Eseza Aweebwa obwa Nnabagereka
12:1 Es 1:19-20; 7:10Oluvannyuma, obusungu bwa Kabaka Akaswero bwe bwakkakkana, yasigala ng’alowooza ku Vasuti, kye yakola, n’ekyali kisaliddwawo. 2Awo abaddu ba Kabaka ne baleeta ekirowoozo nti, “Banoonyeze Kabaka omuwala ku bawala abato abalungi nga mbeerera. 3Kabaka alonde ababaka mu buli kitundu mu bwakabaka bwe, bamuleetere abawala abato ababalagavu abalungi mu lubiri lwe e Susani bakuumibwe mu nnyumba y’abakyala. Era Kegayi omulaawe wa Kabaka avunaanyizibwe abawala abo, ng’abawa ne by’okulungiya byonna bye beetaaga. 4Awo omuwala anasiimibwa kabaka, ye anafuuka Nnabagereka mu kifo kya Vasuti.” Ekirowoozo ekyo kyasanyusa kabaka, era n’akissa mu nkola.
52:5 1Sa 9:1; Es 3:2Mu biro ebyo mu lubiri e Susani, waaliyo Omuyudaaya ow’omu kika kya Benyamini, erinnya lye Moluddekaayi, mutabani wa Yayiri, muzzukulu wa Simeeyi, muzzukulu wa Kiisi, 62:6 a 2Bk 24:6, 15; 2By 36:10, 20 b Dan 1:1-5; 5:13eyawaambibwa Nebukadduneeza, Kabaka we Babulooni n’aleetebwa mu buwaŋŋanguse nga y’omu ku basibe abaasibibwa ne Yekoniya, eyali Kabaka wa Yuda, okuva e Yerusaalemi. 72:7 a Lub 41:45 b Lub 39:6Moluddekaayi yalina omuwala omuto erinnya lye Kadasa, gwe yalinako oluganda, eyakulira mu mikono gye, kubanga yali mulekwa nga yafiirwa kitaawe ne nnyina. Erinnya ly’omuwala ono eddala nga ye Eseza, era yali ng’alabika bulungi nnyo.
82:8 nny 3, 15; Nek 1:1; Es 1:2; Dan 8:2Awo olwatuuka ekiragiro kya Kabaka bwe kyalangirirwa, abawala bangi, nga ne Eseza mwali ne baleetebwa mu lubiri e Susani ne bakwasibwa Kegayi eyali alabirira abakyala ba Kabaka. 92:9 a Lub 39:21 b nny 3, 12; Lub 37:3; 1Sa 9:22-24; 2Bk 25:30; Ez 16:9-13; Dan 1:5Eseza n’asiimibwa Kegayi, era n’amuwa ebintu eby’okulungiya, n’emmere ey’enjawulo. Era yamuwa n’abazaana musanvu abaalondebwa okuva mu lubiri lwa Kabaka, era n’amuteeka mu kifo ekisinga obulungi awakuumibwa abakyala. 102:10 nny 20Eseza yali tamanyiddwa ggwanga lye, wadde ekika kye, kubanga Moluddekaayi yali amugaanye okulyogera. 11Buli lunaku Moluddekaayi yalagangako mu luggya lw’ennyumba ya bakyala okumanya ebyafanga ku Eseza.
122:12 Nge 27:9; Lu 1:3; Is 3:24Awo oluwalo lwa buli muwala bwe lwatuukanga okugenda eri Kabaka Akaswero, omuwala oyo yalinanga okuba ng’amaze emyezi kkumi n’ebiri egy’okufumbirirwa, ng’era mu bbanga eryo, emyezi omukaaga aba ng’akozesa amafuta ag’omugavu n’emyezi omukaaga omulala nga yeyambisa obuwoowo n’ebintu ebirala ebifumbirira. 13Bw’atyo omuwala n’alyokanga agenda eri Kabaka. Omuwala bwe yatuukanga okugenda ewa Kabaka yabanga wa ddembe okuweebwa kyonna ky’ayagala okuva mu nnyumba y’abakyala. 142:14 a 1Bk 11:3; Lu 6:8; Dan 5:2 b Es 4:11Yagendangayo kawungeezi, ate bwe bwakeeranga, n’addayo mu kifo ekirala era eky’abakyala ekyalabirirwanga Saasugazi, omulaawe wa Kabaka eyakuumanga abakyala ba Kabaka abalala. Era omuwala oyo teyaddanga wa Kabaka wabula ng’amusiimye, era ng’amutumizza.
152:15 a Es 9:29 b Zab 45:14 c Lub 18:3; 30:27; Es 5:8Awo oluwalo lwa Eseza omuwala eyakuzibwa Moluddekaayi, ate nga muwala wa Abikayiri, eyalina oluganda ku Moluddekaayi, bwe lwatuuka okugenda eri Kabaka, Eseza talina birala bye yasaba okuggyako ebyo Kegayi, omulaawe wa Kabaka bye yamuwa. Era Eseza n’aganja mu maaso g’abo bonna abaamutunuulira. 16Yatwalibwa eri Kabaka Akaswero mu lubiri lwe mu mwezi ogw’ekkumi, gwe mwezi Tebesi, mu mwaka ogw’omusanvu ogw’okufuga kwe.
172:17 Es 1:11; Ez 16:9-13Kabaka n’ayagala nnyo Eseza okukira abakyala abalala bonna, era n’aganja mu maaso ge okusinga abawala embeerera bonna. N’amutikkira engule okuba Nnabagereka mu kifo kya Vasuti. 182:18 a 1Bk 3:15; Es 1:3 b Lub 40:20 c Es 1:7Awo Kabaka n’akolera Eseza embaga ennene, n’ayita abakungu be wamu n’abaami be, era n’alangirira abantu okusonyiyibwa emisolo mu bitundu byonna, ate n’agaba n’ebirabo nga bwe yayagala.
Moluddekaayi Agwa mu Lukwe lw’Okutta Kabaka
192:19 nny 21; Es 3:2; 4:2; 5:13Olunaku olumu Moluddekaayi bwe yali ng’atudde ku wankaaki w’olubiri lwa Kabaka, abawala ne bakuŋŋaanira eri Kabaka omulundi ogwokubiri. 202:20 nny 10Eseza yakuuma ekyama Moluddekaayi kye yali amukuutidde, eky’obutayogera ekika kye newaakubadde eggwanga lye.
212:21 a Lub 40:2; Es 6:2 b Es 1:12; 3:5; 5:9; 7:7Awo mu biro ebyo Moluddekaayi ng’atudde ku wankaaki wa Kabaka, abalaawe ba Kabaka babiri, Bigusani ne Teresi, ku abo abaakuumanga omulyango, ne banyiigira Kabaka Akaswero, era ne bateesa okumutemula. 22Naye Moluddekaayi n’agwa mu lukwe olwo, n’ategeezaako Eseza Nnabagereka, eyagenda n’abuulira Kabaka nga Moluddekaayi bwe yamutegeeza. 232:23 a Lub 40:19; Zab 7:14-16; Nge 26:27 b Es 6:1; 10:2Awo ekigambo ekyo bwe baakyekenneenya, ne kirabika nga kituufu, abasajja abo bombi ne bawanikibwa ku kalabba. Awo ebigambo bino byonna ne biwandiikibwa mu kitabo eky’ebyafaayo ebya buli lunaku mu maaso ga Kabaka.
Esther made queen
1Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. 2Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, ‘Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. 3Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. 4Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.’ This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.
5Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, 6who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin2:6 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin king of Judah. 7Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
8When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem. 9She pleased him and won his favour. Immediately he provided her with her beauty treatments and special food. He assigned to her seven female attendants selected from the king’s palace and moved her and her attendants into the best place in the harem.
10Esther had not revealed her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had forbidden her to do so. 11Every day he walked to and fro near the courtyard of the harem to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.
12Before a young woman’s turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. 13And this is how she would go to the king: anything she wanted was given to her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.
15When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her. 16She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favour and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
Mordecai uncovers a conspiracy
19When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.
21During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana2:21 Hebrew Bigthan, a variant of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals in the presence of the king.
