Esther 1
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Esther 1
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| Now it came about in the days of Ahasuerus, (that Ahasuerus who was ruler of a hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom, from India as far as Ethiopia:) | C`était du temps d`Assuérus, de cet Assuérus qui régnait depuis l`Inde jusqu`en Éthiopie sur cent vingt-sept provinces; |
| That in those days, when King Ahasuerus was ruling in Shushan, his strong town, | et le roi Assuérus était alors assis sur son trône royal à Suse, dans la capitale. |
| In the third year of his rule he gave a feast to all his captains and his servants; and the captains of the army of Persia and Media, the great men and the rulers of the divisions of his kingdom, were present before him; | La troisième année de son règne, il fit un festin à tous ses princes et à ses serviteurs; les commandants de l`armée des Perses et des Mèdes, les grands et les chefs des provinces furent réunis en sa présence. |
| And for a long time, even a hundred and eighty days, he let them see all the wealth and the glory of his kingdom and the great power and honour which were his. | Il montra la splendide richesse de son royaume et l`éclatante magnificence de sa grandeur pendant nombre de jours, pendant cent quatre-vingts jours. |
| And at the end of that time, the king gave a feast for all the people who were present in Shushan, the king's town, small as well as great, for seven days, in the outer square of the garden of the king's house. | Lorsque ces jours furent écoulés, le roi fit pour tout le peuple qui se trouvait à Suse, la capitale, depuis le plus grand jusqu`au plus petit, un festin qui dura sept jours, dans la cour du jardin de la maison royale. |
| There were fair hangings of white and green and blue, fixed with cords of purple and the best linen to silver rings and pillars of polished stone: the seats were of gold and silver on a floor of red and white and yellow and black stone. | Des tentures blanches, vertes et bleues, étaient attachées par des cordons de byssus et de pourpre à des anneaux d`argent et à des colonnes de marbre. Des lits d`or et d`argent reposaient sur un pavé de porphyre, de marbre, de nacre et de pierres noires. |
| And they gave them drink in gold vessels, every vessel being different, and wine of the kingdom, freely given by the king. | On servait à boire dans des vases d`or, de différentes espèces, et il y avait abondance de vin royal, grâce à la libéralité du roi. |
| And the drinking was in keeping with the law; no one was forced: for the king had given orders to all the chief servants of his house to do as was pleasing to every man. | Mais on ne forçait personne à boire, car le roi avait ordonné à tous les gens de sa maison de se conformer à la volonté de chacun. |
| And Vashti the queen gave a feast for the women in the house of King Ahasuerus. | La reine Vasthi fit aussi un festin pour les femmes dans la maison royale du roi Assuérus. |
| On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was glad with wine, he gave orders to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven unsexed servants who were waiting before Ahasuerus the king, | Le septième jour, comme le coeur du roi était réjoui par le vin, il ordonna à Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zéthar et Carcas, les sept eunuques qui servaient devant le roi Assuérus, |
| That Vashti the queen was to come before him, crowned with her crown, and let the people and the captains see her: for she was very beautiful. | d`amener en sa présence la reine Vasthi, avec la couronne royale, pour montrer sa beauté aux peuples et aux grands, car elle était belle de figure. |
| But when the servants gave her the king's order, Vashti the queen said she would not come: then the king was very angry, and his heart was burning with wrath. | Mais la reine Vasthi refusa de venir, quand elle reçut par les eunuques l`ordre du roi. Et le roi fut très irrité, il fut enflammé de colère. |
| And the king said to the wise men, who had knowledge of the times, (for this was the king's way with all who were expert in law and in the giving of decisions: | Alors le roi s`adressa aux sages qui avaient la connaissance des temps. Car ainsi se traitaient les affaires du roi, devant tous ceux qui connaissaient les lois et le droit. |
| And second only to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media, who were friends of the king, and had the first places in the kingdom:) | Il avait auprès de lui Carschena, Schéthar, Admatha, Tarsis, Mérès, Marsena, Memucan, sept princes de Perse et de Médie, qui voyaient la face du roi et qui occupaient le premier rang dans le royaume. |
| What is to be done by law to Vashti the queen, because she has not done what King Ahasuerus, by his servants, gave her orders to do? | Quelle loi, dit-il, faut-il appliquer à la reine Vasthi, pour n`avoir point exécuté ce que le roi Assuérus lui a ordonné par les eunuques? |
| And before the king and the captains, Memucan gave his answer: Vashti the queen has done wrong, not only to the king, but to all the captains and to all the peoples in all the divisions of the kingdom of King Ahasuerus; | Memucan répondit devant le roi et les princes: Ce n`est pas seulement à l`égard du roi que la reine Vasthi a mal agi; c`est aussi envers tous les princes et tous les peuples qui sont dans toutes les provinces du roi Assuérus. |
| For news of what the queen has done will come to the ears of all women, and they will no longer give respect to their husbands when it is said to them, King Ahasuerus gave orders for Vashti the queen to come before him and she came not. | Car l`action de la reine parviendra à la connaissance de toutes les femmes, et les portera à mépriser leurs maris; elles diront: Le roi Assuérus avait ordonné qu`on amenât en sa présence la reine Vasthi, et elle n`y est pas allée. |
| And the wives of the captains of Persia and Media, hearing what the queen has done, will say the same to all the king's captains. So there will be much shame and wrath. | Et dès ce jour les princesses de Perse et de Médie qui auront appris l`action de la reine la rapporteront à tous les chefs du roi; de là beaucoup de mépris et de colère. |
| If it is pleasing to the king, let an order go out from him, and let it be recorded among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may never be changed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her place to another who is better than she. | Si le roi le trouve bon, qu`on publie de sa part et qu`on inscrive parmi les lois des Perses et des Mèdes, avec défense de la transgresser, une ordonnance royale d`après laquelle Vasthi ne paraîtra plus devant le roi Assuérus et le roi donnera la dignité de reine à une autre qui soit meilleure qu`elle. |
| And when this order, given by the king, is made public through all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give honour to their husbands, great as well as small. | L`édit du roi sera connu dans tout son royaume, quelque grand qu`il soit, et toutes les femmes rendront honneur à leurs maris, depuis le plus grand jusqu`au plus petit. |
| And this suggestion seemed good to the king and the captains; and the king did as Memucan said; | Cet avis fut approuvé du roi et des princes, et le roi agit d`après la parole de Memucan. |
| And sent letters to all the divisions of the kingdom, to every division in the writing commonly used there, and to every people in the language which was theirs, saying that every man was to be the ruler in his house, and that this order was to be given out in the language of his people. | Il envoya des lettres à toutes les provinces du royaume, à chaque province selon son écriture et à chaque peuple selon sa langue; elles portaient que tout homme devait être le maître dans sa maison, et qu`il parlerait la langue de son peuple. |
