Esther 4
1 When Mordecai had heard this, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth, strewing ashes on his head, and he cried out with a loud voice in the main street of the city, revealing the anguish of his soul.
quae cum audisset Mardocheus scidit vestimenta sua et indutus est sacco spargens cinerem capiti et in platea mediae civitatis voce magna clamabat ostendens amaritudinem animi sui
2 And he continued with this lamenting, even up to the gate of the palace, for no one clothed with sackcloth is permitted to enter the king’s court.
et hoc heiulatu usque ad fores palatii gradiens non enim erat licitum indutum sacco aulam regis intrare
3 Likewise, in all provinces, towns, and places where the king’s cruel decision arrived, there was extraordinary mourning among the Jews with fasting, wailing, and weeping, with many using sackcloth and ashes for their bed.
in omnibus quoque provinciis oppidis ac locis ad quae crudele regis dogma pervenerat planctus ingens erat apud Iudaeos ieiunium ululatus et fletus sacco et cinere multis pro strato utentibus
4 Then Esther’s maids and eunuchs went in and informed her. When she heard it, she was shocked, and she sent a garment to clothe him and to take away the sackcloth, but he would not accept it.
ingressae sunt autem puellae Hester et eunuchi nuntiaveruntque ei quod audiens consternata est et misit vestem ut ablato sacco induerent eum quam accipere noluit
5 And she sent for Hathach the eunuch, whom the king had appointed to minister to her, and she instructed him to go to Mordecai and to discern from him why he was doing this.
accitoque Athac eunucho quem rex ministrum ei dederat praecepit ut iret ad Mardocheum et disceret ab eo cur hoc faceret
6 And departing, Hathach went to Mordecai, who was standing in the street of the city, in front of the palace entrance.
egressusque Athac ivit ad Mardocheum stantem in platea civitatis ante ostium palatii
7 He told him everything that had happened, how Haman had promised to transfer silver into the king’s treasury for the death of the Jews.
qui indicavit ei omnia quae acciderant quomodo Aman promisisset ut in thesauros regis pro Iudaeorum nece inferret argentum
8 Also, he gave him a copy of the edict that was hanging up in Susa, so that he would show it to the queen and advise her to go in to the king and beg him on behalf of her people.
exemplarque edicti quod pendebat in Susis dedit ei ut reginae ostenderet et moneret eam ut intraret ad regem et deprecaretur eum pro populo suo
9 And Hathach returned and informed Esther of all that Mordecai had said.
regressus Athac nuntiavit Hester omnia quae Mardocheus dixerat
10 She answered him, and ordered him say to Mordecai:
quae respondit ei et iussit ut diceret Mardocheo
11 “All the servants of the king and all the provinces that are under his realm understand that anyone, whether man or woman, who enters the king’s inner court, who has not been summoned, is immediately to be put to death without any delay, unless the king should happen to extend the golden scepter to him, as a sign of clemency, so that he will be able to live. How then can I go in to the king, when, for thirty days now, I have not been called to him?”
omnes servi regis et cunctae quae sub dicione eius sunt norunt provinciae quod sive vir sive mulier invocatus interius atrium regis intraverit absque ulla cunctatione statim interficiatur nisi forte rex auream virgam ad eum tetenderit pro signo clementiae atque ita possit vivere ego igitur quomodo ad regem intrare potero quae triginta iam diebus non sum vocata ad eum
12 And when Mordecai had heard this, he again sent word to Esther, saying, “Do not think that you will save so much as your own soul, just because you are in the king’s house and are above all the Jews.
quod cum audisset Mardocheus
13 And when Mordecai had heard this, he again sent word to Esther, saying, “Do not think that you will save so much as your own soul, just because you are in the king’s house and are above all the Jews.
rursum mandavit Hester dicens ne putes quod animam tuam tantum liberes quia in domo regis es prae cunctis Iudaeis
14 For, if you remain silent now, the Jews will be delivered through some other opportunity, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for this reason, so that you would be prepared for such a time as this?”
si enim nunc silueris per aliam occasionem liberabuntur Iudaei et tu et domus patris tui peribitis et quis novit utrum idcirco ad regnum veneris ut in tali tempore parareris
15 And again Esther sent to Mordecai in these words:
rursumque Hester haec Mardocheo verba mandavit
16 “Go and gather together all the Jews whom you will find in Susa, and pray for me. Neither eat nor drink for three days and three nights, and I will fast with my handmaids similarly, and then I will go in to the king, doing what is against the law, not having been called, and so expose myself to mortal danger.”
vade et congrega omnes Iudaeos quos in Susis reppereris et orate pro me non comedatis et non bibatis tribus diebus ac noctibus et ego cum ancillulis meis similiter ieiunabo et tunc ingrediar ad regem contra legem faciens invocata tradensque me morti et periculo
17 And so Mordecai went, and he did everything that Esther had instructed him.
ivit itaque Mardocheus et fecit omnia quae ei Hester praeceperat
