Esther 5

And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. 1α And being splendidly arrayed, [and] having called upon God the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. 1β And she [was] blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face [was] cheerful, and [it were] benevolent, but her heart [was] straitened for fear. 1γ And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, [covered] all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. 1δ And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before [her]. 1ε But God changed the spirit of the king to gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, 1ζ What is [the matter], Esther? I [am] thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is openly declared [to thee], Draw nigh.

ζ τί ἐστιν ᾿Εσθήρ; ἐγὼ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, θάρσει, οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃς ὅτι κοινὸν τὸ πρόσταγμα ἡμῶν ἐστι· πρόσελθε.

And having raised the golden sceptre he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her, and said, Speak to me. 2α And she said to him, I saw thee, [my] lord, as an angel of God, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy glory; for thou, [my] lord, art to be wondered at, and thy face [is] full of grace. 2β And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her.

β ἐν δὲ τῷ διαλέγεσθαι αὐτὴν ἔπεσεν ἀπὸ ἐκλύσεως αὐτῆς καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐταράσσετο, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ θεραπεία αὐτοῦ παρεκάλει αὐτήν.

And the king said, What wilt thou, Esther? and what is thy request? [ask] even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be thine.

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς· τί θέλεις, ᾿Εσθήρ; καὶ τί σού ἐστι τὸ ἀξίωμα; ἕως τοῦ ἡμίσους τῆς βασιλείας μου, καὶ ἔσται σοι.

And Esther said, To-day is my great day: if then it seem good to the king, let both him and Aman come to the feast which I will prepare this day.

εἶπε δὲ ᾿Εσθήρ· ἡμέρα μου ἐπίσημος σήμερόν ἐστι· εἰ οὖν δοκεῖ τῷ βασιλεῖ, ἐλθάτω καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ ᾿Αμὰν εἰς τὴν δοχήν, ἣν ποιήσω σήμερον.

And the king said, Hasten Aman hither, that we may perform the word of Esther. So they both come to the feast of which Esther had spoken.

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς· κατασπεύσατε ᾿Αμάν, ὅπως ποιήσωμεν τὸν λόγον ᾿Εσθήρ· καὶ παραγίνονται ἀμφότεροι εἰς τὴν δοχήν, ἣν εἶπεν ᾿Εσθήρ.

And at the banquet the king said to Esther, What is [thy request], queen Esther? [speak], and thou shalt have all that thou requirest.

ἐν δὲ τῷ πότῳ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς ᾿Εσθήρ· τί ἐστι βασίλισσα ᾿Εσθήρ; καὶ ἔσται ὅσα ἀξιοῖς.

And she said, My request and my petition [are]:

καὶ εἶπε· τὸ αἴτημά μου καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα·

if I have found favour in the sight of the king, let the king and Aman come again to-morrow to the feast which I shall prepare for them, and to-morrow I will do the same.

εἰ εὗρον χάριν ἐνώπιον τοῦ βασιλέως, ἐλθάτω ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ᾿Αμὰν ἔτι τὴν αὔριον εἰς τὴν δοχήν, ἣν ποιήσω αὐτοῖς, καὶ αὔριον ποιήσω τὰ αὐτά.

So Aman went out from the king very glad [and] merry: but when Aman saw Mardochaeus the Jew in the court, he was greatly enraged.

Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ᾿Αμὰν ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ὑπερχαρὴς εὐφραινόμενος· ἐν δὲ τῷ ἰδεῖν ᾿Αμὰν Μαρδοχαῖον τὸν ᾿Ιουδαῖον ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ ἐθυμώθη σφόδρα

And having gone into his own house, he called his friends, and his wife Zosara.

καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἐκάλεσε τοὺς φίλους καὶ Ζωσάραν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ,

And he shewed them his wealth, and the glory with which the king had invested him, and how he had caused him to take precedence and bear chief rule in the kingdom.

καὶ ὑπέδειξεν αὐτοῖς τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν δόξαν, ἣν ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτῷ περιέθηκε, καὶ ὡς ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν πρωτεύειν καὶ ἡγεῖσθαι τῆς βασιλείας.

And Aman said, The queen has called no one to the feast with the king but me, and I am invited to-morrow.

καὶ εἶπεν ᾿Αμάν· οὐ κέκληκεν ἡ βασίλισσα μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως οὐδένα εἰς τὴν δοχὴν ἀλλ᾿ ἢ ἐμέ, καὶ εἰς τὴν αὔριον κέκλημαι·

But these things please me not, while I see Mardochaeus the Jew in the court.

καὶ ταῦτά μοι οὐκ ἀρέσκει, ὅταν ἴδω Μαρδοχαῖον τὸν ᾿Ιουδαῖον ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ.

And Zosara his wife and his friends said to him, Let there be a gallows made for thee of fifty cubits, and in the morning do thou speak to the king, and let Mardochaeus be hanged on the gallows: but do thou go in to the feast with the king, and be merry. And the saying pleased Aman, and the gallows was prepared.

καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτὸν Ζωσάρα ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ φίλοι· κοπήτω σοι ξύλον πηχῶν πεντήκοντα, ὄρθρου δὲ εἰπὸν τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ κρεμασθήτω Μαρδοχαῖος ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου· σὺ δὲ εἴσελθε εἰς τὴ δοχὴν σὺν τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ εὐφραίνου. καὶ ἤρεσε τὸ ρῆμα τῷ ᾿Αμάν, καὶ ἡτοιμάσθη τὸ ξύλον.