3
ハマンの企み
1その後まもなくして王は、アガグ人ハメダタの子ハマンを総理大臣に抜擢しました。今やハマンは、国王に次ぐ実力者でした。 2ハマンに会うと、王の家臣はみな、うやうやしく頭を下げました。そうするようにとの王の命令だったのです。ところがモルデカイだけは、絶対に頭を下げようとしませんでした。
3-4周囲の者たちは、来る日も来る日も、「どうして王の言いつけに背くのだ」と言いますが、それでも彼は頑として聞こうとしません。そこでついに人々は、モルデカイだけに勝手なまねをさせてはならないと、そのことをハマンに告げたのです。モルデカイは人々に、自分はユダヤ人だから別だと主張していたからです。 5-6ハマンは怒りに駆られましたが、モルデカイ一人に手を下すだけではなく、この際、帝国中のユダヤ人を根絶やしにしてやろうと考えました。
7その計画を決行する日は、くじで決めることにしました。アハシュエロス王の治世の第十二年の第一の月のことです。その結果、決行の日は第十二の月と決まりました。 8こうしてハマンは、王に伺いを立てました。「この帝国のどの州にもくまなく入り込んでいる、ある民族をご存じでしょうか」と、彼は切り出しました。「彼らの法律は、どの国のものとも違っておりまして、そのために陛下の命令に従おうともいたしません。これ以上彼らを生かしておいては、陛下のためになりません。 9もしよろしければ、彼らを抹殺せよとの勅令を出していただけませんか。必要な費用につきましては、私が銀一万タラントを国庫に納めさせていただきます。」 10王は同意し、考えの変わらないしるしにと、指輪をはずしてハマンに渡しました。 11「金の心配はいらない。とにかくおまえの考えどおりにやってよい。」
12二、三週間後、ハマンは王の書記官を呼び集め、帝国内の総督や役人あてに手紙を書かせました。州ごとに、それぞれの言語や方言で書かれ、一通ごとにアハシュエロス王の署名と、王の指輪の印が押されます。 13手紙は急使を立てて、全州に送り届けられました。手紙の内容は、ユダヤ人は老若男女を問わず、第十二の月の十三日を期して皆殺しにすべきこと、彼らの財産は手を下した者が取ってよいことなどでした。 14そのあとに、「この勅令の写しをとり、各州の法令として公示し、全国民に通達すべきこと。各人は、決行当日のため準備をしておくこと」と書き添えてありました。 15勅令は、まずシュシャンの都で発令されたのち、至急便で各地方へ送られました。都が騒然とし始めたころ、王とハマンは酒をくみ交わし、上機嫌になっていました。
Haman Plans to Destroy the Jews
1After those events, King Xerxes honored Haman. Haman was the son of Hammedatha. He was from the family line of Agag. The king gave Haman a higher position than he had before. He gave him a seat of honor. It was higher than the positions any of the other nobles had. 2All the royal officials at the palace gate got down on their knees. They gave honor to Haman. That’s because the king had commanded them to do it. But Mordecai refused to get down on his knees. He wouldn’t give Haman any honor at all.
3The royal officials at the palace gate asked Mordecai a question. They said, “Why don’t you obey the king’s command?” 4Day after day they spoke to him. But he still refused to obey. So they told Haman about it. They wanted to see whether he would let Mordecai get away with what he was doing. Mordecai had told them he was a Jew.
5Haman noticed that Mordecai wouldn’t get down on his knees. He wouldn’t give Haman any honor. So Haman was very angry. 6But he had found out who Mordecai’s people were. So he didn’t want to kill only Mordecai. He also looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people. They were Jews. He wanted to kill all of them everywhere in the kingdom of Xerxes.
7The lot was cast in front of Haman. The lot was called Pur. It was cast in the first month of the 12th year that Xerxes was king. That month was called Nisan. The lot was cast to choose a day and a month. The month chosen was the 12th month. That month was called Adar.
8Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “Certain people are scattered among the nations. They live in all the territories in your kingdom. They keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their practices are different from the practices of all other people. They don’t obey your laws. It really isn’t good for you to put up with them. 9If it pleases you, give the order to destroy them. I’ll even add 375 tons of silver to the king’s officials for the royal treasures.”
10So the king took his ring off his finger. The ring had his royal seal on it. He gave the ring to Haman. Haman was the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite. Haman was the enemy of the Jews. 11“Keep the money,” the king said to Haman. “Do what you want to with those people.”
12The king sent for the royal secretaries. It was the 13th day of the first month. The secretaries wrote down all Haman’s orders. They wrote them down in the writing of each territory in the kingdom. They also wrote them in the language of each nation. The orders were sent to the royal officials and to the governors of the territories. And the orders were also sent to the nobles of the nations. The orders were written in the name of King Xerxes himself. And they were stamped with his own official mark. 13They were carried by messengers. They were sent to all the king’s territories. The orders commanded people to destroy, kill and wipe out all the Jews. That included young people and old people alike. It included women and children. All the Jews were supposed to be killed on a single day. That day was the 13th day of the 12th month. It was the month of Adar. The orders also commanded people to take everything that belonged to the Jews. 14A copy of the order had to be sent out as law. It had to be sent to every territory in the kingdom. It had to be announced to the people of every nation. Then they would be ready for that day.
15The king commanded the messengers to go out. So they did. The order was sent out from the fort of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink wine. But the people in the city were bewildered.
