nimiam potationem incaluisset mero, præcepit Maumam, et Bazatha, et Harbona, et Bagatha, et Abgatha, et Zethar, et Charchas, septem eunuchis qui in conspectu ejus ministrabant,
On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of king Ahasuerus,
11 ut introducerent reginam Vasthi coram rege, posito super caput ejus diademate, ut ostenderet cunctis populis et principibus pulchritudinem illius: erat enim pulchra valde.
to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown to shew the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was of beautiful countenance.
12 Quæ renuit, et ad regis imperium quod per eunuchos mandaverat, venire contempsit. Unde iratus rex, et nimio furore succensus,
But the queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king which was [sent] by the chamberlains; and the king was very wroth, and his fury burned in him.
13 interrogavit sapientes, qui ex more regio semper ei aderant, et illorum faciebat cuncta consilio, scientium leges, ac jura majorum
And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king's business [conducted] before all that knew law and judgment;
14 (erant autem primi et proximi, Charsena, et Sethar, et Admatha, et Tharsis, et Mares, et Marsana, et Mamuchan, septem duces Persarum, atque Medorum, qui videbant faciem regis, et primi post eum residere soliti erant):
and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who sat first in the kingdom),
15 cui sententiæ Vasthi regina subjaceret, quæ Assueri regis imperium, quod per eunuchos mandaverat, facere noluisset.
What shall be done to the queen Vashti according to law, because she has not performed the word of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?
16 Responditque Mamuchan, audiente rege atque principibus: Non solum regem læsit regina Vasthi, sed et omnes populos et principes qui sunt in cunctis provinciis regis Assueri.
Then said Memucan before the king and the princes, The queen Vashti has not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
17 Egredietur enim sermo reginæ ad omnes mulieres, ut contemnant viros suos, et dicant: Rex Assuerus jussit ut regina Vasthi intraret ad eum, et illa noluit.
For the act of the queen will come abroad to all women, so as to render their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when they shall say, The king Ahasuerus commanded the queen Vashti to be brought in before him, and she came not!
18 Atque hoc exemplo omnes principum conjuges Persarum atque Medorum parvipendent imperia maritorum: unde regis justa est indignatio.
And the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's act, will say it this day to all the king's princes, and there will be contempt and anger enough.
19 Si tibi placet, egrediatur edictum a facie tua, et scribatur juxta legem Persarum atque Medorum, quam præteriri illicitum est, ut nequaquam ultra Vasthi ingrediatur ad regem, sed regnum illius altera, quæ melior est illa, accipiat.
If it please the king, let a royal order go forth from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it may not pass, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another that is better than she;
20 Et hoc in omne (quod latissimum est) provinciarum tuarum divulgetur imperium, et cunctæ uxores, tam majorum quam minorum, deferant maritis suis honorem.
and when the king's edict which he shall make shall be heard throughout his realm — for it is great — all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, from the greatest to the least.
21 Placuit consilium ejus regi et principibus: fecitque rex juxta consilium Mamuchan,
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan.
22 et misit epistolas ad universas provincias regni sui, ut quæque gens audire et legere poterat, diversis linguis et litteris, esse viros principes ac majores in domibus suis: et hoc per cunctos populos divulgari.
And he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people according to their language, That every man should bear rule in his own house, and should speak according to the language of his people.
