| 2 ἔτους δευτέρου βασιλεύοντος Ἀρταξέρξου τοῦ μεγάλου τῇ μιᾷ τοῦ Νισα ἐνύπνιον εἶδεν Μαρδοχαῖος ὁ τοῦ Ιαϊρου τοῦ Σεμεϊου τοῦ Κισαιου ἐκ φυλῆς Βενιαμιν 3 ἄνθρωπος Ιουδαῖος οἰκῶν ἐν Σούσοις τῇ πόλει ἄνθρωπος μέγας θεραπεύων ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ τοῦ βασιλέως 4 ἦν δὲ ἐκ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἧς ᾐχμαλώτευσεν Ναβουχοδονοσορ ὁ βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος ἐξ Ιερουσαλημ μετὰ Ιεχονιου τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς Ιουδαίας 5 καὶ τοῦτο αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐνύπνιον καὶ ἰδοὺ φωναὶ καὶ θόρυβος βρονταὶ καὶ σεισμός τάραχος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς 6 καὶ ἰδοὺ δύο δράκοντες μεγάλοι ἕτοιμοι προῆλθον ἀμφότεροι παλαίειν καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτῶν φωνὴ μεγάλη 7 καὶ τῇ φωνῇ αὐτῶν ἡτοιμάσθη πᾶν ἔθνος εἰς πόλεμον ὥστε πολεμῆσαι δικαίων ἔθνος 8 καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡμέρα σκότους καὶ γνόφου θλῖψις καὶ στενοχωρία κάκωσις καὶ τάραχος μέγας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς 9 καὶ ἐταράχθη δίκαιον πᾶν ἔθνος φοβούμενοι τὰ ἑαυτῶν κακὰ καὶ ἡτοιμάσθησαν ἀπολέσθαι καὶ ἐβόησαν πρὸς τὸν θεόν 10 ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς βοῆς αὐτῶν ἐγένετο ὡσανεὶ ἀπὸ μικρᾶς πηγῆς ποταμὸς μέγας ὕδωρ πολύ 11 φῶς καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἀνέτειλεν καὶ οἱ ταπεινοὶ ὑψώθησαν καὶ κατέφαγον τοὺς ἐνδόξους 12 καὶ διεγερθεὶς Μαρδοχαῖος ὁ ἑωρακὼς τὸ ἐνύπνιον τοῦτο καὶ τί ὁ θεὸς βεβούλευται ποιῆσαι εἶχεν αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ ἐν παντὶ λόγῳ ἤθελεν ἐπιγνῶναι αὐτὸ ἕως τῆς νυκτός |
2 On the first day of the month Nisan, in the second year of the great Artaxerxes, a vision came in a dream to Mardochaeus the Benjamite, who was descended from Cis through Jairi and Semei. 3 Although a Jew, he dwelt at Susan, and was a man of consequence in the royal court;[2] 4 he belonged to that band of exiles who were carried off from Jerusalem by Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, together with the king of Juda, Jechonias. 5 His dream was this: Mutterings and uproar at first, thunder and earthquake, and commotion all over the world, 6 and from these two dragons disengaged themselves, ready to join battle. 7 Roused by their clamour, the whole world rose to levy war against one innocent nation; 8 it was a time of darkness and of peril, of affliction and sore need, and great fear brooded over all the earth. 9 Then this innocent nation, terrified by the misfortunes which threatened it, already marked down to die, 10 cried out to the Lord. And at their cry, a great river grew out of a little spring, and rolled on in full flood; 11 the sun returned, and the sunlight, the weak triumphed now, and tyranny fell a prey to their onslaught. 12 All this Mardochaeus saw, and rose from his bed still wondering what the divine purpose was; still the vision haunted his mind, and he longed to know what was the meaning of it. |
2 Anno secundo, regnante Artaxerxe maximo, prima die mensis Nisan, vidit somnium Mardochæus filius Jairi, filii Semei, filii Cis, de tribu Benjamin: 3 homo Judæus, qui habitabat in urbe Susis, vir magnus, et inter primos aulæ regiæ. 4 Erat autem de eo numero captivorum, quos transtulerat Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis de Jerusalem cum Jechonia rege Juda. 5 Et hoc ejus somnium fuit: apparuerunt voces, et tumultus, et tonitrua, et terræmotus, et conturbatio super terram: 6 et ecce duo dracones magni, paratique contra se in prælium. 7 Ad quorum clamorem cunctæ concitatæ sunt nationes, ut pugnarent contra gentem justorum. 8 Fuitque dies illa tenebrarum et discriminis, tribulationis et angustiæ, et ingens formido super terram. 9 Conturbataque est gens justorum timentium mala sua, et præparata ad mortem. 10 Clamaveruntque ad Deum: et illis vociferantibus, fons parvus creavit in fluvium maximum, et in aquas plurimas redundavit. 11 Lux et sol ortus est, et humiles exaltati sunt, et devoraverunt inclytos. 12 Quod cum vidisset Mardochæus, et surrexisset de strato, cogitabat quid Deus facere vellet: et fixum habebat in animo, scire cupiens quid significaret somnium. |