Esther 1
1 And it came to pass after these things in the days of Artaxerxes, —(this Artaxerxes ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India)—
In the days of Assuerus, who reigned from India to Ethiopia over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces:
2 in those days, when king Artaxerxes was on the throne in the city of Susa,
When he sat on the throne of his kingdom, the city Susan was the capital of his kingdom.
3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to his friends, and the other nations, and to the nobles of the Persians and Medes, and the chief of the satraps.
Now in the third year of his reign he made a great feast for all the princes, and for his servants, for the most mighty of the Persians, and the nobles of the Medes, and the governors of the provinces in his sight,
4 And after this, after he had shown to them the wealth of his kingdom, and the abundant glory of his wealth during a hundred and eighty days,
That he might shew the riches of the glory of his kingdom, and the greatness, and boasting of his power, for a long time, to wit, for a hundred and fourscore days.
5 when, [I say], the days of the marriage feast were completed, the king made a banquet to the nations who were present in the city six days, in the court of the king's house,
And when the days of the feast were expired, he invited all the people that were found in Susan, from the greatest to the least: and commanded a feast to be made seven days in the court of the garden, and of the wood, which was planted by the care and the hand of the king.
6 [which was] adorned with [hangings] of fine linen and flax on cords of fine linen and purple, fastened to golden and silver studs, on pillars of Parian marble and stone: [there were] golden and silver couches on a pavement of emerald stone, and of pearl, and of Parian stone, and open-worked coverings variously flowered, [having] roses worked round about;
And there were hung up on every side sky coloured, and green, and violet hangings, fastened with cords of silk, and of purple, which were put into rings of ivory, and were held up with marble pillars. The beds also were of gold and silver, placed in order upon a floor paved with porphyry and white marble: which was embellished with painting of wonderful variety.
7 gold and silver cups, and a small cup of carbuncle set out of the value of thirty thousand talents, abundant and sweet wine, which the king himself drank.
And they that were invited, drank in golden cups, and the meats were brought in divers vessels one after another. Wine also in abundance and of the best was presented, as was worthy of a king’s magnificence.
8 And this banquet was not according to the appointed law; but so the king would have it: and he charged the stewards to perform his will and that of the company.
Neither was there any one to compel them to drink that were not willing, but as the king had appointed, who set over every table one of his nobles, that every man might take what he would.
9 Also Astin the queen made a banquet for the women in the palace where king Artaxerxes [lived].
Also Vasthi the queen made a feast for the women in the palace, where king Assuerus was used to dwell.
10 Now on the seventh day the king, being merry, told Aman, and Bazan, and Tharrha, and Barazi, and Zatholtha, and Abataza, and Tharaba, the seven chamberlains, servants of king Artaxerxes,
Now on the seventh day, when the king was merry, and after very much drinking was well warmed with wine, he commanded Mauman, and Bazatha, and Harbona, and Bagatha, and Abgatha, and Zethar, and Charcas, the seven eunuchs that served in his presence,
11 to bring in the queen to him, to enthrone her, and crown her with the diadem, and to show her to the princes, and her beauty to the nations: for she was beautiful.
To bring in queen Vasthi before the king, with the crown set upon her head, to shew her beauty to all the people and the princes: for she was exceeding beautiful.
12 But queen Astin listened not to him to come with the chamberlains: so the king was grieved and angered.
But she refused, and would not come at the king’s commandment, which he had signified to her by the eunuchs. Whereupon the king, being angry, and inflamed with a very great fury,
13 And he said to his friends, Thus have Astin spoken: pronounce therefore upon this [case] law and judgment.
Baked the wise men, who according to the custom of the kings, were always near his person, and all he did was by their counsel, who knew the laws, and judgments of their forefathers:
14 So Arkesaeus, and Sarsathaeus, and Malisear, the princes of the Persians and Medes, who were near the king, who sat chief [in rank] by the king, drew near to him,
(Now the chief and nearest him were, Charsena, and Sethar, and Admatha, and Tharsis, and Mares, and Marsana, and Mamuchan, seven princes of the Persians, and of the Medes, who saw the face of the king, and were used to sit first after him: )
15 and reported to him according to the laws how it was proper to do to queen Astin, because she had not done the things commanded of the king by the chamberlains.
What sentence ought to pass upon Vasthi the queen, who had refused to obey the commandment of king Assuerus, which he had sent to her by the eunuchs?
16 And Muchaeus said to the king and to the princes, Queen Astin has not wronged the king only, but also all the king's rulers and princes:
And Mamuchan answered, in the hearing of the king and the princes: Queen Vasthi hath not only injured the king, but also all the people and princes that are in all the provinces of king Assuerus.
17 for he has told them the words of the queen, and how she disobeyed the king. As then, [said he], she refused [to obey] king Artaxerxes,
For this deed of the queen will go abroad to all women, so that they will despise their husbands, and will say: King Assuerus commanded that queen Vasthi should come in to him, and she would not.
18 so this day shall the other ladies of the chiefs of the Persians and Medes, having heard what she said to the king, dare in the same way to dishonor their husbands.
And by this example all the wives of the princes of the Persians and the Medes will slight the commandments of their husbands: wherefore the king’s indignation is just.
19 If then it seem good to the king, let him make a royal decree, and let it be written according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, and let him not alter [it]: and let not the queen come in to him any more; and let the king give her royalty to a woman better than she.
If it please thee, let an edict go out from thy presence, and let it be written according to the law of the Persians and of the Medes, which must not be altered, that Vasthi come in no more to the king, but another, that is better than her, be made queen in her place.
20 And let the law of the king which he shall have made, be widely proclaimed, in his kingdom: and so shall all the women give honor to their husbands, from the poor even to the rich.
And let this be published through all the provinces of thy empire, (which is very wide, ) and let all wives, as well of the greater as of the lesser, give honour to their husbands.
21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Muchaeus had said,
His counsel pleased the king, and the princes: and the king did according to the counsel of Mamuchan.
22 and sent into all his kingdom through the several provinces, according to their language, in order that men might be feared in their own houses.
And he sent letters to all the provinces of his kingdom, as every nation could hear and read, in divers languages and characters, that the husbands should be rulers and masters in their houses: and that this should be published to every people.
