§3.1Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐδόξασεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀρταξέρξης Ἀμὰν Ἁμαδάθου Βουγαῖον, καὶ ὕψωσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπρωτοβάθρει πάντων τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ.
After these things, King Artaxerxes honored Haman, the son of Hammedatha, the Bougean, and exalted him, and gave him the chief seat above all his friends.
§3.2καὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ προσεκύνουν αὐτῷ, οὕτως γὰρ προσέταξεν ὁ βασιλεὺς ποιῆσαι· ὁ δὲ Μαρδοχαῖος οὐ προσεκύνει αὐτῷ.
And all those in the court bowed down to him, for so the king had commanded to be done; but Mordecai did not bow down to him.
§3.3καὶ ἐλάλησαν οἱ ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ τοῦ βασιλέως τῷ Μαρδοχαίῳ Μαρδοχαῖε, τί παρακούεις τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως λεγόμενα; §3.4καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐλάλουν αὐτῷ, καὶ οὐχ ὑπήκουεν αὐτῶν· καὶ ὑπέδειξαν τῷ Ἁμὰν Μαρδοχαῖον τοῖς τοῦ βασιλέως λόγοις ἀντιτασσόμενον· καὶ ὑπέδειξεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Μαρδοχαῖος ὅτι Ἰουδαῖός ἐστιν.
Then those in the king's court said to Mordecai, "Mordecai, why do you transgress the king's commands?" Day after day they spoke to him, and he would not listen to them; so they informed Haman that Mordecai was resisting the king's commands; for Mordecai had declared to them that he was a Jew.
§3.5καὶ ἐπιγνοὺς Ἁμὰν ὅτι οὐ προσκυνεῖ αὐτῷ Μαρδοχαῖος, ἐθυμώθη σφόδρα, §3.6καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο ἀφανίσαι πάντας τοὺς ὑπὸ τὴν Ἀρταξέρξου βασιλείαν Ἰουδαίους.
And when Haman perceived that Mordecai did not bow down to him, he was filled with great wrath, and he resolved to destroy all the Jews who were under the kingdom of Artaxerxes.
§3.7καὶ ἐποίησεν ψήφισμα ἐν ἔτει δωδεκάτῳ τῆς βασιλείας Ἀρταξέρξου, καὶ ἔβαλεν κλήρους ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας καὶ μῆνα ἐκ μηνὸς ὥστε ἀπολέσαι ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ τὸ γένος Μαρδοχαίου, καὶ ἔπεσεν §3.8ὁ κλῆρος εἰς τὴν τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτην τοῦ μηνὸς ὅς ἐστιν Ἀδάρ.
And in the twelfth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, he made a decree and cast lots day by day and month by month, so as to destroy the race of Mordecai in a single day; and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month which is Adar.
ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἀρταξέρξην λέγων Ὑπάρχει ἔθνος διεσπαρμένον ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου, οἱ δὲ νόμοι αὐτῶν ἔξαλλοι παρὰ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, τῶν δὲ νόμων τοῦ βασιλέως παρακούουσιν, καὶ οὐ συμφέρει τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐᾶσαι αὐτούς.
Then he spoke to King Artaxerxes, saying, "There is a certain nation scattered among the nations throughout all your kingdom; their laws are diverse from those of all other nations, and they do not obey the king's laws; therefore, it is not expedient for the king to tolerate them.
§3.9εἰ δοκεῖ τῷ βασιλεῖ, δογματισάτω ἀπολέσαι αὐτούς, κἀγὼ διαγράψω εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον τοῦ βασιλέως ἀργυρίου τάλαντα μύρια. §3.10καὶ περιελόμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν δακτύλιον ἔδωκεν εἰς χεῖρα τῷ Ἁμάν, σφραγίσαι κατὰ τῶν γεγραμμένων κατὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων.
If it please the king, let it be decreed that they are to be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the king's treasury." So the king took his ring from his hand and gave it to Haman, to seal the decrees written against the Jews.
§3.11καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Ἁμάν Τὸ μέν ἀργύριον ἔχε, τῷ δὲ ἔθνει χρῶ ὡς βούλει. §3.12καὶ ἐκλήθησαν οἱ γραμματεῖς τοῦ βασιλέως μηνὶ πρώτῳ τῇ τρισκαιδεκάτῃ, καὶ ἔγραψαν ὡς ἐπέταξεν Ἁμὰν τοῖς στρατηγοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν κατὰ πᾶσαν χώραν ἀπὸ Ἰνδικῆς ἕως τῆς Αἰθιοπίας, ταῖς ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἑπτὰ χώραις, τοῖς τε ἄρχουσι τῶν ἐθνῶν κατὰ τὴν αὐτῶν λέξιν, δι᾿ Ἀρταξέρξου τοῦ βασιλέως.
And the king said to Haman, "Keep the silver, and do with the nation as you please." Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and they wrote, according to all that Haman commanded, to the generals and the governors in every province from India to Ethiopia, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, and to the rulers of the nations in their own language, in the name of King Artaxerxes.
§3.13καὶ ἀπεστάλη διὰ βιβλιαφόρων εἰς τὴν Ἀρταξέρξου βασιλείαν, ἀφανίσαι τὸ γένος τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ μηνὸς δωδεκάτου, ὅς ἐστιν Ἀδάρ, καὶ διαρπάσαι τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῶν.
And letters were sent by couriers into all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to destroy the race of the Jews in a single day, in the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods.
§3.1aΤῆς δὲ ἐπιστολῆς ἐστὶν τὸ ἀντίγραφον τόδε Βασιλεὺς μέγας Ἀρταξέρξης τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἕως τῆς Αἰθιοπίας ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἑπτὰ χωρῶν ἄρχουσι καὶ τοπάρχαις ὑποτεταγμένοις τάδε γράφει.
This is the copy of the letter: "The great King Artaxerxes writes these things to the governors of the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia, and to the rulers who are subject to them.
§3.2aπολλῶν ἐπάρξας ἐθνῶν καὶ πάσης ἐπικρατήσας οἰκουμένης, ἐβουλήθην, μὴ τῷ θράσει τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐπαιρόμενος ἐπιεικέστερον δὲ καὶ μετὰ ἠπιότητος ἀεὶ διεξάγων, τοὺς τῶν ὑποτεταγμένωυ ἀκυμάτους διὰ παντὸς καταστῆσαι βίους, τήν τε βασιλείαν ἥμερον καὶ πορευτὴν μέχρι περάτων παρεξόμενος ἀνανεώσασθαί τε τὴν ποθουμένην τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις εἰρήνην.
Having become ruler over many nations and having conquered the whole world, I resolved, not being lifted up with the presumption of power, but always governing with mildness and clemency, to make the lives of my subjects continually tranquil, and rendering my kingdom peaceful and passable to its furthest borders, to renew the peace which is desired by all men.
§3.3aπυθομένου δέ μου τῶν συμβούλων πῶς ἂν ἀχθείη τοῦτο ἐπὶ πέρας, σωφροσύνῃ παρʼ ἡμῖν διενέγκας καὶ ἐν τῇ εὐνοίᾳ ἀπαραλλάκτως καὶ βεβαίᾳ πίστει ἀποδεδιγμένος καὶ δεύτερον τῶν βασιλειῶν γέρας ἀπενηνεγμένος Ἁμὰν §3.4aἐπέδειξεν ἡμῖν, ἐν πάσαις ταῖς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην φυλαῖς ἀναμεμίχθαι δυσμενῆ λαόν τινα, τοῖς νόμοις ἀντίθετον πρὸς πᾶν ἔθνος, τά τε τῶν βασιλέων παραπέμποντας διηνεκῶς προστάγματα, πρὸς τὸ μὴ κατατίθεσθαι τὴν ὑφʼ ἡμῶν κατευθυνομένην ἀμέμπτως συναρχίαν.
And when I asked my counselors how this might be brought to an end, Haman, who excels in wisdom among us, and is approved for his constant goodwill and steadfast fidelity, and has attained the second place in the kingdom, pointed out to us that there is combined among all the tribes throughout the world a certain hostile people, opposed in their laws to every nation, continually neglecting the decrees of kings, so that the joint government directed blamelessly by us cannot be established.
§3.5aδιειληφότες οὖν τόδε τὸ ἔθνος μονώτατον ἐν ἀντιπαραγωγῇ παντὶ διὰ παντὸς ἀνθρώπῳ κείμενον, διαγωγὴν νόμων ξενίζουσαν παραλλάσσον, καὶ δυσνοοῦν τοῖς ἡμετέροις πράγμασιν τὰ χείριστα συντελοῦν κακὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸ μὴ τὴν βασιλείαν εὐσταθίας τυγχάνειν· §3.6aπροστετάχαμεν οὖν τοὺς σημαινομένους ὑμῖν ἐν τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ὑπὸ Ἁμὰν τοῦ τεταγμένου ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ δευτέρου πατρὸς ἡμῶν, πάντας σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ τέκνοις ἀπολέσαι ὁλορριζεὶ ταῖς τῶν ἐχθρῶν μαχαίραις ἄνευ παντὸς οἴκτου καὶ φειδοῦς τῇ τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ δωδεκάτου μηνὸς Ἀδὰρ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος ἔτους, §3.7aὅπως οἱ πάλαι καὶ νῦν δυσμενεῖς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ βιαίως εἰς τὸν ᾅδην κατελθόντες εἰς τὸν μετέπειτα χρόνον εὐσταθῆ καὶ ἀτάραχα παρέχωσιν ἡμῖν διὰ τέλους τὰ πρά γματα. §3.14τὰ δὲ ἀντίγραφα τῶν ἐπιστολῶν ἐξετίθετο κατὰ χώραν· καὶ προσετάγη πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἑτοίμους εἶναι εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην.
Understanding, therefore, that this nation stands alone in continual opposition to all mankind, following an alien and deviant system of laws, and being hostile to our affairs, committing the worst evils so that the kingdom cannot attain stability; we have therefore commanded that those who are pointed out to you in the writings of Haman, who is appointed over our affairs and is our second father, shall all be utterly destroyed with their wives and children by the swords of their enemies, without any pity or mercy, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar, of the present year, so that those who of old and now are hostile, being violently cast down into Hades in a single day, may for the future render our affairs continually stable and undisturbed." And the copies of the letters were posted in every province; and all the nations were commanded to be ready for that day.
§3.15ἐσπεύδετο δὲ τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ εἰς Σουσάν· ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς καὶ Ἁμὰν ἐκωθωνίζοντο, ἐταράσσετο δὲ ἡ πόλις.
The matter was hastened also in Susa; and while the king and Haman were drinking, the city was thrown into confusion.