Ahasuerus’ Royal Feast

1And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus—† he was the Ahasuerus reigning from India and as far as Cush,† seven and twenty and a hundred provinces— 2in those days, when King Ahasuerus sat upon the throne of his kingdom, which was in Susa the citadel, 3in the third year of his reigning, he made a feast for all his officials and his servants; the strength of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the officials of the provinces were before his face 4in his showing the riches of the glory of his kingdom, and the splendor of the beauty of his greatness many days—eighty and a hundred days.

5And in the fullness of these days, the king made for all the people, the ones found in Susa the citadel, from great even to small, a feast for seven days in the court of the garden of the palace of the king. 6White linen and blue hangings were fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on rings of silver and pillars of marble, and couches of gold and silver were on a pavement of porphyry, and marble, and pearl, and precious stone.

7And serving drinks in vessels of gold, and the vessels were varying vessels, and the wine of royalty was abundant, according to the hand of the king. 8And the drinking was according to the law—there is no compulsion—for so the king had established upon every overseer of his house, to do according to the pleasure of man by man.

Queen Vashti’s Refusal

9Also, Vashti the Queen made a feast for the women in the house of royalty that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

10On the seventh day, as the heart of the king was good with the wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs ministering before the face of King Ahasuerus, 11to bring Vashti the queen before the face of the king in a crown of royalty, to show the peoples and the officials her beauty, for she was beautiful of appearance.

12And Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king that was by the hand of the eunuchs. And the king was very angry, and his rage burned within him.

Queen Vashti Deposed

13And the king said to the wise men knowing the times—for thus was the manner of the king before the face of all those knowing law and judgment, 14and those near to him—Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, seven officials of Persia and Media, those seeing the face of the king, those sitting first in the kingdom—

15“According to the law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti, upon that she did not perform the command of King Ahasuerus by the hand of the eunuchs?”

16And Memucan said before the faces of the king and the officials, “Not against the king alone has Vashti the Queen done perversely, but against all the officials and against all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17For the matter of the queen will go forth upon all the women, to despise their husbands in their eyes, when they say, ‘King Ahasuerus said to bring Vashti the queen before his face, and she did not come.’

18And this day the noblewomen of Persia and Media who have heard the matter of the queen will speak to all the officials of the king, and there will be enough contempt and anger.

19So if upon the king it is good, let go out a word of royalty from before his face, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, and it shall not pass away, that Vashti shall not come before the face of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royalty to her female neighbor, the one better than she. 20And the edict of the king that he makes will be heard in all his kingdom—for it is great—and all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the great even to the small.”

21And the word was good in the eyes of the king and the officials, and the king did according to the word of Memucan, 22and he sent letters to all the provinces of the king, to province by province according to its writing, and to people by people according to its tongue, that every man should be ruling in his house, and speaking according to the tongue of his people.