1 Etter disse hendelsene, da kongens sinne hadde lagt seg, kom tankene på Vashti og det hun hadde gjort, og det påbudet han hadde gitt mot henne, tilbake til hans sinn.

After these things, when the king's feelings were calmer, the thought of Vashti and what she had done and the order he had made against her, came back to his mind.

2 Da sa tjenerne som sto for kongen til ham: La det bli søkt etter noen vakre unge jomfruer for kongen.

Then the servants who were waiting on the king said to him, Let search be made for some fair young virgins for the king:

3 La kongen gi myndighet til utvalgte menn i alle delene av riket, til å samle alle de vakre unge jomfruene og sende dem til kvinners hus i Susa, kongens by, under Hegai, kongens tjener, vokteren for kvinnene. La dem få det som trengs for å gjøre seg rene.

Let the king give authority to certain men in all the divisions of his kingdom, to get together all the fair young virgins and send them to Shushan, the king's town, to the women's house, under the care of Hegai, the king's servant, the keeper of the women: and let the things needed for making them clean be given to them;

4 Og la den piken som behager kongen bli dronning i stedet for Vashti. Kongen likte dette forslaget, og han gjorde slik.

And let the girl who is pleasing to the king be queen in place of Vashti. And the king was pleased with this suggestion; and he did so.

5 Det var en jøde i Susa ved navn Mordekai, sønn av Jair, sønn av Shimei, sønn av Kish fra Benjamin-stammen;

Now there was a certain Jew in Shushan named Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

6 som var blitt ført bort fra Jerusalem blant de fangene som ble bortført med Jekonja, Judas konge, da Nebukadnesar, Babylons konge, hadde ført ham bort.

Who had been taken away from Jerusalem among those who had been made prisoner with Jeconiah, king of Judah, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken him away.

7 Han hadde oppfostret Hadassa, også kjent som Ester, datteren til sin fars bror, for hun hadde verken far eller mor, og hun var meget vakker. Da hennes far og mor døde, tok Mordekai henne til sin datter.

And he had been a father to Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his father's brother: for she had no father or mother, and she was very beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his daughter.

8 Da kongens påbud ble offentliggjort og mange piker ble satt under Hegais omsorg i kongens hus i Susa, ble Ester hentet til kongens hus og satt under omsorgen til Hegai, vokteren for kvinnene.

So when the order made by the king was publicly given out, and a number of girls had been placed in the care of Hegai in the king's house in Shushan, Esther was taken into the king's house and put in the care of Hegai, the keeper of the women.

9 Han var fornøyd med piken og behandlet henne vennlig; han ga henne raskt det som trengtes for å gjøre henne ren, og det som var hennes rettigheter, samt sju tjenestepiker fra kongens hus. Han ga henne og hennes tjenestepiker den beste plassen i kvinnehuset.

And he was pleased with the girl and was kind to her; and he quickly gave her what was needed for making her clean, and the things which were hers by right, and seven servant-girls who were to be hers from the king's house: and he had her and her servant-girls moved to the best place in the women's part of the house.

10 Ester hadde ikke sagt noe om sin slekt eller sitt folk, for Mordekai hadde pålagt henne å ikke gjøre det.

Esther had not said what family or people she came from, for Mordecai had given her orders not to do so.

11 Hver dag gikk Mordekai forbi plassen foran kvinnehusets gårdsplass for å se hvordan Ester hadde det og hva som ville skje med henne.

And every day Mordecai took his walk before the square of the women's house, to see how Esther was and what would be done to her.

12 Hver gang en pikes tur kom til å tre inn til kong Ahasverus, etter å ha gjennomgått tolv måneders renselser som kvinnene skulle ha (for dette var tiden som krevdes for å gjøre dem rene, seks måneder med myrraolje og seks måneder med velduftende krydder og andre midler for å rense kvinner):

Now every girl, when her turn came, had to go in to King Ahasuerus, after undergoing, for a space of twelve months, what was ordered by the law for the women (for this was the time necessary for making them clean, that is, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with sweet perfumes and such things as are needed for making women clean):

13 Slik gikk piken inn til kongen; hva enn hun ønsket fikk hun ta med seg fra kvinnehuset til kongens hus.

And in this way the girl went in to the king; whatever she had a desire for was given to her to take with her from the women's house into the house of the king.

14 Om kvelden gikk hun inn, og om morgenen kom hun tilbake til det andre kvinnehuset, under Shaasjgas, en av kongens evnukker som hadde ansvar for kongens hustruer. Kun om kongen hadde glede i henne og kalte henne ved navn kunne hun komme tilbake til ham.

In the evening she went, and on the day after she came back to the second house of the women, into the keeping of Shaashgaz, one of the king's unsexed servants who had the care of the king's wives: only if the king had delight in her and sent for her by name did she go in to him again.

15 Da tiden for Ester, datteren av Abihail, hennes fars bror, som Mordekai hadde tatt som datter, kom for å gå inn til kongen, ønsket hun ingenting annet enn det Hegai, kongens tjener og vokter av kvinnene, hadde gitt henne. Ester fant nåde i øynene til alle som så henne.

Now when the time came for Esther, the daughter of Abihail, his father's brother, whom Mordecai had taken as his daughter, to go in to the king, she made request for nothing but what Hegai, the king's servant and keeper of the women, had given her. And Esther was looked on kindly by all who saw her.

16 Så ble Ester tatt inn til kong Ahasverus i hans hus i den tiende måneden, som er Tebet, i det syvende året av hans styre.

So Esther was taken in to King Ahasuerus in his house in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his rule.

17 Og Ester var mer behagelig for kongen enn alle de andre kvinnene; hun var vakrere og full av nåde i hans øyne enn alle de andre jomfruene, og han satte kronen på hennes hode og gjorde henne til dronning i stedet for Vashti.

And Esther was more pleasing to the king than all the women, and to his eyes she was fairer and more full of grace than all the other virgins: so he put his crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

18 Da ga kongen en stor fest for alle sine høvdinger og tjenere, nemlig Esters fest. Og han ga påbud i hele riket om en hviledag, og delte ut rikdom i overflod.

Then the king gave a great feast for all his captains and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he gave orders through all the divisions of his kingdom for a day of rest from work, and gave wealth from his store.

19 Og da jomfruene ble samlet i det andre kvinnehuset, satt Mordekai ved kongens port.

And when the virgins came together in the second house of the women, Mordecai took his seat in the doorway of the king's house.

20 Ester hadde fortsatt ikke sagt noe om sin slekt eller sitt folk, som Mordekai hadde befalt; for Ester gjorde som Mordekai sa, slik hun hadde gjort da hun bodde hos ham.

Esther had still said nothing of her family or her people, as Mordecai had given her orders; for Esther did what Mordecai said, as when she was living with him.

21 På den tiden, mens Mordekai satt ved kongens port, planla to av kongens tjenere, Bigtan og Teresh, som voktet døren, å gjøre et attentat på kong Ahasverus.

In those days, while Mordecai was seated at the king's doorway, two of the king's servants, Bigthan and Teresh, keepers of the door, being angry, were looking for a chance to make an attack on King Ahasuerus.

22 Da Mordekai fikk vite om deres plan, sendte han beskjed til Ester, dronningen; og Ester fortalte kongen dette i Mordekais navn.

And Mordecai, having knowledge of their purpose, sent word of it to Esther the queen; and Esther gave the news to the king in Mordecai's name.

23 Og da saken ble undersøkt og funnet sann, ble de to hengt på et tre, og det ble nedtegnet i kongens krøniker.

And when the thing had been looked into, it was seen to be true, and the two of them were put to death by hanging on a tree: and it was put down in the records before the king.