The Message Bible MSG
The Latin Vulgate VUL
1 Some time later, King Xerxes promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, making him the highest-ranking official in the government.
1
Post haec rex Assuerus exaltavit Aman filium Amadathi, qui erat de stirpe Agag: et posuit solium eius super omnes principes, quos habebat.
2 All the king's servants at the King's Gate used to honor him by bowing down and kneeling before Haman - that's what the king had commanded.
2
Cunctique servi regis, qui in foribus palatii versabantur, flectebant genua, et adorabant Aman: sic enim praeceperat eis imperator. solus Mardochaeus non flectebat genu, neque adorabat eum.
3 The king's servants at the King's Gate asked Mordecai about it: "Why do you cross the king's command?"
3
Cui dixerunt pueri regis, qui ad fores palatii praesidebant: Cur praeter ceteros non observas mandatum regis?
4 Day after day they spoke to him about this but he wouldn't listen, so they went to Haman to see whether something shouldn't be done about it. Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.
4
Cumque hoc crebrius dicerent, et ille nollet audire, nunciaverunt Aman, scire cupientes utrum perseveraret in sententia: dixerat enim eis se esse Iudaeum.
5 When Haman saw for himself that Mordecai didn't bow down and kneel before him, he was outraged.
5
Quod cum audisset Aman, et experimento probasset quod Mardochaeus non flecteret sibi genu, nec se adoraret, iratus valde,
6 Meanwhile, having learned that Mordecai was a Jew, Haman hated to waste his fury on just one Jew; he looked for a way to eliminate not just Mordecai but all Jews throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
6
et pro nihilo duxit in unum Mardochaeum mittere manus suas: audierat enim quod esset gentis Iudaeae. magisque voluit omnem Iudaeorum, qui erant in regno Assueri, perdere nationem.
7 In the first month, the month of Nisan, of the twelfth year of Xerxes, the pur - that is, the lot - was cast under Haman's charge to determine the propitious day and month. The lot turned up the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar.
7
Mense primo (cuius vocabulum Nisan) anno duodecimo regni Assueri, missa sors in urnam, quae Hebraice dicitur phur, coram Aman, quo die et quo mense gens Iudaeorum deberet interfici: et exivit mensis duodecimus, qui vocatur Adar.
8 Haman then spoke with King Xerxes: "There is an odd set of people scattered through the provinces of your kingdom who don't fit in. Their customs and ways are different from those of everybody else. Worse, they disregard the king's laws. They're an affront; the king shouldn't put up with them.
8
Dixitque Aman regi Assuero: populus per omnes provincias regni tui dispersus, et a se mutuo separatus, novis utens legibus et ceremoniis, insuper et regis scita contemnens. Et optime nosti quod non expediat regno tuo ut insolescat per licentiam.
9 If it please the king, let orders be given that they be destroyed. I'll pay for it myself. I'll deposit 375 tons of silver in the royal bank to finance the operation."
9
si tibi placet, decerne, ut pereat, et decem millia talentorum appendam arcariis gazae tuae.
10 The king slipped his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, archenemy of the Jews.
10
Tulit ergo rex annulum, quo utebatur, de manu sua, et dedit eum Aman filio Amadathi de progenie Agag, hosti Iudaeorum,
11 "Go ahead," the king said to Haman. "It's your money - do whatever you want with those people."
11
dixitque ad eum: Argentum, quod tu polliceris, tuum sit. de populo age quod tibi placet.
12 The king's secretaries were brought in on the thirteenth day of the first month. The orders were written out word for word as Haman had addressed them to the king's satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people. They were written in the script of each province and the language of each people in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.
12
Vocatique sunt scribae regis mense primo Nisan, tertiadecima die eiusdem mensis: et scriptum est, ut iusserat Aman, ad omnes satrapas regis, et iudices provinciarum, diversarumque gentium, ut quaeque gens legere poterat, et audire pro varietate linguarum ex nomine regis Assueri: et litterae signatae ipsius annulo,
13 Bulletins were sent out by couriers to all the king's provinces with orders to massacre, kill, and eliminate all the Jews - youngsters and old men, women and babies - on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar, and to plunder their goods.
13
missae sunt per cursores regis ad universas provincias ut occiderent atque delerent omnes Iudaeos, a puero usque ad senem, parvulos, et mulieres, uno die, hoc tertiodecimo mensis duodecimi, qui vocatur Adar, et bona eorum diriperent.
14 Copies of the bulletin were to be posted in each province, publicly available to all peoples, to get them ready for that day.
14
Summa autem epistolarum haec fuit, ut omnes provinciae scirent, et pararent se ad praedictam diem.
15 At the king's command, the couriers took off; the order was also posted in the palace complex of Susa. The king and Haman sat back and had a drink while the city of Susa reeled from the news.
15
Festinabant cursores, qui missi erant, regis imperium explere. Statimque in Susan pependit edictum, rege et Aman celebrante convivium, et cunctis Iudaeis, qui in urbe erant, flentibus.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.