< Esther 2 >

1 After a while, King Xerxes quit being so angry. He thought about Vashti, and he thought about the law he had made because of what she [had done, and he wanted another wife].
Apre sa, lè kolè wa a fin pase, lide wa a te toujou sou sa Vachti te fè a ak sou desizyon li menm li te pran lè sa a.
2 So his personal servants said to him, “[Your majesty, ] you should send some men to search throughout the empire for some beautiful young women/virgins for you.
Se konsa, nan moun ki toujou avèk wa a, gen ladan yo ki di l': -Poukisa ou pa mete moun chache pou ou kèk bèl ti jenn fi ki tifi toujou?
3 [After they find some, ] you can appoint some officials in each province to bring them to the place where you keep (your wives/the women you sleep with) here in Susa. Then Hegai, the man who is in charge of these women, can arrange for ointments to be put [on their bodies] to make them [more] beautiful.
Nan tout pwovens peyi ou la, wa chwazi kèk enspekte ki va chache dènye bèl ti jenn fi ki poko nan gason. Y'a mennen yo nan kay madanm ou yo, isit la, lavil Souz, kapital la. Wa mete yo sou kont Egayi, domestik konfyans ou ki reskonsab madanm ou yo, pou li ba yo tou sa yo bezwen pou fè kò yo bèl.
4 Then the woman who pleases you most can become queen instead of Vashti.” The king liked what they suggested, so he did it.
Lèfini, jenn fi ki va fè ou plezi plis la wa mete l' larenn nan plas Vachti a. Wa a wè se te yon bon lide, li fè sa konsa vre.
5 At that time there was a Jew [living] in Susa, the capital, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair. Jair was a descendant of Shimei. Shimei was a descendant of [King Saul’s father] Kish. [They were all] from the tribe descended from Benjamin.
Lè sa a, nan lavil Souz, kapital peyi a, te gen yon jwif ki te rele Madoche. Se te pitit Jayi, nan branch fanmi Benjamen. Li te soti nan fanmi Kich ak Chimeyi.
6 [Many years before that, ] King Nebuchadnezzar had taken (Mordecai/Mordecai’s family) [and brought them from Jerusalem] to Babylon, at the same time he brought King Jehoiachin of Judah and many other people to Babylon.
Lè Nèbikadneza, wa peyi Babilòn lan, te pran Jekonya, wa peyi Jida a, ansanm ak lòt prizonye yo nan lavil Jerizalèm pou l' te depòte yo, Madoche te ladan l' tou.
7 Mordecai had a cousin whose [Hebrew] name was Hadassah. She had a beautiful face and beautiful body/figure. Her [Persian] name was Esther. After her father and mother died, Mordecai took care of Esther as though she were his own daughter.
Li te gen yon ti kouzin li ki te rele Estè. Men bon non jwif li se te Adasa. Se te yon bèl fi anfòm. Lè papa l' ak manman l' mouri, Madoche te pran l' lakay li, li leve l' tankou pwòp pitit fi li.
8 After the king commanded [that they search for some beautiful women], they brought Esther and many other young women to the king’s palace [in Susa], and (the king put Hegai/Hegai was put) in charge of them.
Apre yo te fin pibliye lòd wa a, yo mache chache anpil jenn fi, yo mennen yo lakay wa a lavil Souz, kapital la. Estè te ladan yo tou. Se konsa li te lakay wa a, sou kont Egayi ki te reskonsab tout madanm wa yo.
9 Hegai was very pleased with Esther, and he treated her well. He immediately arranged for her to be given ointments to make her [even more] beautiful, and [he ordered that] special food [would be given to her]. [He arranged that] seven maids from the king’s palace [would take care of her], and arranged that she/they would stay in the best rooms.
Estè te fè Egayi plezi anpil. San l' te ale avè l'. Li pa pèdi tan li, li ba li tou sa li te bezwen pou fè kò l' bèl ak manje ki bon pou li. Li chwazi sèt bòn lakay wa a, li bay Estè pou sèvis pa l', epi li mete l' nan pi bon apatman ki te genyen nan kay madanm wa yo.
10 Esther did not tell anyone that she was a Jew, because Mordecai had told her not to tell anyone.
Estè pa t' kite pèsonn konnen moun ki peyi ak ki ras li te ye, paske Madoche te ba li lòd pou l' pa t' di anyen sou sa.
11 Every day Mordecai walked near the courtyard of the place where those women stayed. He asked [people who entered the courtyard] to find out [and tell him] what was happening to Esther.
Chak jou, Madoche bò pa l' menm t'ap pwonmennen devan lakou kay medam yo pou l' te konnen jan Estè t'ap degaje l', ki jan sa tapral pase pou li.
12 Before these women were taken to the king, they put ointments on [the bodies of] these women for one year to make them more beautiful. For six months they [rubbed olive] oil mixed with myrrh [on their bodies each day]. For [the next] six months they rubbed ointments and perfumes on their bodies.
Yo te pran yon lanne nèt pou pare jenn fi yo. Yo pase sis mwa ap pran masaj ak lwil fèt ak lami, sis mwa ak odè ansanm ak krèm fèt pou madan marye. Apre sa, yo mennen jenn fi yo yonn apre lòt al jwenn wa Asyeris.
13 Then, when one of these women [was summoned to] go to the king, she was allowed to wear whatever clothes and jewelry she chose.
Men ki jan sa te fèt: lè yon jenn fi ap kite kay medam yo pou ale kay wa a, yo ba li tou sa li te vle mete sou li.
14 In the evening, they would take her [to the king’s own room]. The next morning, they would take her to another place where the women [who had slept with the king] stayed. There another official whose name was Shaashgaz was in charge [of those women]. [Those women would live there for the rest of their lives, and] one of those women would go back to the king again only if the king very much wanted her to come again, and only if he told Shaashgaz the name of the woman.
Se yon jou swa yo toujou mennen l'. Nan maten, yo fè l' ale nan yon lòt kay wa a te genyen pou fanm kay li yo. Yo renmèt li nan men Chagaz ki te reskonsab kay sa a. Jenn fi a pa t' gen pou l' te tounen kay wa a ankò, esepte si wa a te vle. Lè konsa, se wa a ki pou bay non fi li vle a.
15 Everyone who saw Esther liked her. After King Xerxes had been ruling for seven years, it was Esther’s turn to go to him. When they took her to the king, it was during the middle part of the winter. She wore only the things that Hegai suggested.
Jou pou Estè ale kay wa a rive. Estè, pitit fi Abikayil la, kouzin Madoche te pran pou pitit fi li a, leve, li pa mande anyen pase sa Egayi, domestik konfyans wa a ki te reskonsab jenn fi yo, te ba li konsèy mande pou mete sou li. Tout moun tonbe pou Estè lè yo wè l'.
Se konsa, Asyeris t'ap mache sou sètan depi li te wa, nan dizyèm mwa, mwa yo rele Tebèt la, lè yo mennen Estè devan wa a lakay li.
17 The king liked Esther more than he liked any of the other women [that they brought to him]. He liked her so much that he put on her head the queen’s crown, and he declared that Esther would be the queen instead of Vashti.
Wa a tonbe pou Estè plis pase pou tout lòt fanm li te janm konnen. Estè te rive fè wa a plezi plis pase tout lòt jenn fi yo. Wa a renmen l' plis pase lòt yo. Li mete kouwòn li a sou tèt Estè, li nonmen l' larenn nan plas Vachti a.
18 To celebrate her [becoming the queen], he had a big banquet/feast prepared for all his administrators and [other] officials. He generously gave [expensive] gifts to everyone, and he declared that in all the provinces there would be a holiday, [a time when people did not have to pay taxes].
Lèfini, li voye envite tout chèf li yo ak moun pa l' yo, li fè yon gwo resepsyon pou Estè. Li bay yon jou vakans nan tout peyi a nèt. Apre sa, li bay kado adwat agoch jan wa yo konn fè l' la.
19 Later all those women who had spent a night with the king were gathered together again. By that time Mordecai had become an official at the palace.
Pandan tout tan yo t'ap mennen jenn fi yo bay wa a, Madoche te chita bò pòtay palè a.
20 But Esther still did not tell anyone that she was a Jew. She continued to do what Mordecai had told her to do.
Estè menm pa t' kite pèsonn konnen moun ki peyi ak ki ras li te ye. Madoche te ba li lòd pa di anyen sou sa. Estè te obeyi l' jan li te toujou obeyi l' lè li te timoun lakay li.
21 One day when Mordecai was doing his work in the palace, two of the king’s officials were there. Their names were Bigthana and Teresh. They were the guards who stood outside the king’s own rooms. They became angry [with the king], and they were planning how they could assassinate/kill him.
Antan Madoche te chita bò pòtay la, de domestik konfyans wa a, Bigtan ak Tèrèch, ki t'ap fè pòs devan chanm wa a, fache sou wa a, yo fè konplo pou yo touye l'.
22 But Mordecai heard about what they were planning, and he told that to Queen Esther. Then she told the king what Mordecai had found out.
Madoche vin konn sa. Li di larenn Estè sa. Larenn Estè menm al di wa a men sa Madoche voye di l'.
23 The king investigated and found out that Mordecai’s report was true. So the king ordered that those two men be hanged. When that was done, (an official wrote a report/a report was written) about it in a book called ‘The book that records what happened while Xerxes was king’.
Yo mennen ankèt, yo jwenn sa Madoche te di a se te vre. Yo pann de mesye yo. Lèfini, wa a bay lòd pou yo ekri koze a nan gwo liv achiv gouvènman yo.

< Esther 2 >