Esters ge ra gao-ao kai
1 [1] Egab ge gao-aob di ǁaiba ge ǁgôaxa. ǁÎb ge ǃaruǀîb ge Astins di ǀonsa ǂgai tama hâ i, xawe mâtib ge ǁîsa ǀgoraǃgâ ǃkhais ǀguisa gere ǂâiǂâisen. 2 [2] ǀNîgu, gao-aob ǀapemā-aogu digu ge ge mî: “Tare-i ǃaromats îsa oaxaedi, ǃgâi ǂūga ūhâde hōs ǃaroma ôaǃnâde dī tama hâ? 3 [3] Mâ ǀkharib gaosib dib hoab ǃnâts ge ǂammâisaga ǁgaumâi ǁkhā, î gu îsa oaxaede sa hâǃkhaib, ǁîdi nî hâǃnâse ib ǃoa Susas ǃnâ hā-ū. ǁÎde Hegaib, ǂammâisab, sa tarekhoede ra mûǂammi di kōǃgâs ǃnaka hâ kai, î di ǁîde anu-anusenxūn tsî ǂhâba di hâ xūn hoana māhe. 4 [4] ǁNās khaoǃgâ sats ǁîs xa ǃgâibahe ǂkham khoesa Astins di soas ǃnâ ǁhûi, î ǁîsa gao-aose mâi.”
Gao-aob ge nē ǀapes xa ǃgâibahe tsî ǁnāti ge dī.
5 [5] Susas ǃnâb ge Mordekai ti ge ǀon hâ Jodeǁîb, Jairi ôab, Benjaminni ǃhaos tsî Kisi tsî Simeib hâkha suriba xu hâba ge hâ i. 6 [6] ǁÎb ge Babilons gao-aob Nebukadnesari xa ge Jerusalemsa xu ūǃgûhe ǃkhōsaben ǁaegu ge hâ i. 7 [7] Mordekaib di kaikaiǀgôas Esters ge ǁîb omeb, Aminadab ôa ge isa. ǁÎs ge îsa ǀgôa ge isa tsîs ge ǁîs îra ge ǁōs khaoǃgâ kaiǀoas ges kōse Mordekaib xa ge kaikaihe.
8 [8] Gao-aob ge ǁîb di ǀasa mîmāsa a māǂui, o di ge ǂgui ǂkham khoedi, Esters tsîn ǁîdi ǃnâ hâde Susas ǃoa ge hā-ūhe. ǁÎs tsîn ge ǁkhāti gao-ommi ǃnâ, Hegaib ǁîdi hâǃkhaiba gere kōǃgâb di mûǂams ǃnaka ge hâ i. 9 [9] Hegaib ge Esters xa ge îxabahe tsî ǁkhāti ge ǃgâibahe. ǁÎb ge ǁae-i tsîna ǁore tamase îsasib ǃaroma ra dīhe sîsenni, sopoǂgās tsî ǀō-aisa ǂûmās dib ǀkha ge tsoatsoa. ǁÎb ge hû ǀgôadi gao-ommi dide ǁîsa nî sîsenbase ge ǁgaumâi tsîb ge ǁîs tsî ǁîs ǃkhōǂuisa sîsenaodi ǀkha ǀō-aisa hâǃkhaib ǃnâ ǃgâise gere sîsen.
10 [10] Mordekaib ǀapemās ais ge Estersa Jodeǁîs a ǃkhaisa ǂganǃgâsase ge ūhâ. 11 [11] Mordekaib ge mâ tsēs hoasa taren Esters ǀkha ra ī ǃkhaisab nî mûse, hâǃkhaib di omǂnamib aiǃâ gere ǃgûma.
12 [12] ǁNaetisase di ǂkhamkhoede îsasib ǃaroma gere dī sîsenni ge kuriba gere ǃkhōǂgā. ǁÎdi ge ǂguro ǃnani ǁkhâgu ǁaeba mire-oli-i ǀkha tsî sao ra ǃnani ǁkhâga soposenxūn tsî ǃgâihamxūn ǀkha gere sopoǂgāhe. 13 [13] ǁNās khaoǃgâs ge mâ ǂkham khoes hoasa ǁîs ǃaroma ǁgaumâihe hâ khoe-e māhe tsî ǁî-i ǀkha hâǃkhaiba xu gao-ommi ǁga ǃgû tsî gao-aob tawa gere sī-ūhe. 14 [14] ǁÎs ge tsuxuba ǁnāpa gao-ommi tawa sī tsî nau ǁgoaga ǀnî hâǃkhaib tarekhoedi dib ǃoa ūhe tsî ǁnāpa Hegaib, ǂammâisab di mûǂams ǃnaka gere ǁnāxūhe. ǁÎs ge ǁkhawa gao-aob xas ǀons âs ai ǂgaihe tama hîa ǁîb ǃoa ge ǃgû tama hâ i.
15 [15] Esters, Mordekaib ǁnaosab Aminadab ôas di ǁaeb, gao-aob tawas nî sīb ge ge ǀoa. ǁÎs ge hoa xūn Hegaib ge ǁîsa mîbana ge dī tsî i ge ǁîsa ga mû khoe-i hoa-e ǁîs xa ge ǃgâibahe i. 16 [16] Hûǁî kurib Artaxerxeb gao-aosis dib di disiǀgamǀaǁî ǁkhâb, Adari ǃnâs ge ǁîsa gao-aob tawa ge ǂgâ. 17 [17] ǁÎb ge Esters, nau oaxaedi xa ge ǃnāsase a ǃgâiba bisa ǀnam tsî gao-aosi kronsa ge ǀgapa. 18 [18] Gao-aob ge wekheb ǀgaiba ǂûǁaresa, ǁîb ǀapemā-aogu tsî ǁuiǃkhōmâi-aogu tsîgu ǃaroma dī tsî ǁnāti ǁîb tsî Esters hâra ǃgameba ge ǁâudī. ǁÎb ge ǁkhāti ǁgui-aimarina hoaraga gaosib ǃnâ ge ǀoroǀoro.
Mordekaib ge gao-aob ûiba ra sâu
19 [19] Mordekaib ge ǁnā ǁaeb ǃnâ ǀgapi ǁuiǃkhōmâi-aoǃharos ǃnâ ge ǁgaumâihe hâ i. 20 [20] Esters ge noxopa Jodeǁîs a ǃkhaisa ge ǂanǂan tama hâ i. Mordekaib ge ǁîsa ge mîba, îs tā ǀgui khoe-i tsîna ǁnāsa mîba. Tsîs ge ǂkhams ge i tsî ǁîb mûǂams ǃnaka hâ i, os gere ǁîba ǁnâuǀnam khami ge ǁnâuǀnam. ǁÎs ge Eloba ǀgoreǀî tsî Jodeǁî ǁnaetiga aoxū tamase, ǁîb mîmāde gere sîsenǂui.
21 [21] Gao-aob ge Mordekaiba ǀgapi ǃharos ǃnâ ǁgaumâi, o kha ge gao-ommi di ǂhunuma ǂammâisakha hîa ge gao-aob di danaǃûi-ao ikha ǁaixa tsî gao-aoba kha nî ǃnariǃgam ǃkhaisa ge ǀapeǀhao. 22 [22] Mordekaib ge nē ǃkhaisa ǁnâu tsî gao-aos Estersa gao-aobas nî nē ǀapeǀhaos xa mîba ǃkhaisa ge ǂgaoǀkhā. 23 [23] Gao-aob ge nē khoekha dîǃnâ tsî hoakha ge ǂgāmâi kai. Gao-aob ge Mordekaib di ǃgôasib ǃoas nî nē ǃkhaisa ǀuruhes tidese, gaosi xoaǁguigu ǃnâ xoamâihe ǃkhaisa ge mîmā.
Esther Becomes Queen
1 Later the king's anger cooled down. Although he no longer mentioned Vashti, he kept thinking about how he had condemned her. 2 So some of the king's advisers suggested, “Why don't you make a search to find some beautiful young women of good character? 3 You can appoint officials in every province of the empire and have them bring all these beautiful young virgins to your harem here in Susa. Put them in the care of Hegai, the eunuch who is in charge of your women, and let them be given cosmetics and whatever else they may need. 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 He was among the captives whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia had taken into exile from Jerusalem. 7 Mordecai was the guardian of Esther, the daughter of his uncle Aminadab. She was a beautiful young woman, and after the death of her parents, Mordecai brought her up until she was grown.
8 When the king had issued his new proclamation, many young women were being brought to Susa, and 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 assigned seven young women specially chosen from the royal palace to serve her, and he treated her and her servants well.
10 Now, on the advice of Mordecai, Esther had kept secret the fact that she was Jewish. 11 Every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem, watching to see what was going to happen to her.
12 The regular beauty treatment for the young women lasted a year: massages with oil of myrrh for six months and with beauty creams and cosmetics for six more. 13 After that, each young woman was handed over to the person appointed to conduct her from the harem to the palace, and she was taken to the king. 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 Hegai, the eunuch in charge. She would not go to the king again unless he asked for her by name.
15 The time came for Esther, the daughter of Aminadab the uncle of Mordecai, to go to the king. She had done everything that Hegai had advised, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. 16 So in Xerxes' seventh year as king, in the twelfth month, the month of Adar, she was brought to the king. 17 He fell in love with Esther, who pleased him more than any of the others, and he placed the queen's crown on her head. 18 Then the king gave a week-long banquet for all his advisers and administrators to celebrate his marriage to Esther. He also granted a reduction of taxes for the whole empire.
Mordecai Saves the King's Life
19 Meanwhile Mordecai had been appointed to a high 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. She continued to worship God and carry out God's commands, without abandoning her Jewish ways.
21 When the king promoted Mordecai to a higher position, the two palace eunuchs who were officers of the king's bodyguard became angry and plotted to assassinate the king. 22 Mordecai learned about it and told Queen Esther, who then told the king the details of the plot. 23 The king had the two men questioned, and both men were hanged. To honor Mordecai, the king ordered an account of this to be written down in the royal records, so that his valuable service would be remembered.
