Esther 1
1 King Xerxes ruled [a very big empire which had] 127 provinces. It extended from India [in the east] to Ethiopia [in the west].
Now it came about in the days of Ahasuerus, (that Ahasuerus who was ruler of a hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom, from India as far as Ethiopia: )
2 He ruled the empire [while he lived] in the capital city, Susa.
That in those days, when King Ahasuerus was ruling in Shushan, his strong town,
3 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.
In the third year of his rule he gave a feast to all his captains and his servants; and the captains of the army of Persia and Media, the great men and the rulers of the divisions of his kingdom, were present before him;
4 [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).
And for a long time, even a hundred and eighty days, he let them see all the wealth and the glory of his kingdom and the great power and honour which were his.
5 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.
And at the end of that time, the king gave a feast for all the people who were present in Shushan, the king's town, small as well as great, for seven days, in the outer square of the garden of the king's house.
6 [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.
There were fair hangings of white and green and blue, fixed with cords of purple and the best linen to silver rings and pillars of polished stone: the seats were of gold and silver on a floor of red and white and yellow and black stone.
7 [The guests] drank wine from gold cups. Each cup had a different design on it.
And they gave them drink in gold vessels, every vessel being different, and wine of the kingdom, freely given by the king.
8 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.
And the drinking was in keeping with the law; no one was forced: for the king had given orders to all the chief servants of his house to do as was pleasing to every man.
9 [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].
And Vashti the queen gave a feast for the women in the house of King Ahasuerus.
10 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.
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was glad with wine, he gave orders to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven unsexed servants who were waiting before Ahasuerus the king,
11 He told them to bring Queen Vashti to him, wearing her crown. He wanted his guests to see that she was very beautiful.
That Vashti the queen was to come before him, crowned with her crown, and let the people and the captains see her: for she was very beautiful.
12 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.
But when the servants gave her the king's order, Vashti the queen said she would not come: then the king was very angry, and his heart was burning with wrath.
13 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.
And the king said to the wise men, who had knowledge of the times, (for this was the king's way with all who were expert in law and in the giving of decisions:
And second only to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven rulers of Persia and Media, who were friends of the king, and had the first places in the kingdom: )
15 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]?”
What is to be done by law to Vashti the queen, because she has not done what King Ahasuerus, by his servants, gave her orders to do?
16 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).
And before the king and the captains, Memucan gave his answer: Vashti the queen has done wrong, not only to the king, but to all the captains and to all the peoples in all the divisions of the kingdom of King Ahasuerus;
17 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.
For news of what the queen has done will come to the ears of all women, and they will no longer give respect to their husbands when it is said to them, King Ahasuerus gave orders for Vashti the queen to come before him and she came not.
18 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.
And the wives of the captains of Persia and Media, hearing what the queen has done, will say the same to all the king's captains. So there will be much shame and wrath.
19 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.
If it is pleasing to the king, let an order go out from him, and let it be recorded among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it may never be changed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her place to another who is better than she.
20 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.”
And when this order, given by the king, is made public through all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give honour to their husbands, great as well as small.
21 The king and the other officials liked what Memucan suggested, so he [did that. He wrote a law] proclaiming that.
And this suggestion seemed good to the king and the captains; and the king did as Memucan said;
22 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.
And sent letters to all the divisions of the kingdom, to every division in the writing commonly used there, and to every people in the language which was theirs, saying that every man was to be the ruler in his house, and that this order was to be given out in the language of his people.
