Gihimo nga Rayna si Ester
1Unya, sa dihang nahuwasan na si Haring Ahasuerus sa iyang kasuko, nahinumdom siya kang Vasti ug sa gihimo niini. Nahinumdom usab siya sa sugo nga iyang gihimo bahin kang Vasti. 2Busa miingon kaniya ang iyang personal nga mga alagad, “Mahal nga Hari, nganong dili ka mangita ug matahom ug batan-ong mga dalaga? 3Pagpili ug mga opisyal sa matag probinsya nga sakop sa imong gingharian nga mangitag matahom ug batan-ong mga dalaga. Ipadala ang maong mga dalaga sa puloy-anan sa mga babaye dinhi sa pinarilan nga lungsod sa Susa. Ipaatiman sila sa imong personal nga alagad nga si Hegay, nga gitugyanan mo sa pag-atiman sa mga babaye sa palasyo. Siya nay mahibalo nga mohatag kanila sa ilang mga kinahanglanon sa pagpatahom. 4Unya ang dalaga nga imong magustohan maoy imong ipuli kang Vasti isip rayna.” Nakauyon ang hari sa giingon kaniya, busa gisunod niya kini.
5May usa ka Judio nga nagpuyo sa pinarilan nga lungsod sa Susa nga ginganlag Mordecai. Ang iyang amahan mao si Jair, ug apo siya ni Shimei nga anak ni Kish nga gikan sa tribo ni Benjamin. 6Usa siya sa mga binihag gikan sa Jerusalem nga gidala ni Nebucadnezar nga hari sa Babilonia uban kang Haring Jehoyakin2:6 Jehoyakin: o, Jeconia. nga hari sa Juda. 7May ig-agaw si Mordecai nga dalaga nga matahom ug nindot ug lawas. Hadasa ang iyang ngalan ug gitawag usab siya ug Ester. Sa dihang namatay ang ginikanan ni Ester, gisagop siya ni Mordecai ug gipadako ingon nga iyang anak.
8Sa dihang gimantala ang mando sa hari mahitungod sa matahom nga mga dalaga, daghang mga dalaga ang gidala sa palasyo sa hari didto sa pinarilan nga lungsod sa Susa. Ug usa kanila si Ester. Gipaatiman sila kang Hegay nga gitugyanan sa pag-atiman sa mga babaye sa palasyo. 9Nakaangay si Hegay kang Ester, ug gihatagan niya kinig maayong pagtagad. Iya dayong gihatagan si Ester ug maayong pagkaon ug mga kinahanglanon sa pagpatahom. Gihatagan usab niya kinig pito ka sulugoong babaye nga gikan pa gayod sa palasyo sa hari, ug gibalhin niya sila sa pinakanindot nga bahin sa maong puloy-anan.
10Wala mosugilon si Ester bahin sa iyang pagka-Judio ug sa iyang kagikan tungod kay gidid-an siya ni Mordecai sa pagsulti niini. 11Kada adlaw, maglabay-labay si Mordecai sa hawanan sa gipuy-an sa mga babaye aron sa pagpakisayod sa kahimtang ni Ester, ug kon unsa na ang nagapanghitabo kaniya.
12Sa dili pa ipaatubang ngadto sa hari ang usa ka babaye, kinahanglan makompleto na niya ang usa ka tuig nga pagpatahom: unom ka bulan nga pagpanghaplas ug lana sa mira, ug unom pa gayod ka bulan nga pagbutang ug mga pahumot sa lawas, ug uban pang matang sa pagpatahom. 13Inig-abot sa panahon nga moadto na siya sa hari, hatagan siya sa tanan niyang gustong dad-on sa pag-adto sa palasyo sa hari. 14Sa gabii siya moadto sa hari, ug pagkabuntag dad-on siya sa lain nga puloy-anan nga ginapuy-an sa mga asawa sa hari. Si Shaashgaz, ang sinaligang alagad nga gitugyanan sa pag-atiman sa mga asawa sa hari, mao nay moatiman kaniya. Dili na siya makabalik ngadto sa hari gawas kon nagustohan siya niini ug ipatawag siya.
15-16Sa ikanapulo nga bulan (nga mao ang bulan sa Tebet), sa ikapito nga tuig sa paghari ni Ahasuerus, miabot ang turno ni Ester2:15-16 Ester: Sa Hebreo may sumpay pa nga, ang anak ni Abihail nga uyoan ni Mordecai, nga gisagop ni Mordecai isip iyang anak. nga moadto sa hari didto sa palasyo. Walay laing gipangayo si Ester gawas sa gisulti kaniya ni Hegay, ang personal nga alagad sa hari nga tig-atiman sa mga babaye sa palasyo. Ug midayeg kaniya ang tanang nakakita kaniya.
17Si Ester ang nagustohan sa hari labaw sa tanang mga babaye nga gidala kaniya. Nalipay kaayo siya kang Ester, ug giayo niya siya pag-atiman. Gikoronahan niya kini ug gihimong rayna puli kang Vasti. 18Unya naghimo ug dakong kombira ang hari aron pasidunggan si Ester. Giimbitar niya ang tanan niyang mga opisyal ug ang uban pa niyang mga alagad. Gideklarar niya nga walay trabaho sa tibuok gingharian niadtong adlawa, ug nanghatag siyag gasa ngadto sa mga tawo.
Giluwas ni Mordecai ang Hari
19Sa ikaduhang panagtigom sa mga dalaga, nahimo nang opisyal si Mordecai ug didto na siya mag-alagad sa pultahan sa palasyo. 20Gihilom gihapon ni Ester ang iyang pagka-Judio ug kagikan, sumala sa gipahimangno kaniya ni Mordecai. Ginatuman gihapon ni Ester si Mordecai sama sa iyang ginahimo sa dihang ilalom pa siya sa pag-atiman ni Mordecai.
21Sa panahon nga usa na ka opisyal si Mordecai nga nagaalagad sa pultahan sa palasyo, may duha ka opisyal sa hari nga si Bigtana2:21 Bigtana: o, Bigtan. ug si Teresh. Sila ang mga guwardya sa pultahan sa kuwarto sa hari. Karon, nasuko sila kang Haring Ahasuerus ug nagplano sila sa pagpatay kaniya. 22Apan nahibaloan ni Mordecai ang ilang plano, ug gisugilon niya kini kang Rayna Ester, nga misugilon usab ngadto sa hari nga si Mordecai ang nakadiskobre niini. 23Gipaimbistigaran kini sa hari, ug sa dihang napamatud-an nga tinuod, gipatuhog niya si Bigtana ug si Teresh ug kahoy. Nagmando ang hari nga isulat kini nga panghitabo sa libro sa kasaysayan sa gingharian.
Esther Becomes Queen of Persia
1Later, the great anger of King Xerxes calmed down. Then he remembered Vashti and what she had done. He also remembered the royal order he had sent out concerning her. 2At that time the king’s personal attendants made a suggestion. They said, “King Xerxes, let a search be made for some beautiful young virgins for you. 3Appoint some officials in every territory in your kingdom. Have them bring all these beautiful young women into the fort of Susa. Put them in the special place where the virgins stay. Then put Hegai in charge of them. He’s the official who serves you. He’s in charge of the women. Let beauty care be given to the new group of women. 4Then let the young woman who pleases you the most become queen in Vashti’s place.” The king liked that advice. So he followed it.
5There was a Jew living in the fort of Susa. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. His name was Mordecai. He was the son of Jair. Jair was the son of Shimei. Shimei was the son of Kish. 6Nebuchadnezzar had forced Mordecai to leave Jerusalem. He was among the prisoners who were carried off along with Jehoiachin. Jehoiachin had been king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. 7Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah. He had raised her because she didn’t have a father or mother. Hadassah was also called Esther. She had a lovely figure and was very beautiful. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. He had done it when her father and mother died.
8After the king’s order and law were announced, many young women were brought to the fort of Susa. Hegai was put in charge of them. Esther was also taken to the king’s palace. She was put under the control of Hegai. He was in charge of the place where the virgins stayed. 9Esther pleased him. He showed her how happy he was with her. Right away he provided her with her beauty care and special food. He appointed seven female attendants to help her. They were chosen from the king’s palace. He moved her and her attendants into the best part of the place where the virgins stayed.
10Esther hadn’t told anyone who her people were. She hadn’t talked about her family. That’s because Mordecai had told her not to. 11Mordecai tried to find out how Esther was getting along. He wanted to know what was happening to her. So he walked back and forth near the courtyard by the place where the virgins stayed. He did it every day.
12Each young woman had to complete 12 months of beauty care. They used oil of myrrh for six months. And they used perfume and makeup for the other six months. A virgin’s turn to go in to King Xerxes could come only after a full 12 months had passed. 13And here is how she would go to the king. She would be given anything she wanted from the place where the virgins stayed. She could take it with her to the king’s palace. 14In the evening she would go there. In the morning she would leave. Then she would go to the special place where the king’s concubines stayed. She would be put under the control of Shaashgaz. He was the king’s official who was in charge of the concubines. She would never return to the king unless he was pleased with her. He had to send for her by name before she could go to him again.
15Mordecai had adopted Esther. She had been the daughter of his uncle Abihail. Her turn came to go in to the king. She only asked for what Hegai suggested. He was the king’s official who was in charge of the place where the virgins stayed. Everyone who saw Esther was pleased with her. 16She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal house. It was now the tenth month. That was the month of Tebeth. It was the seventh year of the rule of Xerxes.
17The king liked Esther more than he liked any of the other women. She pleased him more than any of the other virgins. So he put a royal crown on her head. He made her queen in Vashti’s place. 18Then the king gave a feast to honor Esther. All his nobles and officials were invited. He announced a holiday all through the territories he ruled over. He freely gave many gifts in keeping with his royal wealth.
Mordecai Uncovers a Plan to Kill the King
19The virgins were gathered together a second time. At that time Mordecai was sitting at the palace gate. 20Esther had kept her family history a secret. She hadn’t told anyone who her people were. Mordecai had told her not to. She continued to follow his directions. That’s what she had always done when he was bringing her up.
21Bigthana and Teresh were two of the king’s officers. They guarded the door of the royal palace. They became angry with King Xerxes. So they decided to kill him. They made their evil plans while Mordecai was sitting at the palace gate. 22So Mordecai found out about it and told Queen Esther. Then she reported it to the king. She told him that Mordecai had uncovered the plans against him. 23Some people checked Esther’s report. And they found out it was true. So the two officials were put to death. Then poles were stuck through them. They were set up where people could see them. All of that was written in the official records. It was written down while the king was watching.
