Ester ma rire ombara oserekaze
1 Kombunda omazenge wombara Kerkes tji ya wa pehi, eye wa kara pokuripura na imbi Vasṱi mbya tjita, na indi erakiza nda yandja ohunga naye. 2 Ovayandjandunge tjiva vombara mbaa ve kara puna yo aruhe, va tja nai: “Okutjavi tji u hi nokupaha ovasukona tjiva ovawa omitanda mbe hiya hakaena novarumendu? 3 Ove mo yenene okutoorora ovahongore morukondwa aruhe rouhona woye, nokuverakiza kutja ve ete ovasukona avehe imba ovawa omitanda mbe hiya hakaena novarumendu kondjuwo yoye yovakazendu muno mOsusa, motjihuro ohongora. Ve twa kehi yondjeverero ya Hegai, omukarere woye ombondo ngu tjevera ovakazendu voye, nu u tjite kutja ve ṱunwe ve rire ovawa ovamanise mombunikiro. 4 Tjazumba kambura omusukona ngu wa huru, nu u mu zike a rire ombara oserekaze moruveze rwa Vasṱi.”
Ombara ya muna kutja ondunge ndji ombwa notji ya tjita nao.
5 MOsusa mwa turire Omujuda wena Mordekai, omuzandu wa Jair; eye wa ri owomuhoko wa Benjamin, nu wa ri ondekurona ya Kis na Simi. 6 Nebukadnesar, ombara ya Babilon, tja twara Jojakin, ombara ya Juda, mouhuura okuza kOjerusalem puna ovahuurwa ovakwao, Mordekai tjandje u ri mokati kawo. 7 Mordekai wa ri nomuramwe wena Ester, ngwa ri Hadasa mOtjiheberi; Ester wa ri omusukona omuwa omumanise, nu wa tungirwe nawa, nu wari nomuseka omuwa. Ovanene va Ester tji va ṱa, Mordekai otje mu isa po omuatje we omuini ne mu kurisa.
8 Ombara tji ya za nokutjivisa omaraerero wayo, novasukona ovengi tji va etwa kotjihuro Susa, Ester tjandje nao u ri mokati kawo. Eye wina wa yakurwa mondjuwo youhona okukara kehi yondjeverero ya Hegai, ngwaa ṱakamisa ondjuwo yovakazendu. 9 Hegai wa tjaterwa i Ester, nu Ester a munu ondjingonekero mu ye. Eye wa hakahana okuṱunina Ester omariro omawa, noviṋa vye vyoukohoke vyokurivava, e mu pe oruveze oruwaruwa mondjuwo yovakazendu, na ziki ovasukona hambombari mba toororwa mondjuwo youhona kutja ve mu karere.
10 Nambano, otja kondunge ya Mordekai, Ester we rihorekere kutja eye Omujuda. 11 Eyuva arihe Mordekai aa ryangere pomurungu wondjuwo yovakazendu, a tjiwe kutja Ester u penduka vi, nokutja u ṱunwa vi.
12 Omaṱunino wokupwa kwovakazendu aa ku kara oure wombura imwe; omavavero womaze womira ya ri oure womieze hamboumwe, nu inga womaze womapya ya ri oure womieze omikwao hamboumwe. Kombunda yanao ovasukona otjaa ve hitisiwa mondjuwo yomara yombara Kerkes okukongorerasana koumweumwe. 13 Omusukona auhe tji ma zu kondjuwo yovakazendu okuyenda kondjuwo youhona aa zara ombanda ngamwa aihe ndji ma vanga. 14 Eye aa i ngo ongurova, nomuhuka wependukirwa aa twarewa kondjuwo yarwe yovakazendu na katuwa kehi yondjeverero ya Saasgas, omukarere ombondo, ngu tjevera ovakazendu ovambanda vombara. Eye kaa i kombara rukwao posi yaindu ombara tji ye mu vanga tjinene nai nga tji mai mu isana kena.
15 Oruveze rwa Ester rwokuyenda kombara arire tji rweya. Ester, omusuko wa Abihail, nu ngwa ri omuramwe wa Mordekai, ngwe mu isire po omuatje we ne mu kurisa, wa ingonekerwe i avehe mbe mu muna. Otjikando tje tjokuyenda kombara tji tje ya, Ester tjandje wa zara imbi Hegai, omukarere ombondo, omutjevere wondjuwo yovakazendu, mbye mu raere kutja a zare. 16 Mombura oitjahambombari youhona wombara Kerkes, momueze outjamurongo Tebet, Ester otja etwa kombara Kerkes mondjuwo youhona. 17 Ombara arire tji ya huru Ester tjinene povasukona avehe ovakwao, neye wa muna ondjingonekero nonyuṋe komurungu wombara povakwao avehe. Oyo ya twa ekori rouhona kotjiuru tja Ester, nai mu ziki kutja a rire ombara oserekaze moruveze rwa Vasṱi. 18 Tjazumba ombara otji ya tjitira Ester omukandi omunene okuyandja ondjozikiro ku ye, nai ṋanga ovahongore novanane vayo ozohongora. Oyo ya ravaera eyuva rondjoroka mouhona wayo auhe, nai haṋa oviyandjewa mbya pwa pokuyandjewa i ombara.
Mordekai ma yama omuinyo wombara
19 Tjandje moruveze ndwi Mordekai wa zikwa i ombara motjiungura tjounane. 20 Nu Ester nga nai ke na pa tjivisire kutja eye Omujuda. Mordekai wa raerere Ester kutja a ha serekarere otjiṋa hi kovandu. Neye wa kara nonḓuviro ku Mordekai okuza kouṱiṱi we.
21 Moruveze ndwi Mordekai ngunda e ri motjiungura tjondjuwo youhona, Bigtan na Teres, ovakarere ozombondo vondjuwo youhona mbaa ve tjevere omahitiro womatuwo wombara, otji va rira ovanavita nombara Kerkes, nave rikutu kumwe kutja ve mu zepe. 22 Mordekai wa tjiza otjiṋa hi ne tji serekarere kombara oserekaze Ester; nu Ester wa serekarera kombara imbi mbya raerwa i Mordekai. 23 Nu pa tjitwa omakonḓononeno, nu ape munika kutja omaserekarerero nga owo ouatjiri. Ovarumendu mba aveyevari arire tji va turikwa komuti. Ombara ya rakiza kutja omahungi wovitjitwa mbi ye tjangwe mOmatjangwa wOmbara.
Esther Becomes Queen
1 Later, even after the king's anger had cooled down, he kept thinking about what Vashti had done and about his proclamation against her. 2 So some of the king's advisers who were close to him suggested, “Why don't you make a search to find some beautiful young virgins? 3 You can appoint officials in every province of the empire and have them bring all these beautiful young women to your harem here in Susa, the capital city. Put them in the care of Hegai, the eunuch who is in charge of your women, and let them be given a beauty treatment. 4 Then take the young woman you like best and make her queen in Vashti's place.”
The king thought this was good advice, so he followed it.
5 There in Susa lived a Jew named Mordecai son of Jair; he was from the tribe of Benjamin and was a descendant of Kish and Shimei. 6 When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took King Jehoiachin of Judah into exile from Jerusalem, along with a group of captives, Mordecai was among them. 7 He had a cousin, Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah; she was a beautiful young woman, and had a good figure. At the death of her parents, Mordecai had adopted her and brought her up as his own daughter.
8 When the king had issued his new proclamation and many young women were being brought to Susa, Esther was among them. She too was put in the royal palace in the care of Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9 Hegai liked Esther, and she won his favor. He lost no time in beginning her beauty treatment of massage and special diet. He gave her the best place in the harem and assigned seven young women specially chosen from the royal palace to serve her.
10 Now, on the advice of Mordecai, Esther had kept it secret that she was Jewish. 11 Every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem, in order to find out how she was getting along and what was going to happen to her.
12 The regular beauty treatment for the women lasted a year—massages with oil of myrrh for six months and with oil of balsam for six more. After that, each woman would be taken in turn to King Xerxes. 13 When she went from the harem to the palace, she could wear whatever she wanted. 14 She would go there in the evening, and the next morning she would be taken to another harem and put in the care of Shaashgaz, the eunuch in charge of the king's concubines. She would not go to the king again unless he liked her enough to ask for her by name.
15 The time came for Esther to go to the king. Esther—the daughter of Abihail and the cousin of Mordecai, who had adopted her as his daughter; Esther—admired by everyone who saw her. When her turn came, she wore just what Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem, advised her to wear. 16 So in Xerxes' seventh year as king, in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, Esther was brought to King Xerxes in the royal palace. 17 The king liked her more than any of the other women, and more than any of the others she won his favor and affection. He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great banquet in Esther's honor and invited all his officials and administrators. He proclaimed a holiday for the whole empire and distributed gifts worthy of a king.
Mordecai Saves the King's Life
19 Meanwhile Mordecai had been appointed by the king to an administrative position. 20 As for Esther, she had still not let it be known that she was Jewish. Mordecai had told her not to tell anyone, and she obeyed him in this, just as she had obeyed him when she was a little girl under his care.
21 During the time that Mordecai held office in the palace, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the palace eunuchs who guarded the entrance to the king's rooms, became hostile to King Xerxes and plotted to assassinate him. 22 Mordecai learned about it and told Queen Esther, who then told the king what Mordecai had found out. 23 There was an investigation, and it was discovered that the report was true, so both men were hanged on the gallows. The king ordered an account of this to be written down in the official records of the empire.
