§8.1Καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἀρταξέρξης ἐδωρήσατο Ἐσθὴρ ὅσα ὑπῆρχεν Ἀμὰν τῷ διαβόλῳ, καὶ Μαρδοχαἲος προσεκλήθη ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως· ὑπέδειξεν γὰρ Ἐσθῆρ ὅτι ἐνοικείωται αὐτῇ.
On that very day King Artaxerxes gave to Esther all that belonged to Haman, the adversary; and Mordecai was summoned by the king, for Esther had revealed that he was related to her.
§8.2ἔλαβεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸν δακτύλιον ὃν ἀφείλατο Ἀμὰν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὸν Μαρδοχαίῳ, καὶ κατέστησεν Ἐσθὴρ Μαρδοχαῖον ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν Ἀμάν.
And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken back from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai; and Esther appointed Mordecai over all that had belonged to Haman.
§8.3καὶ προσθεῖσα ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ προσέπεσεν πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἠξίου ἀφελεῖν τὴν Ἀμὰν κακίαν καὶ ὅσα ἐποίησεν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις.
And she spoke yet again to the king, and fell at his feet, and implored him to remove the mischief of Haman and all that he had done against the Jews.
§8.4ἐξέτεινεν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἐσθῆρ τὴν ῥάβδον τὴν χρυσῆν· ἐξηγέρθη δὲ Ἐσθὴρ παρεστηκέναι τῷ βασιλεῖ §8.5καὶ εἶπεν Ἐσθήρ Εἰ δοκεῖ σοι καὶ εὗρον χάριν. πεμφθήτω ἀποστραφῆναι τὰ γράμματα τὰ ἀπεσταλμένα ὑπὸ Ἀμάν, τὰ γραφέντα ἀπολέσθαι τοὺς Ἰουδαίους οἵ εἰσιν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ σου.
And the king extended the golden scepter to Esther; and Esther arose to stand before the king and said, "If it pleases you and if I have found favor, let an order be sent to recall the letters sent by Haman, which were written to destroy the Jews who are in your kingdom.
§8.6πῶς γὰρ δυνήσομαι ἰδεῖυ τὴν κάκωσιν τοῦ λαοῦ μου, καὶ πῶς δυνήσομαι σωθῆναι ἐν τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ τῆς πατρίδος μου; §8.7καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Ἐσθήρ Εἰ πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα Ἀμὰν ἔδωκα καὶ ἐχαρισάμην σοι, καὶ αὐτὸν ἐκρέμασα ἐπὶ ξύλου ὅτι τὰς χεῖρας ἐπήνεγκε τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, τί ἔτι ἐπιζητεῖς;
For how can I bear to see the affliction of my people, and how can I survive the destruction of my kindred?" And the king said to Esther, "If I have given all Haman's property and granted it to you, and have hanged him on the gallows because he laid his hands on the Jews, what more do you seek?
§8.8γράψατε καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ ὀνόματός μου ὡς δοκεῖ ὑμῖν, καὶ σφραγίσατε τῷ δακτυλίῳ μου· ὅσα γὰρ γράφεται τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιτάξαντος καὶ σφραγισθῇ τῷ δακτυλίῳ μου, οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς ἀντειπεῖν. §8.9ἐκλήθησαν δὲ οἱ γραμματεῖς ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ μηνὶ ὅς ἐστι Νισά, τρίτῃ καὶ εἰκάδι τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους, καὶ ἐγράφη τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὅσα ἐνετείλατο τοῖς οἰκονόμοις καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν τῶν σατραπῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἕως τῆς Αἰθιοπίας, ἑκατὸν εἲκοσι ἑπτὰ σατραπίαις κατὰ χώραν καὶ χώραν, κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτῶν λέξιν.
Write also in my name as it seems best to you, and seal it with my ring; for whatever is written by the king's command and sealed with my ring, no one can contradict." And the scribes were summoned in the first month, which is Nisan, on the twenty-third day of that same year; and there was written to the Jews all that he commanded the administrators and the rulers of the satrapies from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies, province by province, according to their own language.
§8.10ἐγράφη δὲ διὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐσφραγίσθη τῷ δακτυλίῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξαπέστειλαν τὰ γράμματα διὰ βιβλιαφόρων, §8.11ὡς ἐπέταξεν αὐτοῖς χρῆσθαι τοῖς νόμοις αὐτῶν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ πόλει, βοηθῆσαί τε αὑτοῖς καὶ χρῆσθαι τοῖς ἀντιδίκοις αὐτῶν καὶ τοῖς ἀντικειμένοις αὐτῶν ὡς βούλονται, §8.12ἐν ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ βασιλείᾳ Ἀρταξέρξου, τῇ τρισκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ δωδεκάτου μηνὸς ὅς ἐστιν Ἄδαρ.
And it was written by order of the king and sealed with his ring, and they sent the letters by couriers, stating that the king permitted them to use their own laws in every city, to defend themselves, and to deal with their adversaries and opponents as they wished, on a single day in all the kingdom of Artaxerxes, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is Adar.
§8.1aὯν ἐστιν ἀντίγραφον τῆς ἐπιστολῆς τὰ ὑπογεγραμμένα Βασιλεὺς μέγας Ἀρταξέρξης τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἕως τῆς Αἰθιοπίας ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἑπτὰ σατραπείαις χαορῶν ἄρχουσι καὶ τοῖς τὰ ἡμέτερα φρονοῦσι χαίρειν.
The following is a copy of the letter: "The Great King Artaxerxes to the governors of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies, and to those who are well-disposed to our affairs, greeting.
§8.2aπολλοὶ τῇ πλείστῃ τῶν εὐεργετούνταων χρηστότητι πυκνότερον τιμώμενοι μεῖζον ἐφρόνησαν, §8.3aκαὶ οὐ μόνον τοὺς ὑποτεταγμένους ἡμῖν ζητοῦσι κακοποιεῖν, τόν τε κόρον οὐ δυνάμενοι φέρειν καὶ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν εὐεργέταις ἐπιχειροῦσι μηχανᾶσθαι· §8.4aκαὶ τὴν εὐχαριστίαν οὐ μόνον ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀνταναιροῦντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς τῶν ἀπειραγάθων κόμποις ἐπαρθέντες, τοῦ τὰ πάντα κατοπτεύοντος ἀεὶ θεοῦ μισοπόνηρον ὑπολαμβάνουσιν ἐκφεύξεσθαι δίκην.
Many, who are continually honored by the exceeding bounty of their benefactors, have become arrogant, and not only do they seek to injure our subjects, but, being unable to bear their abundance, they even attempt to plot against their own benefactors; and they not only banish gratitude from among men, but, puffed up by the boasting of those who are ignorant of goodness, they suppose they will escape the justice of God, who always sees all things and hates evil.
§8.5aπολλάκις δὲ καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν ἐπʼ ἐξουσίαις τεταγμένων τῶν πιστευθέντων χειρίζειν φίλων τὰ πράγματα παραμυθία μετόχους αἱμάτων ἀθῴων καταστήσασα περιέβαλε συμφοραῖς ἀνηκέστοις, §8.6aτῷ τῆς κακοηθείας ψευδεῖ παραλογισμῷ παραλογισαμένωυ τὴν τῶν ἐπικρατούντων ἀκέραιον εὐγνααωμοσύνην.
And often many of those placed in authority, who were trusted by their friends to manage affairs, have, by their persuasion, made them accomplices in the shedding of innocent blood, and have involved them in irremediable disasters, by deceiving with the false sophistry of their evil nature the sincere goodwill of their rulers.
§8.7aσκοπεῖν δὲ ἔξεστιν, οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐκ τῶν παλαιοτέεων ὡς παρεδώκαμεν ἱστοριῶν, ὅσα ἐστὶν παρὰ πόδας ὑμᾶς ἐκζητοῦντας ἀνοσίως συντετελεσμένα τῆ τῶυ ἀνάξια δυναστευόντων λοιμότητι,
And this can be seen, not so much from ancient histories as we have handed down, but by looking at what has been impiously accomplished right before your feet through the malice of those who govern unworthily,"