Esther 1
1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (that is, the Ahasuerus that reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces),
And it cometh to pass, in the days of Ahasuerus — he [is] Ahasuerus who is reigning from Hodu even unto Cush, seven and twenty and a hundred provinces —
2 in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the fortress,
in those days, at the sitting of the king Ahasuerus on the throne of his kingdom, that [is] in Shushan the palace,
3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of the provinces being before him;
in the third year of his reign, he hath made a banquet to all his heads and his servants; of the force of Persia and Media, the chiefs and heads of the provinces [are] before him,
4 when he shewed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the splendid magnificence of his grandeur many days, a hundred and eighty days.
in his shewing the wealth of the honour of his kingdom, and the glory of the beauty of his greatness, many days — eighty and a hundred days.
5 And when these days were expired, the king made a feast to all the people that were present in Shushan the fortress, both to great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
And at the fulness of these days hath the king made to all the people who are found in Shushan the palace, from great even unto small, a banquet, seven days, in the court of the garden of the house of the king —
6 White, green, and blue [hangings] were fastened with cords of byssus and purple to silver rings and pillars of white marble; couches of gold and silver [lay] upon a pavement of red and white marble, and alabaster, and black marble.
white linen, white cotton, and blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on rings of silver, and pillars of marble, couches of gold, and of silver, on a pavement of smaragdus, and white marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black marble —
7 And they gave drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance, according to the king's bounty.
and the giving of drink in vessels of gold, and the vessels [are] divers vessels, and the royal wine [is] abundant, as a memorial of the king.
8 And the drinking was, according to commandment, without constraint; for so the king had appointed to all the magnates of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
And the drinking [is] according to law, none is pressing, for so hath the king appointed for every chief one of his house, to do according to the pleasure of man and man.
9 Also the queen Vashti made a feast for the women of the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
Also Vashti the queen hath made a banquet for women, in the royal house that the king Ahasuerus hath.
10 On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of king Ahasuerus,
On the seventh day, as the heart of the king is glad with wine, he hath said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who are ministering in the presence of the king Ahasuerus,
11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown to shew the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was of beautiful countenance.
to bring in Vashti the queen before the king, with a royal crown, to shew the peoples and the heads her beauty, for she [is] of good appearance,
12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king which was [sent] by the chamberlains; and the king was very wroth, and his fury burned in him.
and the queen Vashti refuseth to come in at the word of the king that [is] by the hand of the eunuchs, and the king is very wroth, and his fury hath burned in him.
13 And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king's business [conducted] before all that knew law and judgment;
And the king saith to wise men, knowing the times — for so [is] the word of the king before all knowing law and judgment,
14 and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who sat first in the kingdom),
and he who is near unto him [is] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, seven heads of Persia and Media seeing the face of the king, who are sitting first in the kingdom —
15 What shall be done to the queen Vashti according to law, because she has not performed the word of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?
'According to law, what — to do with queen Vashti, because that she hath not done the saying of the king Ahasuerus by the hand of the eunuchs?'
16 Then said Memucan before the king and the princes, The queen Vashti has not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
And Memucan saith before the king and the heads, 'Not against the king by himself hath Vashti the queen done perversely, but against all the heads, and against all the peoples that [are] in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus;
17 For the act of the queen will come abroad to all women, so as to render their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when they shall say, The king Ahasuerus commanded the queen Vashti to be brought in before him, and she came not!
for go forth doth the word of the queen unto all the women, to render their husbands contemptible in their eyes, in their saying, The king Ahasuerus said to bring in Vashti the queen before him, and she did not come;
18 And the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's act, will say it this day to all the king's princes, and there will be contempt and anger enough.
yea, this day do princesses of Persia and Media, who have heard the word of the queen, say [so] to all heads of the king, even according to the sufficiency of contempt and wrath.
19 If it please the king, let a royal order go forth from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it may not pass, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another that is better than she;
'If to the king [it be] good, there goeth forth a royal word from before him, and it is written with the laws of Persia and Media, and doth not pass away, that Vashti doth not come in before the king Ahasuerus, and her royalty doth the king give to her companion who [is] better than she;
20 and when the king's edict which he shall make shall be heard throughout his realm — for it is great — all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, from the greatest to the least.
and the sentence of the king that he maketh hath been heard in all his kingdom — for it [is] great — and all the wives give honour to their husbands, from great even unto small.'
21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan.
And the thing is good in the eyes of the king, and of the princes, and the king doth according to the word of Memucan,
22 And he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people according to their language, That every man should bear rule in his own house, and should speak according to the language of his people.
and sendeth letters unto all provinces of the king, unto province and province according to its writing, and unto people and people according to its tongue, for every man being head in his own house — and speaking according to the language of his people.
