< Esther 1 >

1 King Xerxes ruled [a very big empire which had] 127 provinces. It extended from India [in the east] to Ethiopia [in the west].
Vwala se te sou rèy wa Asyeris. Li t'ap gouvènen sanvennsèt (127) pwovens depi peyi Lend rive peyi Letiopi.
2 He ruled the empire [while he lived] in the capital city, Susa.
Lè sa a, wa a te rete lavil Souz, kapital la, ki te tankou yon sitadèl.
3 During the third year that he ruled his empire, he invited all his administrators and [other] officials to a big banquet/feast. He invited all the commanders of the armies of Persia and Media to come to the banquet. He also invited the governors and other leaders of the provinces.
Li te gen twazan depi li te wa. Yon jou, li bay yon gwo fèt babako pou tout chèf li yo ak pou tout moun k'ap sèvi avè l' nan gouvènman an. Tout lame peyi Pès ak peyi Medi a te la tou ansanm ak tout gouvènè ak tout gwo zotobre pwovens yo.
4 [The celebration] lasted for six months. During that time the king showed his guests all his wealth and other things that showed how great his kingdom was (OR, how great a king he was).
Pandan sis mwa, wa a t'ap fè yo wè jan palè l' la te rich, jan li te grannèg anpil, ak kantite bèl bagay li te genyen.
5 At the end of those six months, the king invited people to another banquet. He invited to the banquet all the men who worked in the palace, including those who had important jobs and those who had unimportant jobs. [This celebration] lasted for seven days. It was in the courtyard of the palace in Susa.
Apre tout jou sa yo, wa a fè yon gwo fèt pou tout moun, rich kou pòv, ki te rete lavil Souz, kapital la. Pandan sèt jou, li resevwa mesye yo nan lakou jaden palè l' la.
6 [In the courtyard] were beautiful blue and white curtains that were fastened by white and purple cords/ribbons to rings that were on pillars made from [expensive white stone called] marble. [The guests sat on] gold and silver couches. The couches were on a pavement/floor which had on top of it designs made from various kinds of expensive stones.
Lakou palè a te dekore ak bèl rido koulè blan ak ble. Yo te mare rido yo ak bèl ti kòdon koulè violèt nan bag fèt an ajan moute sou gwo poto fèt an mab. Yo te ranje bèl ti kabann fèt an lò ak an ajan nan tout lakou a. Lakou a te pave ak mab blan, mab wouj, mab nwa, gwo pèl klere, ak bèl pye ble.
7 [The guests] drank wine from gold cups. Each cup had a different design on it.
Yo te sèvi bweson nan gwo gode lò. Chak gode te gen yon fòm apa. Yo te bay diven wa a an kantite, jan wa a te vle l' la.
8 There was a lot of wine, because the king wanted the guests to drink as much as they wanted. But the king told the servants that they should not force anyone to drink more than he wanted.
Tout moun t'ap bwè san pesonn pa kontwole bouch yo, paske wa a te bay kanbizye li yo lòd pou chak moun te jwenn mezi yo vle.
9 [At the same time, the king’s wife, ] Queen Vashti, invited the wives of the men who worked in the palace to a banquet [in another room in the palace].
Larenn Vachti bò pa l' t'ap resevwa medam yo anndan palè wa Asyeris la.
10 On the last/seventh day of those banquets, when King Xerxes was partially drunk from drinking wine, he [summoned] seven of his personal servants. They were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas.
Dènye jou fèt la, wa a t'ap bwè, kè l' te kontan. Li fè rele sèt nan nèg konfyans pa l' yo: Se te Mayouman, Bizta, Abona, Bigta, Obagta, Zeta ak Kakas.
11 He told them to bring Queen Vashti to him, wearing her crown. He wanted his guests to see that she was very beautiful.
Li ba yo lòd pou y' al chache larenn Vachti ak tout kouwòn li sou tèt li. Larenn lan te yon bèl fanm. Wa a te vle fè pèp la ak tout chèf li yo wè jan li bèl.
12 But when those servants told Vashti what the king wanted, she refused to go to the king [because she did not want to display her beauty in front of a group of half-drunk men]. So that caused the king to become very angry.
Men lè nèg konfyans yo al di larenn Vachti lòd wa a te ba yo a, li derefize vini. Sa te fè wa a fache. Li te move anpil.
13 Immediately he had a meeting with the seven men who were the most important officials in Persia and Media. They were the men whom he often asked (for their advice/what he should do). And they were men who knew all the customs and laws [of Persia]. Their names were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan.
Se te koutim lan lè sa a chak fwa wa a te gen yon bagay pou l' regle, li toujou pran konsèy nan men moun ki konnen sa ki dwat ak sa lalwa mande. Se konsa, wa a fè chache konseye l' yo pou yo di l' sa pou l' fè.
Men konseye ki te pi pre l' yo se te Kachna, Cheta, Admata, Tachich, Meris, Masena ak Mimoukan, sèt gwo chèf ki te soti nan peyi Pès ak nan peyi Medi ki te gen dwa wè wa a lè yo vle. Lèfini, se yo ki te gen premye plas nan gouvènman an.
15 The king said to them, “Queen Vashti has refused to obey me when I sent my servants [to tell her to come here]. What do our laws say that we should do to someone who [acts/behaves like that]?”
Wa a di yo konsa: -Dapre lalwa, kisa pou m' fè larenn Vachti? Mwen voye nèg konfyans mwen yo al ba li yon lòd, li derefize obeyi m'.
16 While the other officials were present, Memucan told the king, [“Your majesty], Queen Vashti has (insulted/done wrong against) you, but she has also insulted all your officials and everyone else (in your empire/that you rule over).
Lè sa a Mimoukan pran lapawòl devan wa a ak tout lòt chèf yo, li di konsa: -Se pa sèlman wa a larenn Vachti manke dega. Se tout chèf ak tout gason k'ap viv nan tout peyi ki sou lòd wa a li manke dega.
17 All the women [throughout the empire] will hear what she has done, and they will say, ‘The king commanded Queen Vashti to come to him, and she refused.’ [So they will not obey their husbands. Instead, ] they will begin to not respect their husbands.
Lè medam yo va konnen sa larenn Vachti fè a, yo tout yo pral pran mari yo pou bòbòy. Y'ap di: Wa Asyeris ki wa Asyeris, li te bay larenn Vachti lòd pou vin bò kote l', larenn lan te derefize!
18 Before this day ends, the wives of all us officials in Persia and Media will hear what the queen did, and they also will refuse to obey their husbands. They will not respect us, and they will cause us to become very angry.
Lè madanm chèf peyi Pès ak peyi Medi yo va konnen sa larenn lan fè la a, se sa ase yo pral pale nan zòrèy mari yo depi jòdi a menm. Lè sa a, toupatou medam yo p'ap respekte mari yo ankò. Mari yo menm pral fè kòlè sou madanm yo.
19 So if it pleases you, O king, you should write a law. Like all the other laws of Persia and Media, it will be a law that (no one can change/cannot be changed.) Write a law that states that Queen Vashti will never be allowed to see you again [and will not continue to be the queen]. Then you can choose another woman to be queen, a woman who deserves to be queen more than Vashti does.
Si wa a dakò, se pou l' fè yon deklarasyon pou l' fè tout moun konnen larenn Vachti pa janm gen dwa parèt devan l' ankò. Li pral chwazi yon lòt madanm pi bon pase l' mete larenn nan plas li. Lèfini, l'a fè ekri lòd sa a nan liv lalwa peyi Pès ak peyi Medi a, pou yo pa janm chanje l'.
20 Then, when everyone in your empire hears what you have commanded, all the women, including those who are important and those who are not important, will respect and obey their husbands.”
Y'a pibliye lòd wa a nan tout gwo peyi ou la pou tout moun konnen. Lè sa a, mesye yo te mèt grannèg, yo te mèt ti nèg, madanm yo va gen respè pou yo.
21 The king and the other officials liked what Memucan suggested, so he [did that. He wrote a law] proclaiming that.
Wa a ansanm ak chèf yo te renmen lide Mimoukan te bay la. Se konsa wa a fè sa Mimoukan te di fè a.
22 Then he sent letters to all the provinces, stating that all men should have complete authority over their wives and their children. He wrote the letters in every language and type of writing/alphabet that was used in each province.
Li voye mesaj nan tout peyi ki te anba baton kòmandman l' lan. Mesaj la te ekri nan lang chak peyi, jan yo ekri lang lan nan peyi a. Li voye di se pou chak gason chèf lakay yo: Lè yo pale, se fini!

< Esther 1 >