Esther 3

1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.

1 后来，亚哈随鲁王提拔亚甲人哈米大他的儿子哈曼，使他的权位高过他所有的同僚。

2 All the royal servants at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, because the king had commanded that this be done for him. But Mordecai would not bow down or pay homage.

2 王命令所有在宫门供职的臣仆都要向哈曼跪拜，但末底改不肯跪拜。

3 Then the royal servants at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the command of the king?”

3 在宫门供职的臣仆问末底改：“你为何违抗王的命令？”

4 Day after day they warned him, but he would not comply. So they reported it to Haman to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, since he had told them he was a Jew.

4 他们天天劝他，他却不听。他们便把这件事告诉哈曼，想看看末底改这样做是否能站得住，因为末底改已告诉他们自己是犹太人。

5 When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow down or pay him homage, he was filled with rage.

5 哈曼见末底改不肯向他跪拜，就怒气填胸。

6 And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.

6 他得知末底改是犹太人后，便不屑于只害末底改一人，而是要铲除亚哈随鲁王国内所有的犹太人，即末底改的同胞。

7 In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

7 亚哈随鲁王十二年一月，即尼散月，有人在哈曼面前抽普珥，也就是抽签，来决定哪月哪日下手，结果抽中十二月，即亚达月。

8 Then Haman informed King Xerxes, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples of every province of your kingdom. Their laws are different from everyone else’s, and they do not obey the king’s laws. So it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

8 哈曼对亚哈随鲁王说：“有一个民族散居在王境内各省的众民族中，他们的律例与各族的律例不同，他们不遵守王的律例，所以容忍他们对王不利。

9 If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”

9 王若愿意，就请降旨消灭他们。我愿捐六百八十万两银子交给管理国事的人，纳入王的库房。”

10 So the king removed the signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

10 于是，王摘下手上的戒指，交给犹太人的仇敌——亚甲人哈米大他的儿子哈曼，

11 “Keep your money,” said the king to Haman. “These people are given to you to do with them as you please.”

11 对他说：“这些银子归你，这个民族也交给你，随你处置。”

12 On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.

12 一月十三日，王的书记被召来，他们以亚哈随鲁王的名义，照哈曼的吩咐，用各省的文字和各族的语言写谕旨，用王的戒指盖印，送交各总督、各省省长和各族首领。

13 And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.

13 谕旨由信差送到王的各省，限令在一天之内，也就是亚达月十三日，即十二月十三日，把犹太人的男女老少全部铲除、杀光、灭尽，并夺取他们的财物。

14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day.

14 谕旨的抄本作为法令颁布到各省，通知各族为那天做好准备。

15 The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.

15 信差奉王的命令急忙上路，谕旨也在书珊城里颁布了。王和哈曼坐下饮酒，书珊城一片慌乱。