Prayer of Esther
Greek Esther 14:1–19
Before going in to the king unbidden, Asathar puts off her glory, covers her head with ashes and prays for her people.
1 Malakah (Queen) Asathar () also, being in yaraa (fear) of mawath (death), resorted to Yahawah ():
2 And shamamah (laid) away her glorious apparel, and put on the madah (garments) of anguish and mourning: and instead of yaqar (precious) ointments, she kasah (covered) her raash (head) with ashes and dung, and she kanai (humbled) her bashar (body) kabad (greatly), and all the shamamaw (places) of her mashawash (joy) she shabai (filled) with her torn shair (hair).
3 And she matzalaa (prayed) to Yahawah () Alahayam () of Yashar-Al (Israel), amar (saying), O my Adanay (), you only art our Malak (King): izar (help) me, desolate ayashah (woman), which have no helper but you:
4 For my danger is in mine yad (hand).
5 From my naiwar (youth) up I have shamai (heard) in the shabatay (tribe) of my mashapachah (family) that you, O Adanay (), took Yashar-Al (Israel) from among all im (people), and our abawath (fathers) from all their predecessors, for a perpetual nachalah (inheritance), and you have performed whatsoever you ishah (did) awamar (promise) them.
6 And now we have chataah (sin) before you: therefore have you yahab (given) us into the yad (hand) of our ayab (enemies),
7 Because we shachah (worshipped) their gods: O Adanay (), you are tzadayaq (righteous).
8 Nevertheless it shabai (satisfies) them not, that we are in bitter captivity: but they have stricken yad (hand) with their tharapayam (idols),
9 That they will abolish the thing that you with your pah (mouth) have ordained, and shachath (destroy) your nachalah (inheritance), and stop the pah (mouth) of them that halal (praise) you, and kabah (quench) the kabawad (glory) of your bayath (house), and of your mazabach (altar),
10 And paqach (open) the pah (mouths) of the heathen to shayam (set) forth the zamar (praises) of the tharapayam (idols), and to gadal (magnify) a fleshly malak (king) for ever.
11 O Adanay (), yahab (give) not your sceptre to them that be nothing, and let them not laugh at our napal (fall); but shawab (turn) their machashabah (device) upon themselves, and make him an example, that has chalal (begun) this against us.
12 Zakar (Remember), O Adanay (), make yourself yawadain (known) in time of our iyan (affliction), and yahab (give) me iz (boldness), O Malak (King) of the gawayam (nations), and Adanay () of all kach (power).
13 Yahab (Give) me eloquent hamawalah (speech) in my pah (mouth) before the aray (lion): shawab (turn) his lab (heart) to shanaa (hate) him that lacham (fights) against us, that there may be a qatzath (end) of him, and of all that are likeminded to him:
14 But malat (deliver) us with your yad (hand), and izar (help) me that am desolate, and which have no other izar (help) but you.
15 You yawadain (know) all things, O Adanay (); you yawadain (know) that I shanaa (hate) the kabawad (glory) of the unrighteous, and abhor the bed of the iral (uncircumcised), and of all the heathen.
16 You yawadain (know) my necessity: for I abhor the awath (sign) of my ilay (went up) estate, which is upon mine raash (head) in the yamayam (days) wherein I chawah (show) myself, and that I abhor it as a menstruous rag, and that I labash (wear) it not when I am private by myself.
17 And that your handmaid has not bair (eaten) at Aman’s shalachan (table), and that I have not kabad (greatly) esteemed the malak (king)’s chag (feast/festival), nor drunk the yayan (wine) of the shakaraw (drink) ilawath (offerings).
18 Neither had your handmaid any mashawash (joy) since the yawam (day) that I was sabab (brought) here to this shay (present), but in you, O Yahawah () Alahayam () of Abaraham ().
19 O you gabawar (mighty) Alahayam () above all, shamai (hear) the qawal (voice) of the forlorn and malat (deliver) us out of the yad (hands) of the mischievous, and malat (deliver) me out of my yaraa (fear).