Esther 1
1 And it comes to pass, in the days of Ahasuerus—he [is] Ahasuerus who is reigning from Hodu even to Cush, one hundred twenty-seven provinces—
King Xerxes ruled [a very big empire which had] 127 provinces. It extended from India [in the east] to Ethiopia [in the west].
2 in those days, at the sitting of King Ahasuerus on the throne of his kingdom, that [is] in Shushan the palace,
He ruled the empire [while he lived] in the capital city, Susa.
3 in the third year of his reign, he has 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,
During the third year that he ruled his empire, he invited all his administrators and [other] officials to a big banquet/feast. He invited all the commanders of the armies of Persia and Media to come to the banquet. He also invited the governors and other leaders of the provinces.
4 in his showing the wealth of the glory of his kingdom, and the glory of the beauty of his greatness, many days—one hundred eighty days.
[The celebration] lasted for six months. During that time the king showed his guests all his wealth and other things that showed how great his kingdom was (OR, how great a king he was).
5 And at the fullness of these days the king has made a banquet to all the people who are found in Shushan the palace, from great even to small, [for] seven days, in the court of the garden of the house of the king—
At the end of those six months, the king invited people to another banquet. He invited to the banquet all the men who worked in the palace, including those who had important jobs and those who had unimportant jobs. [This celebration] lasted for seven days. It was in the courtyard of the palace in Susa.
6 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—
[In the courtyard] were beautiful blue and white curtains that were fastened by white and purple cords/ribbons to rings that were on pillars made from [expensive white stone called] marble. [The guests sat on] gold and silver couches. The couches were on a pavement/floor which had on top of it designs made from various kinds of expensive stones.
7 and the giving of drink in vessels of gold, and the vessels [are] various vessels, and the royal wine [is] abundant, as a memorial of the king.
[The guests] drank wine from gold cups. Each cup had a different design on it.
8 And the drinking [is] according to law, none is pressing, for so the king has appointed for every chief one of his house, to do according to the pleasure of man and man.
There was a lot of wine, because the king wanted the guests to drink as much as they wanted. But the king told the servants that they should not force anyone to drink more than he wanted.
9 Also Vashti the queen has made a banquet for women, in the royal house that King Ahasuerus has.
[At the same time, the king’s wife, ] Queen Vashti, invited the wives of the men who worked in the palace to a banquet [in another room in the palace].
10 On the seventh day, as the heart of the king is glad with wine, he has commanded to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who are ministering in the presence of King Ahasuerus,
On the last/seventh day of those banquets, when King Xerxes was partially drunk from drinking wine, he [summoned] seven of his personal servants. They were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas.
11 to bring in Vashti the queen before the king, with a royal crown, to show the peoples and the heads her beauty, for she [is] of good appearance,
He told them to bring Queen Vashti to him, wearing her crown. He wanted his guests to see that she was very beautiful.
12 and the queen Vashti refuses to come in at the word of the king that [is] by the hand of the eunuchs, and the king is very angry, and his fury has burned in him.
But when those servants told Vashti what the king wanted, she refused to go to the king [because she did not want to display her beauty in front of a group of half-drunk men]. So that caused the king to become very angry.
13 And the king says to wise men, knowing the times—for so [is] the word of the king before all knowing law and judgment,
Immediately he had a meeting with the seven men who were the most important officials in Persia and Media. They were the men whom he often asked (for their advice/what he should do). And they were men who knew all the customs and laws [of Persia]. Their names were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan.
14 and he who is near to 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 “According to law, what should [I] do with Queen Vashti, because that she has not done the saying of King Ahasuerus by the hand of the eunuchs?”
The king said to them, “Queen Vashti has refused to obey me when I sent my servants [to tell her to come here]. What do our laws say that we should do to someone who [acts/behaves like that]?”
16 And Memucan says before the king and the heads, “Queen Vashti has not done perversely against the king by himself, but against all the heads, and against all the peoples that [are] in all provinces of King Ahasuerus;
While the other officials were present, Memucan told the king, [“Your majesty], Queen Vashti has (insulted/done wrong against) you, but she has also insulted all your officials and everyone else (in your empire/that you rule over).
17 for the word of the queen goes forth to all the women, to render their husbands contemptible in their eyes, in their saying, King Ahasuerus commanded to bring in Vashti the queen before him, and she did not come;
All the women [throughout the empire] will hear what she has done, and they will say, ‘The king commanded Queen Vashti to come to him, and she refused.’ [So they will not obey their husbands. Instead, ] they will begin to not respect their husbands.
18 indeed, this day 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.
Before this day ends, the wives of all us officials in Persia and Media will hear what the queen did, and they also will refuse to obey their husbands. They will not respect us, and they will cause us to become very angry.
19 If to the king [it be] good, there goes forth a royal word from before him, and it is written with the laws of Persia and Media, and does not pass away, that Vashti does not come in before King Ahasuerus, and the king gives her royalty to her companion who [is] better than she;
So if it pleases you, O king, you should write a law. Like all the other laws of Persia and Media, it will be a law that (no one can change/cannot be changed.) Write a law that states that Queen Vashti will never be allowed to see you again [and will not continue to be the queen]. Then you can choose another woman to be queen, a woman who deserves to be queen more than Vashti does.
20 and the sentence of the king that he makes has been heard in all his kingdom—for it [is] great—and all the wives give honor to their husbands, from great even to small.”
Then, when everyone in your empire hears what you have commanded, all the women, including those who are important and those who are not important, will respect and obey their husbands.”
21 And the thing is good in the eyes of the king, and of the princes, and the king does according to the word of Memucan,
The king and the other officials liked what Memucan suggested, so he [did that. He wrote a law] proclaiming that.
22 and sends letters to all provinces of the king, to province and province according to its writing, and to 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.
Then he sent letters to all the provinces, stating that all men should have complete authority over their wives and their children. He wrote the letters in every language and type of writing/alphabet that was used in each province.
