Esther 1

The feasts of King Ahasuerus

¹This is what happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush,^{a 2}in those days, when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, ³in the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his officials and servants. The army commanders of Persia and Media, the nobles and the officials of the provinces were present before him, ⁴while for many days, 180 days in all, he displayed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor and honor of his greatness. ⁵When these days were over, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the people present in the citadel of Susa, from the most important to the least, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. ⁶There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings on marble pillars, and couches of gold and silver on a mosaic floor of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and precious stones.^{b 7}Drinks were served in gold cups, each one different from the others, and royal wine flowed freely, as the king’s generosity allowed. ⁸By the king’s rule for the drinking, no one was forced to drink, for the king had instructed all the officials of his household to let each guest do as he wished. ⁹Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.

Queen Vashti refuses to come

¹⁰On the seventh day, when the king was in high spirits from the wine, he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served King Ahasuerus personally, ¹¹to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, so that he could show off her beauty to the peoples and the officials, for she was very beautiful. ¹²But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command, which the eunuchs brought her. The king became furious, and his anger burned within him. ¹³Then the king spoke to the wise men who understood the times, for it was the king’s practice to consult all who were experts in law and justice, ¹⁴and those closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan, the seven officials of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and held the highest rank in the kingdom: ¹⁵“According to the law, what should be done to Queen Vashti, since she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus, which the eunuchs brought her?”

¹⁶Memucan answered in the presence of the king and the officials, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also all the officials and all the peoples in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷For what the queen has done will become known to all the women, and they will look down on their husbands. They will say, ‘King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not come.’ ¹⁸This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard about the queen’s conduct will speak the same way to all the king’s officials, and there will be no end of contempt and anger. ¹⁹“If it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be revoked, that Vashti may never again come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her position as queen to another woman who is better than she is. ²⁰When the king’s decree is proclaimed throughout his vast kingdom, all women will give honor to their husbands, from the most important to the least.” ²¹The king and the officials approved of this advice, and the king did what Memucan proposed. ²²He sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, saying that every man should be master in his own house and should speak the language of his own people.^c