Esther Chosen as Queen
Chapter 1
A Great Banquet.[a] 1 This took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the king who ruled over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.[b] 2 At that time, King Ahasuerus was reigning from the royal throne of the citadel of Susa, 3 and in the third year of his reign, he threw a great banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military commanders of Persia and Media were present, and so were the princes and the nobles of the provinces.
4 For a full one hundred and eighty days the king showcased the wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. 5 When these days were over, he threw a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of his palace, for all the people, from the least to the greatest, who lived in the citadel of Susa.
6 The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were on the pavement, which was of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones. 7 Wine was served in golden goblets, each different from one another, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s beneficence. 8 By the order of the king, there were no limits on the drinks. For he instructed all the wine stewards to give everyone whatever was requested.
Queen Vashti Deposed. 9 Meanwhile, in the king’s royal palace, Queen Vashti[c] was giving a banquet for the women.
10 On the seventh day, when King Ahasuerus was merry with wine, he summoned the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants—Mehuman, Biztha, Har-bona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas. 11 He ordered them to bring the queen into his presence, wearing the royal crown, so he could show her off to the officials and all his guests, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the official command issued through the eunuchs. This embarrassed the king and made him furious.
13 Since it was his custom to consult experts in matters of law and justice, the king consulted with the wise men who understood the laws. 14 He summoned Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven Persian and Median officials who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.
15 The king asked, “What does the law say must be done about Queen Vashti, who disobeyed the command of King Ahasuerus issued through the eunuchs?”
16 It was Memucan, then, who replied in the presence of the king and the nobles: “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also all the nobles and peoples throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For this behavior of the queen will become known to all the women, and they will disrespect their husbands and say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded that Queen Vashti enter his presence, but she refused to come.’ 18 So this very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have learned about the queen’s behavior will react against the king’s nobles in like manner, resulting in no end of rancor and discord.
19 “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree inscribed in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed,[d] to the effect that Vashti is nevermore to enter the presence of King Ahasuerus and that her position be given to someone more worthy than she is. 20 Then when the edict is published throughout his vast domain, all the women will respect their husbands, from the greatest to the least.”
21 The king and his nobles found this advice very acceptable, so the king acted upon Memucan’s words. 22 He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom—to every province in its own script and to each people in its own language—proclaiming in each people’s tongue that every man should be the master of his own house.[e]
Footnotes
- Esther 1:1 The extension of the power, luxuriousness of the palace, and weakness of morals correspond well with the reign of Ahasuerus, that is, Xerxes I (485–465 B.C.), the famous king defeated by Greece, of whom Herodotus says that he subsequently gave himself up to every type of debauchery. Liberal in the sphere of religion, he revised the ceremony to respect the customs of those invited (v. 8)—e.g., the Persian custom required guests to drink a certain amount of glasses of wine. However, St. Jerome thought Ahasuerus to be Artaxerxes II (405–362 B.C.), because the Greek text speaks constantly about “Artaxerxes,” and Plutarch tells us that this monarch kept in his harem a number of women corresponding to the days of a year.
- Esther 1:1 From India to Ethiopia: this phrase indicates the greatest extent of the Persian empire—that is, from western India to Upper Egypt—achieved under Darius the Great, who was the father of Ahasuerus.
- Esther 1:9 Queen Vashti: according to Herodotus, the wife of Ahasuerus was Amestris, a Persian woman.
- Esther 1:19 Laws . . . which cannot be repealed: according to the historian Siculus, the idea of irrevocable laws existed at the time of Darius III (335–331 B.C.), the last king of Persia (see Est 8:8).
- Esther 1:22 Among the many languages spoken in the Persian Empire, the principal ones were Persian, Aramaic, Babylonian, Egyptian, Elaite, Greek, and Phoenician, each of which had its own script.