Mordecai Asks for Esther's Help
1 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes in anguish. Then he dressed in sackcloth, covered his head with ashes, and walked through the city, wailing loudly and bitterly, 2 until he came to the entrance of the palace. He did not go in because no one wearing sackcloth was allowed inside. 3 Throughout all the provinces, wherever the king's proclamation was made known, there was loud mourning among the Jews. They fasted, wept, wailed, and most of them put on sackcloth and lay in ashes.
4 When Esther's servant women and eunuchs told her what Mordecai was doing, she was deeply disturbed. She sent Mordecai some clothes to put on instead of the sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then she called Hathach, one of the palace eunuchs appointed as her servant by the king, and told him to go to Mordecai and find out what was happening and why. 6 Hathach went to Mordecai in the city square at the entrance of the palace. 7 Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him and just how much money Haman had promised to put into the royal treasury if all the Jews were killed. 8 He gave Hathach a copy of the proclamation that had been issued in Susa, ordering the destruction of the Jews. Mordecai asked him to take it to Esther, explain the situation to her, and have her go and plead with the king and beg him to have mercy on her people. 9 Hathach did this, 10 and Esther gave him this message to take back to Mordecai: 11 “If anyone, man or woman, goes to the inner courtyard and sees the king without being summoned, that person must die. That is the law; everyone, from the king's advisers to the people in the provinces, knows that. There is only one way to get around this law: if the king holds out his gold scepter to someone, then that person's life is spared. But it has been a month since the king sent for me.”
12 When Mordecai received Esther's message, 13 he sent her this warning: “Don't imagine that you are safer than any other Jew just because you are in the royal palace. 14 If you keep quiet at a time like this, help will come from heaven to the Jews, and they will be saved, but you will die and your father's family will come to an end. Yet who knows—maybe it was for a time like this that you were made queen!”
15 Esther sent Mordecai this reply: 16 “Go and get all the Jews in Susa together; hold a fast and pray for me. Don't eat or drink anything for three days and nights. My servant women and I will be doing the same. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. If I must die for doing it, I will die.”
17 Mordecai then left and did everything that Esther had told him to do.
Mordekaib ge Esters huiba ra ǂgan
1 Mordekaib ge taren hoan ge dīhe ǃkhaisab ge ǁnâu, o saran âba ǃoab ǃnâ ge ǀkhau. ǁNās khaoǃgâb ge ǃoab sarana ana, tsaoba danas ai tsoro tsî ǃgarise tsî tsûsase garu ra āse ǃās ǃnâ-u ge ǃgû, 2 gao-ommi dao-ams tawab ge sīs kōse. ǁÎb ge ǂgâ tama ge i, ǃoab sarana ana hâ khoe-i xare-i ge ǁnāpa ǂgâsa mā-amhe tama hâ i xui-ao. 3 Hoa ǀkharigu gao-aob mîmās ge ǂanǂanǃnâhegu ǃnâb ge kai ǃoaba Jodeǁîn ǃnâ ge hâ i. ǁÎn ge ǂûtama hâ, tsî ā tsî gere ǃgae; ǂguin ân ge ǃoab sarana ana tsî tsaob ǃnâ sī ge ǁgoe.
4 Esters ge ǁîs sîsenaodi tsî gao-aob ǂhunuma ǂamkhoegu xa Mordekaib tare-e ra dī ǃkhaisa a mîbahe, os ge kaise ge ǃhuri. ǁÎs ge Mordekaiba sarana ge sîba, ǃoab saran ǃās ǃnâb nî anase, xaweb ge ū ǂgao tama ge i. 5 Os ge Estersa Hataki, gao-ommi ǂamkhoeb, ǁîsab nî ǃoabase ge gao-aob xa ǁgaumâihe hâ iba ǂgai tsî ge mîmā, îb Mordekaib tawa sī tsî tare-i ra ī tsî tare-i ǃaromab ti ra dī ǃkhaisa sī ǁnâu. 6 Hataki ge Mordekaib, ǃās di ǀhaoǃkhaib ai gao-ommi dao-ams tawa hâb ǃoa ge ǃgû. 7 Mordekaib ge ǁîb ǀkha go ī xūn hoana ge mîba bi; tsî mâtikō ǀhaiǀuri maribab, Jodeǁîn nî ǃgamǂuihes karao, gaosi ǁuiǂgaes ǃnâ nî ǂgā ǃkhaisab ge Hamanna mîmâisa. 8 ǁÎb ge ǁgâiǁnâb ǂanǂans dib, Jodeǁîn nî ǃgamǂuihese ge Susas ǃnâ māǂuiheba Hataka ge mā. Mordekaib ge ǁîba ge ǂgan, îb ǁnâ ǁgâiǁnâba Estersa sī mā tsî mîǃāba tsî ǁîsa mîmā, îs gao-aoba sī ǀkhoma, îb ǁîs khoena ǀkhomxa.
9 Hataki ge Esters ǁga oa tsî ǁîsa Mordekaib ge mî xūna sī ge mîba, 10 tsîs ge Estersa sao ra haisi-amsa Hataki ǀkha ge sî, îb Mordekaiba sī mîba: 11 “Gao-aob ǂamkhoegu hoagu tsî gao-aob di ǀkharigu ǃnâ hâ khoen hoan tsîn ge a ǂan, aorekhoeb kas tarekhoes kas hoasa ga gao-aob ommi ǃnâ gao-aob ǃoa, ǂgaihe tama i hâse ǂgâ-i ǃaromab ǀgui ǂhanub ǀguiba hâsa; ǁî-i ge nî ǃgamhe, gao-aob ga ǁîb ǃhuniǀuri gaohaiba ǁî-e ǃoa ǀhōǂui, o ǀguib ge ûib â-e nî sâuhe. Xawe ta ge nēsi gao-aob xa ǃnonadisi tsēdi ǁaeba ǂgaihe tama hâ.”
12 Mordekaib ge Esters haisi-amsab ge ǃkhōǃoa, 13 o nē ǂgōǀausa ǁîsa ge sîba: “Esterse, tā nau Jodeǁîn nē gaosib ǃnâ hân ǃgâ-ais gao-ommi ǃnâs hâ ǃkhais ǃaroma ǃnāsase a ǃnorasa ti ǂâi. 14 Nēti ī ǁaeb ǃnâs ga ǃnō tsî xū-e khom tama i sa ǁaes ǃaroma, on ge Jodeǁîna ǀnî ǃkhai-e xu huiba hō tsî nîra sâuhe, xawe sas ge nî ǁō tsîb ge sa îb di suriba nî ǀam. Tari-e a ǂan, nēti ī ǁaeb ǃaromas kom ǀnîsis ge gao-ao kaisao?”
15 Os ge Estersa Mordekaiba nē ǃereamsa ge sîba: 16 “ǃGû, î hoaraga Jodeǁîn Susas ǃnâ hâna ǀhaoǀhao, î du ǂûtamase hâ. Tā xū-i xare-e ǃnona tsēdi tsî tsuxugu ǀgaiba ǂû tamas ka io ā. Tita tsî ti sîsenaodi tsîn ge ǁnās ǁkhāsa nî dī. ǁNās khaoǃgâ ta ge gao-aob ǃoa ǂhanub ǃoagus ǁnā ǃkhaisa hâ, xawe nî ǃgû. Nēs ǃaroma ta nî ǁōs karao, o ta kom a ǁō ǁkhāo.”
17 Ob ge Mordekaiba ǃgû tsî Esters ge mîmā bi xūn hoana ge dī.
