¹When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;

¹Ko je Mardohej zvedel, kaj se je zgodilo, raztrga svojo obleko in se ogrne z raševnikom in potrese s pepelom in gre ven v mesto ter vpije glasno in bridko.

²And came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.

²In pride prav do vrat kraljevih; kajti nihče ni smel stopiti skozi vrata kraljeva, oblečen v raševnik.

³And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

³In v vsaki pokrajini, kamorkoli je dospelo kraljevo povelje in njegov ukaz, je bila velika žalost med Judi, in postili so se in plakali in jadikovali ter mnogi so ležali na raševini in pepelu.

⁴So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. Then was the queen exceedingly grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it not.

⁴In Esterine dekle in njeni komorniki so prišli in so ji povedali o Mardoheju, in kraljica se je silno prestrašila. In pošlje oblačila, da bi se Mardohej vanje preoblekel in raševino dejal od sebe; on jih pa ni sprejel.

⁵Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and gave him a commandment to Mordecai, to know what it was, and why it was.

⁵Tedaj pokliče Estera Hataha, enega kraljevih komornikov, ki ga ji je kralj dal v postrežbo, in mu naroči, naj gre k Mardoheju in zve, kaj je to in čemu tako dela?

⁶So Hatach went forth to Mordecai unto the street of the city, which was before the king's gate.

⁶Hatah torej gre ven k Mardoheju na mestni trg, ki je bil pred kraljevimi vrati.

⁷And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and of the sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king's treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.

⁷In Mardohej mu pove vse, kar se mu je prigodilo, in število srebra, ki ga je Haman obljubil odtehtati v kraljevo zakladnico za Jude, da jih pogube.

⁸Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given at Shushan to destroy them, to shew it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her, and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him for her people.

⁸Dal mu je tudi prepis lista s poveljem, ki je bilo izdano v Susanu, da se pokončajo, naj ga pokaže Esteri in ji to naznani ter naj ji veli, da gre noter h kralju in ga prosi usmiljenja ter pred obličjem njegovim milo prosi za ljudstvo svoje.

⁹And Hatach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai.

⁹In Hatah pride in sporoči Esteri besede Mardohejeve.

¹⁰Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;

¹⁰Tedaj govori Estera s Hatahom ter mu da sporočilo za Mardoheja, rekoč:

¹¹All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or women, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.

¹¹Vsi kraljevi hlapci in ljudje kraljevih pokrajin vedo, da je ena postava za vsakega, bodisi mož ali žena, ki bi vstopil h kralju v notranji dvor, ne da bi bil poklican, da tak mora umreti, razen tistega, proti kateremu seže kralj z zlatim žezlom, da ostani živ. A jaz nisem bila pozvana, naj pridem noter h kralju, že trideset dni.

¹²And they told to Mordecai Esther's words.

¹²In sporoče Mardoheju besede Esterine.

¹³Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews.

¹³Mardohej pa veli odgovoriti Esteri: Ne misli pri sebi, da se otmeš v kraljevi hiši sama mimo vseh Judov.

¹⁴For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

¹⁴Kajti ako boš docela molčala v tem času, pride olajšava in rešitev Judom iz drugega kraja, ti pa in očeta tvojega hiša bosta pokončani. In kdo ve, ali nisi za tak čas, kakršen je sedaj, dosegla kraljestva?

¹⁵Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,

¹⁵Nato veli Estera odgovoriti Mardoheju:

¹⁶Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

¹⁶Pojdi, zberi vse Jude, ki bivajo v Susanu, in postite se zame, da ne jeste in ne pijete tri dni, ne dan, ne noč; tudi jaz s svojimi deklami se bomo enako postile. In potem pojdem noter h kralju, dasi ni po postavi; in ako poginem, naj poginem!Odšel je torej Mardohej in storil vse, prav kakor mu je velela Estera.

¹⁷So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

¹⁷Odšel je torej Mardohej in storil vse, prav kakor mu je velela Estera.