Esther:1

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* And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (that is , the Ahasuerus that reigned from India even to Ethiopia , over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces ), * in those days , when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom , which was in Shushan the fortress , * in the third year of his reign , he made a feast to all his princes and his servants ; the power of Persia and Media , the nobles and the princes of the provinces being before him ; * when he shewed the glorious wealth of his kingdom and the splendid magnificence of his grandeur many days , a hundred and eighty days . * And when these days were expired , the king made a feast to all the people that were present in Shushan the fortress , both to great and small , seven days , in the court of the garden of the king 's palace . * White , green , and blue [hangings ] were fastened with cords of byssus and purple to silver rings and pillars of white marble ; couches of gold and silver [lay ] upon a pavement of red and white marble , and alabaster , and black marble . * And they gave drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another ), and royal wine in abundance , according to the king 's bounty . * And the drinking was , according to commandment , without constraint ; for so the king had appointed to all the magnates of his house , that they should do according to every man 's pleasure . * Also the queen Vashti made a feast for the women of the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus . * On the seventh day , when the king 's heart was merry with wine , he commanded Mehuman , Biztha , Harbona , Bigtha , and Abagtha , Zethar , and Carcas , the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of king Ahasuerus , * to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown to shew the peoples and the princes her beauty ; for she was of beautiful countenance . * But the queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king which was [sent ] by the chamberlains ; and the king was very wroth , and his fury burned in him . * And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king 's business [conducted ] before all that knew law and judgment ; * and the next to him were Carshena , Shethar , Admatha , Tarshish , Meres , Marsena , [and ] Memucan , the seven princes of Persia and Media , who saw the king 's face , and who sat first in the kingdom ), * What shall be done to the queen Vashti according to law , because she has not performed the word of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains ? * Then said Memucan before the king and the princes , The queen Vashti has not done wrong to the king only , but also to all the princes , and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus . * For the act of the queen will come abroad to all women , so as to render their husbands contemptible in their eyes , when they shall say , The king Ahasuerus commanded the queen Vashti to be brought in before him , and she came not ! * And the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen 's act , will say it this day to all the king 's princes , and there will be contempt and anger enough . * If it please the king , let a royal order go forth from him , and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes , that it may not pass , That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus ; and let the king give her royal estate to another that is better than she ; * and when the king 's edict which he shall make shall be heard throughout his realm -- for it is great -- all the wives shall give to their husbands honour , from the greatest to the least . * And the saying pleased the king and the princes ; and the king did according to the word of Memucan . * And he sent letters into all the king 's provinces , into every province according to the writing thereof , and to every people according to their language , That every man should bear rule in his own house , and should speak according to the language of his people .

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