1King Xerxes ruled over the 127 territories in his kingdom. They reached from India all the way to Cush. Here is what happened during the time Xerxes ruled over the whole Persian kingdom.2He was ruling from his royal throne in the fort of Susa.3In the third year of his rule King Xerxes gave a feast. It was for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there. So were the princes and the nobles of the territories he ruled over.4Every day for 180 days he showed his guests the great wealth of his kingdom. He also showed them how glorious his kingdom was.5When those days were over, the king gave another feast. It lasted for seven days. It was held in the garden of the king’s courtyard. It was for all the people who lived in the fort of Susa. Everyone from the least important person to the most important was invited.6The garden was decorated with white and blue linen banners. They hung from ropes that were made out of white linen and purple cloth. The ropes were connected to silver rings on marble pillars. There were gold and silver couches in the garden. They were placed on a floor that was made out of small stones. The floor had purple crystal, marble, mother-of-pearl and other stones of great value.7Royal wine was served in gold cups. Each cup was different from all the others. There was plenty of wine. The king always provided as much as his guests wanted.8He commanded that they should be allowed to drink as much or as little as they wished. He instructed all his servants to give his guests what they asked for.9Queen Vashti also gave a feast. Only women were invited. It was held in the royal palace of King Xerxes.10On the seventh day Xerxes was in a good mood because he had drunk a lot of wine. So he gave a command to the seven officials who served him. They were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas.11King Xerxes told them to bring Queen Vashti to him. He wanted her to come wearing her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and nobles. She was lovely to look at.12The attendants told Queen Vashti what the king had ordered her to do. But she refused to come. So the king became very angry.13It was the king’s practice to ask for advice about matters of law and fairness. So he spoke with the wise men who understood what was going on at that time.14They were the men closest to the king. Their names were Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan. They were the seven nobles of Persia and Media. They were the king’s special advisers and the most important men in the kingdom.15‘You know the law,’ the king said. ‘What should I do to Queen Vashti? She hasn’t obeyed my command. The officials told her what I ordered her to do, didn’t they?’16Then Memukan gave a reply to the king and the nobles. He said, ‘Queen Vashti has done what is wrong. But she didn’t do it only against you, King Xerxes. She did it also against all the nobles. And she did it against the people in all the territories you rule over.17All the women will hear about what the queen has done. Then they won’t respect their husbands. They’ll say, “King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought to him. But she wouldn’t come.”18Here is what will start today. The leading women in Persia and Media who have heard about the queen’s actions will act in the same way. They’ll disobey all your nobles, just as she disobeyed you. They won’t have any respect for their husbands. They won’t honour them.19‘So if it pleases you, send out a royal order. Let it be written down in the laws of Persia and Media. Those laws can never be changed. Let the royal order say that Vashti can never see you again. Also let her position as queen be given to someone who is better than she is.20And let your order be announced all through your entire kingdom. Then all women will have respect for their husbands, from the least important to the most important.’21The king and his nobles were pleased with that advice. So he did what Memukan had suggested.22The king sent messages out to every territory in the kingdom. He sent them to each territory in its own writing. He sent them to every nation in its own language. The messages announced that every man should rule over his own family, using his own language.
Esther 1
English Standard Version
The King’s Banquets
1Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, (Es 8:9; Es 9:30; Da 6:1)2in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, (1Ki 1:46; Ne 1:1)3in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, (Ge 40:20; 1Ki 3:15; Es 2:18; Mr 6:21)4while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days.5And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. (Es 7:7)6There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods[1] and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. (Eze 23:41; Am 6:4)7Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king.8And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired.9Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus.
Queen Vashti’s Refusal
10On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, (2Sa 13:28; Es 2:21; Es 6:2; Es 7:9)11to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown,[2] in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. (Es 2:17; Es 6:8)12But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him.13Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king’s procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, (1Ch 12:32; Jer 10:7; Da 2:12; Mt 2:1)14the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom): (2Ki 25:19; Ezr 7:14; Es 1:16; Es 1:21)15“According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?”16Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus.17For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt,[3] since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’18This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty.19If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. (Es 8:8; Da 6:8; Da 6:12; Da 6:15)20So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” (Eph 5:22; Eph 5:24; Eph 5:33; Col 3:18; 1Ti 2:12; 1Pe 3:1)21This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed.22He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people. (Es 3:12; Es 8:9)