Liber Esther, 6

1. Noctem illam duxit rex insomnem iussitque afferri sibi librum memorialium, annales priorum temporum. Quae cum illo praesente legerentur,

1. On that night the king could not sleep; and he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king.

2. ventum est ad eum locum, ubi scriptum erat quomodo nuntiasset Mardochaeus insidias Bagathan et Thares duorum eunuchorum ianitorum, qui voluerant manus mittere in regem Asuerum.

2. And it was found written how Mor'decai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands upon King Ahasu-e'rus.

3. Quod cum audisset rex, ait: “Quid pro hac fide honoris ac praemii Mardochaeus consecutus est?”. Dixeruntque ei servi illius ac ministri: “Nihil omnino mercedis accepit”.

3. And the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mor'decai for this?" The king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him."

4. Statimque rex: “Quis est, inquit, in atrio?”. Aman quippe exterius atrium domus regiae intraverat, ut suggereret regi, ut iuberet Mardochaeum suspendi in patibulo, quod ei fuerat praeparatum.

4. And the king said, "Who is in the court?" Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mor'decai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.

5. Responderunt pueri: “Ecce Aman stat in atrio”. Dixitque rex: “Ingrediatur”.

5. So the king's servants told him, "Haman is there, standing in the court." And the king said, "Let him come in."

6. Cumque esset ingressus, ait illi: “Quid debet fieri viro, quem rex honorare desiderat?”. Cogitans autem in corde suo Aman et reputans quod nullum alium rex nisi se vellet honorare

6. So Haman came in, and the king said to him, "What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?" And Haman said to himself, "Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?"

7. respondit: “Homo, quem rex honorare cupit,

7. and Haman said to the king, "For the man whom the king delights to honor,

8. debet indui vestibus regiis, quibus rex indutus erat, et imponi super equum, qui de sella regis est, et acceperit regium diadema super caput suum;

8. let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set;

9. et primus de regiis principibus nobilissimis induat eum et teneat equum eius et per plateam civitatis incedens clamet et dicat: “Sic honorabitur quemcumque voluerit rex honorare””.

9. and let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble princes; let him array the man whom the king delights to honor, and let him conduct the man on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him: `Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.'"

10. Dixitque ei rex: “Festina et, sumpta stola et equo, fac, ut locutus es, Mardochaeo Iudaeo, qui sedet in foribus palatii; cave, ne quidquam de his, quae locutus es, praetermittas”.

10. Then the king said to Haman, "Make haste, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mor'decai the Jew who sits at the king's gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned."

11. Tulit itaque Aman stolam et equum; indutumque Mardochaeum et impositum equo praecedebat in platea civitatis atque clamabat: “Hoc honore condignus est quemcumque rex voluerit honorare”.

11. So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he arrayed Mor'decai and made him ride through the open square of the city, proclaiming, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor."

12. Reversusque est Mardochaeus ad ianuam palatii; et Aman festinavit ire in domum suam lugens et operto capite.

12. Then Mor'decai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.

13. Narravitque Zares uxori suae et amicis omnia, quae evenissent sibi; cui responderunt sapientes, quos habebat in consilio, et uxor eius: “Si de semine Iudaeorum est Mardochaeus, ante quem cadere coepisti, non poteris praevalere contra eum, sed cades in conspectu eius”.

13. And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had befallen him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, "If Mor'decai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him."

14. Adhuc illis loquentibus, venerunt eunuchi regis et cito eum ad convivium, quod regina paraverat, pergere compulerunt.

14. While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and brought Haman in haste to the banquet that Esther had prepared.