Esters ge ra gao-ao kai
1 Egab ge gao-aob Ahasverosi ǁaiba sī a ǁgôaxa, ob ge ǁîba Vastis ge dī ǃkhais xa tsî ǁîs ǂamab ge mā mîmās xa gere ǂâiǂâisen. 2 O gu ge gao-aob ǀapemā-aogu, ǁîb ǃoabas ǃnâ mâga ge mî: “Tare-i ǃaromats îxa oaxaede ôa kaibasen tama hâ? 3 Mâ ǀkharib gaosib hoab dib ǃnâts ge ǂamkhoega nî ǁgaumâi, î gu îxa oaxaede sa hâǃkhaib, tarekhoedi nî hâǃnâse ib ǃoa nēpa Susas ǃnâ hā-ū. ǁÎde Hegaib, ǂamkhoeb, sa tarekhoede ra mûǂammi di kōǃgâs ǃnaka hâ kai, î ǁîde anu-anuhe di nîse ǃgâihamǁnui-i ǀkha ǂkhauǀkhā. 4 ǁNās khaoǃgâ sats ǁîs xa nî ǃgâibahe ǂkham khoesa Vastis di soas ǃnâ gao-aodī.”
Gao-aob ge nē ǀapemās xa ǃgâibahe tsî ǁnāti ge dī.
5 Susas ǃnâb ge Jodeǁîb, Mordekai ti ǀon hâb, Jairi di ôab, Benjaminni di ǃhaos tsî Kisi tsî Simeib hâkha suriba xu hâba ge hâ i. 6 ǁÎb ge Babiloniab gao-aob Nebukadnesari xa ge Judab gao-aob Jojaginni ǀkha Jerusalemsa xu ǃkhōsabese ǃgû-ūhe khoen di ǀgui ge iba. 7 Mordekaib ge ǁîb omeb Aminadab ôas Esters, Hebregowab ǃnâ Hadassa ti ra ǀonǂgaihesa ge kaikai. ǁÎs ge îxa ǂkham khoes îxa sorosa ge ūhâ isa; ǁîs îra ǁōb khaoǃgâb ge Mordekaiba ǁîsa ǀgôase ūbasen tsî ge kaikai.
8 Gao-aob di ǀasa mîmās ge ǂanǂanhe, o di ge ǂgui ǂkham khoedi, Esters tsîn ǁîdi ǃnâ hâde Susas ǃoa ge hā-ūhe. ǁÎs tsîn ge gao-ommi ǃnâ Hegaib, gao-aob tarade gere ǃûib mûǂams ǃnaka ge ǁnāxūhe. 9 Hegaib ge Esters xa îxabahe tsî ge ǃgâibahe tsîb ge ǁnātimîsi îxa-îxas, ǃguris tsî ǀō-aisa ǂûmās tsîn ǀkha ge tsoatsoa. ǁÎb ge hû tarekhoedi gao-ommi dide ǁîsa di nî sîsenbase ge ǁgaumâi tsîb ge ǁîs tsî ǁîs sîsenaodi tsîna tarekhoedi hâǃkhaib ǃnâ ǂoaǂamsa ǃkhaib ai ge hâ kai.
10 Mordekaib ǀapemās ais ge Estersa Jodeǁîs a ǃkhais tsî tari-i suriba xus hâs tsîna ǂanǂan tama ge i. 11 Mâ tsēs hoasab ge Mordekaiba, Esters ǃgâise hâs tsî taren ǁîs ǀkha ra ī ǃkhaisab nî ǂanga hâǃkhaib di omǂnamib aiǃâ gere ǃgûma.
12 Mîǁguisa îxa-îxaǀgaub di sîsenni ǂkham khoedi dib ge disiǀgamǀa ǁkhâga gere dīhe. ǁÎdi ge ǃnani ǁkhâgu ǁaeba mire-oli-i ǀkha tsî sao ra ǃnani ǁkhâga ǃgâihamxūn ǀkha gere sopoǂgāhe. ǁNās khaoǃgâs ge mâ ǂkham khoes hoasa ǁîs di ǃnās gere hā, o gao-aob Ahasverosi ǁga gere ǃgû. 13 ǁÎs ge taradi hâǃkhaiba xus ge gao-omma ǃoa gere ǃgû, o ǁîs ra ǂgao xūn hoana gere māhe, îs ūsao. 14 ǁÎs ge ǃuia gao-ommi ǃnâ sī tsî nau ǁgoaga ǀnî hâǃkhaib taradi dib ǃoa gere ǃgû tsî ǁnāpa ǂamkhoeb Sasgab di mûǂams ǃnaka gere hâ. ǁÎs ge gao-aob ga ǁîsa ǁâ tama i tsîb ǁkhawa ǂgai si tama hâ, hîa ǁîb ǃoa ge ǃgû tama hâ i.
15 Esters, Abigaili, Mordekaib omeb ôas, Mordekaib xa ge ǁîb ôase ūhe tsî kaikaihes di ǁaeb, gao-aob tawas nî sīb ge ge ǀoa. ǁÎs ge hoa xūna Hegaib ge ǁîsa ǀapemā khami ǀgui ge dī tsî ǁîsa ge mû-i hoa-i ge ǁîs xa gere buru. 16 Hûǁî kurib gao-aob Ahasverosi dib ǃnâ, disiǁî ǁkhâb, Tebeti ǃnâs ge Estersa gao-ommi ǁga gao-aob ǃoa ge hā-ūhe. 17 ǁÎb ge Estersa nau taradi hoadi âb xa ǃnāsase ge ǀnam, ǁîb ge ǁîs xa nau ǂkham khoedi hoadi ǃgâ-ai ǃgâibahe tsî ǁîsa gao-aosi kronsa ǀgapa tsî Vastis ǃās ǃnâ ge gao-aodī. 18 Gao-aob ge kai ǂûǁaesa ǁîb ǂamkhoegu tsî ǁîb ǂhunuma ǃoabas ǃnâ mâ khoegu tsîna Esters ǃgôasib ǃaroma ge dība. ǁÎb ge ǁkhāti ǁgui-aimarina hoaraga gaosib ǃnâ ge ǀoroǀoro tsî ǀkhaexūna gao-aosi ǁkhāsib ǃoa ge ǀgoraǂui.
Mordekaib ge gao-aob ûiba ra sâu
19 Mordekaib ge ǁnā ǁaeb ǃnâ ǀgapi ǃharos ǃnâ gao-aob xa ge ǁgaumâihe hâ i. 20 Esters ge ganupe mâ suriba xus hâs tsî Jodeǁîs as tsîna ge ǂanǂan tama hâ i. Mordekaib ge ǁîsa ge mîba, îs tā ǀgui khoe-i tsîna ǁnāsa mîba. Tsîs ge ǁîba ǂkhams ge i tsî ǁîb mûǂams ǃnaka hâ i, os ge ǁîba ǁnâuǀnam i khami ge ǁnâuǀnam.
21 Gao-aob Ahasverosi ge Mordekaiba ǀgapi ǃharos ǃnâ ǁgaumâi, o kha ge gao-aob ǂhunuma ǂamkhoekha gao-ommi dao-aomde ra ǃûikha, Bigtanni tsî Teresi tsîkha kaise ǂkhîoǃnâ tsî gao-aoba kha nî ǃnariǃgam ǃkhaisa ge ǀapeǀhao. 22 Mordekaib ge nē ǃkhaisa ǁnâu tsî gao-aos Estersa ge ǂanǂan tsîs ge ǁîsa nē ǃkhaisa gao-aoba sī ge mîba. 23 Gao-aob ge nē ǃkhaisa ôaǃnâ tsî amas a ǃkhaisa ge ǂanǂui, tsî kha ge nē khoekha hoakha ǂgāhaib ai ge ǂgāmâihe. Gao-aob ge nē ǃkhaisa, ǀuruhes tidega ǂhanusi xoaǁguigu ǃnâ ge xoamâi kai.
Esther Becomes Queen
1 After a while, King Xerxes got over being angry. But he kept thinking about what Vashti had done and the law that he had written because of her. 2 Then the king's personal servants said:
Your Majesty, a search must be made to find you some beautiful young women. 3 You can select officers in every province to bring them to the place where you keep your wives in the capital city of Susa. Put your servant Hegai in charge of them since that is his job. He can see to it that they are given the proper beauty treatments. 4 Then let the young woman who pleases you most take Vashti's place as queen.
King Xerxes liked these suggestions, and he followed them.
5 At this time a Jew named Mordecai was living in Susa. His father was Jair, and his grandfather Shimei was the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. 6 Kish was one of the people that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem, when he took King Jeconiah of Judah to Babylonia.
7 Mordecai had a very beautiful cousin named Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah. He had raised her as his own daughter, after her father and mother died. 8 When the king ordered the search for beautiful women, many were taken to the king's palace in Susa, and Esther was one of them.
Hegai was put in charge of all the women, 9 and from the first day, Esther was his favorite. He began her beauty treatments at once. He also gave her plenty of food and seven special maids from the king's palace, and they had the best rooms.
10 Mordecai had warned Esther not to tell anyone that she was a Jew, and she obeyed him. 11 He was anxious to see how Esther was getting along and to learn what had happened to her. So each day he would walk back and forth in front of the court where the women lived.
12 The young women were given beauty treatments for one whole year. The first six months their skin was rubbed with olive oil and myrrh, and the last six months it was treated with perfumes and cosmetics. Then each of them spent the night alone with King Xerxes. 13 When a young woman went to the king, she could wear whatever clothes or jewelry she chose from the women's living quarters. 14 In the evening she would go to the king, and the following morning she would go to the place where his wives stayed after being with him. There a man named Shaashgaz was in charge of the king's wives. Only the ones the king wanted and asked for by name could go back to the king.
15-16 Xerxes had been king for seven years when Esther's turn came to go to him during Tebeth, the tenth month of the year. Everyone liked Esther. The king's personal servant Hegai was in charge of the women, and Esther trusted Hegai and asked him what she ought to take with her.
17 Xerxes liked Esther more than he did any of the other young women. None of them pleased him as much as she did, and he immediately fell in love with her and crowned her queen in place of Vashti. 18 In honor of Esther he gave a big dinner for his leaders and officials. Then he declared a holiday everywhere in his kingdom and gave expensive gifts.
Mordecai Saves the King's Life
19 When the young women were brought together again, Esther's cousin Mordecai had become a palace official. 20 He had told Esther never to tell anyone that she was a Jew, and she obeyed him, just as she had always done.
21 Bigthana and Teresh were the two men who guarded King Xerxes' rooms, but they got angry with the king and decided to kill him. 22 Mordecai found out about their plans and asked Queen Esther to tell the king what he had found out. 23 King Xerxes learned that Mordecai's report was true, and he had the two men hanged. Then the king had all of this written down in his record book as he watched.
