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].
This is an account of what happened during the time of King Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia.
2 He ruled the empire [while he lived] in the capital city, Susa.
At the time King Xerxes was ruling from his royal throne at the fortress in Susa.
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 reign he organized a feast for his officials and administrators. The army commanders of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the provincial officials were all there with 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).
He put on display his wealth and the glory of his kingdom, showing how majestic, splendid, and glorious he was, for 180 days.
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.
After that the king gave a feast lasting for seven days for all the people, great and small, who were there in the fortress of Susa in the garden courtyard of the king's pavilion.
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.
It was decorated with white and blue cotton curtains tied with cords of fine linen and purple thread on silver rings, held up by marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were placed on a pavement made of purple porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and expensive stones.
7 [The guests] drank wine from gold cups. Each cup had a different design on it.
Drinks were served in golden goblets of different kinds, and the royal wine flowed freely because of the king's generosity.
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.
The king had ruled that there was to be no limit on how much a guest could drink; he had told his servants to give each guest whatever they wanted.
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].
Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Xerxes.
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 of the feast, the king, feeling happy from drinking wine, ordered the seven eunuchs who were his attendants, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Karkas,
11 He told them to bring Queen Vashti to him, wearing her crown. He wanted his guests to see that she was very beautiful.
to bring Queen Vashti to him wearing her royal headdress, so he could show her beauty to the people and officials, for she was very good-looking.
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 eunuchs delivered the order from the king, Queen Vashti refused to come. The king became extremely angry—he was absolutely furious.
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.
Then the king spoke with the wise men who would know what to do, for it was the custom for him to ask the opinion of experts in procedures and legal matters.
Those closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. They were the seven nobles of Persia and Media who had frequent meetings with the king and had the highest positions 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 does the law say should be done with Queen Vashti?” he asked. “She refused to obey the direct order of King Xerxes as delivered by the eunuchs!”
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).
Memucan gave his answer before the king and the nobles, “Queen Vashti hasn't just insulted the king but all the nobles and all the people of all the provinces of King Xerxes.
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.
Once it gets out what the queen has done, all wives will despise their husbands, looking down on them and telling them, ‘King Xerxes ordered Queen Vashti brought to him but she didn't come!’
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.
By the end of the day, the wives of all the nobles throughout Persia and Media who have heard what the queen did will treat their noble husbands with angry contempt!
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 please Your Majesty, issue a royal decree, in accordance with the laws of Persia and Media which cannot be changed, that Vashti is banished from the presence of King Xerxes, and that Your Majesty will give her royal position to another, one who is better than her.
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.”
When Your Majesty's decree is proclaimed throughout your vast empire, all wives will respect their husbands, highborn or lowborn.”
21 The king and the other officials liked what Memucan suggested, so he [did that. He wrote a law] proclaiming that.
This advice looked good to the king and the nobles, so the king did what Memucan had 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.
He sent letters to all provinces in the empire, in each province's script and language, that every man should rule his own home, and use his own mother tongue.
