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ESTHER 1
page 443
Key verses in Esther
4:14 “Who knows if perhaps you
were made queen for just such a
time as this?”
Esther approached and touched
the end of the scepter.
7:2-3 The king again said to
Esther, “Tell me what you want,
Queen Esther. What is your
request? I will give it to you, even
5:2 When he [the king] saw Queen
if it is half the kingdom!” Queen
Esther standing there in the inner
Esther replied, “If I have found
court, he welcomed her and held
favor with the king, and if it pleases
out the gold scepter to her. So
the king to grant my request, I ask
4:16 “I will go in to see the king. If
I must die, I must die.”
The King’s Banquet
These events happened in the days of King
Xerxes,* who reigned over 127 provinces
stretching from India to Ethiopia.* 2 At that time
Xerxes ruled his empire from his royal throne
at the fortress of Susa. 3 In the third year of his
reign, he gave a banquet for all his nobles and
officials. He invited all the military officers of
Persia and Media as well as the princes and
nobles of the provinces. 4 The celebration lasted
180 days—a tremendous display of the opulent
wealth of his empire and the pomp and splendor of his majesty.
5 When it was all over, the king gave a banquet for all the people, from the greatest to the
least, who were in the fortress of Susa. It lasted
for seven days and was held in the courtyard
of the palace garden. 6 The courtyard was beautifully decorated with white cotton curtains
and blue hangings, which were fastened with
white linen cords and purple ribbons to silver
rings embedded in marble pillars. Gold and
silver couches stood on a mosaic pavement of
porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other
costly stones.
7 Drinks were served in gold goblets of many
designs, and there was an abundance of royal
wine, reflecting the king’s generosity. 8 By edict
of the king, no limits were placed on the drinking, for the king had instructed all his palace officials to serve each man as much as he wanted.
9 At the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King
Xerxes.
1
Queen Vashti Deposed
10 On the seventh day of the feast, when King
Xerxes was in high spirits because of the wine,
he told the seven eunuchs who attended him—
Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha,
Zethar, and Carcas—11 to bring Queen Vashti
to him with the royal crown on her head. He
1:1a Hebrew Ahasuerus, another name for Xerxes; also
throughout the book of Esther. Xerxes reigned 486–465 b.c.
1:1b Hebrew to Cush.
that my life and the lives of my
people will be spared.”
10:3 Mordecai the Jew became the
prime minister, with authority next
to that of King Xerxes himself. He
was very great among the Jews, who
held him in high esteem, because
he continued to work for the good of
his people and to speak up for the
welfare of all their descendants.
wanted the nobles and all the other men to
gaze on her beauty, for she was a very beautiful
woman. 12 But when they conveyed the king’s
order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come.
This made the king furious, and he burned
with anger.
13 He immediately consulted with his wise
advisers, who knew all the Persian laws and
customs, for he always asked their advice.
14 The names of these men were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and
Memucan—seven nobles of Persia and Media.
They met with the king regularly and held the
highest positions in the empire.
15 “What must be done to Queen Vashti?”
the king demanded. “What penalty does the
law provide for a queen who refuses to obey
the king’s orders, properly sent through his
eunuchs?”
16 Me mu can answered the king and his
nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the
king but also every noble and citizen throughout
your empire. 17 Women everywhere will begin to
despise their husbands when they learn that
Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the
king. 18 Before this day is out, the wives of all the
king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will
hear what the queen did and will start treating
their husbands the same way. There will be no
end to their contempt and anger.
19 “So if it please the king, we suggest that you
issue a written decree, a law of the Persians and
Medes that cannot be revoked. It should order
that Queen Vashti be forever banished from
the presence of King Xerxes, and that the king
should choose another queen more worthy than
she. 20 When this decree is published throughout the king’s vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper
respect from their wives!”
21 The king and his nobles thought this made
good sense, so he followed Memucan’s counsel. 22 He sent letters to all parts of the empire,
to each province in its own script and language,