The Latin Vulgate VUL
Revised Standard Version RSV
1 Quae cum audisset Mardochaeus, scidit vestimenta sua, et indutus sacco, spargens cinerem capiti: et in platea mediae civitatis voce magna clamabat, ostendens amaritudinem animi sui,
1
When Mor'decai learned all that had been done, Mor'decai rent his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, wailing with a loud and bitter cry;
2 et hoc eiulatu usque ad fores palatii gradiens. Non enim erat licitum indutum sacco aulam regis intrare.
2
he went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one might enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.
3 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.
3
And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and most of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.
4 Ingressae autem sunt puellae Esther et eunuchi, nunciaveruntque ei. Quod audiens consternata est: et vestem misit, ut ablato sacco induerent eum: quam accipere noluit.
4
When Esther's maids and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed; she sent garments to clothe Mor'decai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
5 Accitoque Athach eunucho, quem rex ministrum ei dederat, praecepit ei ut iret ad Mardochaeum, et disceret ab eo cur hoc faceret.
5
Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mor'decai to learn what this was and why it was.
6 Egressusque Athach, ivit ad Mardochaeum stantem in platea civitatis, ante ostium palatii:
6
Hathach went out to Mor'decai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate,
7 qui indicavit ei omnia, quae acciderant, quo modo Aman promisisset, ut in thesauros regis pro Iudaeorum nece inferret argentum.
7
and Mor'decai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews.
8 exemplar quoque edicti, quod pendebat in Susan, dedit ei, ut reginae ostenderet, et moneret eam, ut intraret ad regem, et deprecaretur eum pro populo suo.
8
Mor'decai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and charge her to go to the king to make supplication to him and entreat him for her people.
9 Regressus Athach, nunciavit Esther omnia, quae Mardochaeus dixerat.
9
And Hathach went and told Esther what Mor'decai had said.
10 Quae repondit ei, et iussit ut diceret Mardochaeo:
10
Then Esther spoke to Hathach and gave him a message for Mor'decai, saying,
11 Omnes servi regis, et cunctae, quae sub ditione eius sunt, norunt provinciae, quod sive vir, sive mulier non vocatus, 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 quo modo ad regem intrare potero, quae triginta iam diebus non sum vocata ad eum?
11
"All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law; all alike are to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter that he may live. And I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days."
12 Quod cum audisset Mardochaeus,
12
And they told Mor'decai what Esther had said.
13 rursum mandavit Esther, dicens: Ne putes quod animam tuam tantum liberes, quia in domo regis es prae cunctis Iudaeis:
13
Then Mor'decai told them to return answer to Esther, "Think not that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews.
14 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?
14
For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
15 Rursumque Esther haec Mardochaeo verba mandavit:
15
Then Esther told them to reply to Mor'decai,
16 Vade et congrega omnes Iudaeos, quos in Susan repereris, et orate pro me. Non comedatis, et non bibatis tribus diebus, et tribus noctibus: et ego cum ancillis meis similiter ieiunabo, et tunc ingrediar ad regem contra legem faciens, non vocata, tradensque me morti et periculo.
16
"Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish."
17 Ivit itaque Mardochaeus, et fecit omnia, quae ei Esther praeceperat.
17
Mor'decai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.