Esther 1 - 2, 1 Peter 3 - 4, Proverbs 23

The Feasts of the King and Queen

1Now it happened in the days of ^aAhasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned ^bfrom India to ¹Ethiopia over ^c127 provinces, ²in those days as King Ahasuerus ^asat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in ^bSusa, ³in the third year of his reign, ^ahe held a feast for all his princes and servants, the military officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence, ⁴¹while he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days.

⁵And when these days were fulfilled, the king held a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the court of ^athe garden of the king’s palace. ⁶There were hangings of fine white and ¹blue linen held by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble pillars, and ^acouches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. ⁷And drinks were served in golden vessels of various kinds, and the royal wine was plentiful ^aaccording to the king’s hand. ⁸And the drinking was done according to the law; there was no compulsion, for so the king had established it for each official of his household—that he should do according to what pleased each person. ⁹Queen Vashti also held a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Queen Vashti’s Refusal

¹⁰On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was ^amerry with wine, he said for Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who attended to the presence of King Ahasuerus, ¹¹to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal ^acrown in order to display her beauty to the people and the princes, for she was ¹beautiful in appearance. ¹²But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king which was delivered by the hand of the eunuchs. Then the king became exceedingly furious, and his wrath burned within him.

¹³Then the king said to ^athe wise men ^bwho knew the times—for it was the custom of the king thus to speak before all who knew law and justice ¹⁴and were close to him: Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media ^awho ¹had access to the king’s presence and sat in the first place in the kingdom— ¹⁵“According to law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti, because she did not do the declaration of King Ahasuerus delivered by the hand of the eunuchs?” ¹⁶Then in the presence of the king and the princes, Memucan said, “Queen Vashti has committed iniquity against not only the king but also against all the princes and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷“For the word about the queen will get out to all the women causing them to despise their husbands in their eyes by saying, ‘King Ahasuerus said for Queen Vashti to be brought in to his presence, but she did not come.’ ¹⁸“This day the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the word about the queen will speak in the same way to all the king’s princes, and there will be plenty of spite and indignation. ¹⁹“If it seems good to the king, let a royal word go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media so ^athat it cannot ¹be repealed, that Vashti may no longer come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king give her royal position to ²another who is better than she. ²⁰“And the king’s sentence, which he will make, will be heard throughout all his kingdom, for it is ¹vast, and ^aall women will give respect to their husbands, great and small.”

²¹And this word was good in the eyes of the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. ²²So he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, ^ato each province according to its script and to every people according to their tongue, that every man should ^bbe the ruler in his own house and the one who speaks in the tongue of his own people.

A Queen in Place of Vashti

2After these things ^awhen the wrath of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and ^bwhat had been decided against her. ²Then the young men of the king, who attended to him, said, “^aLet young virgins, beautiful in appearance, be sought for the king. ³“And let the king appoint overseers in ^aall the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every young virgin, beautiful in appearance, to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the hand of ^bHegai, the king’s eunuch, who keeps charge of the women; and ^clet their cosmetics be given to them. ⁴“Then let the young lady who is good in the eyes of the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the word was good in the eyes of the king, and he did so.

⁵Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew. And his name was ^aMordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, ⁶^awho had been taken away into exile from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been taken away into exile with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken away into exile. ⁷And he was bringing up Hadassah, that is ^aEsther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

Esther Advances in Favor

⁸Now it happened that when the word and law of the king were heard and ^amany young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the hand of ^bHegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s ¹house into the hand of Hegai, who kept charge of the women. ⁹And the young lady was good in his eyes, and she advanced in lovingkindness before him. So he hurried to give her ^acosmetics and portions of food to her, and to give to her seven choice young women from the king’s ¹house. And he transferred her and her young women to the best place in the harem. ¹⁰^aEsther did not tell anyone about her people or her kinsmen, for Mordecai had commanded her that she should not tell anyone about them. ¹¹And every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to know the well-being of Esther and ¹how she fared.

¹²Now when it reached the turn of each young lady to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their cosmetic treatment were fulfilled as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women— ¹³then the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she said she desired was given to her to come with her from the harem to the king’s house. ¹⁴In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the hand of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept charge of the concubines. She would not again go in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

¹⁵Now when it reached the turn of Esther, ^athe daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she did not seek anything except what ^bHegai, the king’s eunuch who kept charge of the women, said. And Esther advanced in favor in the eyes of all who saw her. ¹⁶So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal house in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

Esther Is Made Queen

¹⁷And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she advanced in favor and lovingkindness before him more than all the virgins, so that ^ahe set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. ¹⁸Then ^athe king held a great feast, Esther’s feast, for all his princes and his servants; he also held a remission of taxes for the provinces and gave gifts ^baccording to the king’s hand.

¹⁹^aAnd when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai ^bwas sitting at the king’s gate. ²⁰^aEsther had not yet told anyone about her kinsmen or her people, just as Mordecai had commanded her; indeed Esther was doing ¹what Mordecai declared that she do, just as she had done ^bwhen she was being brought up by him.

Two of the King’s Eunuchs Are Hanged

²¹In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, ^aBigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, became furious and sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus. ²²But the matter became known to Mordecai, and ^ahe told it to Queen Esther, and Esther said it to the king in Mordecai’s name. ²³Then the matter was sought out and found to be true, so they were both hanged on a ¹gallows; and it was written in ^athe book of the chronicles in the king’s presence.

Wives and Husbands

3^aIn the same way, you wives, ^bbe subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be ^cwon without a word by the conduct of their wives, ²as they observe your pure conduct with fear. ³^aYour adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on garments; ⁴but let it be ^athe hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible quality of a lowly and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. ⁵For in this way in former times the holy women also, ^awho hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being subject to their own husbands, ⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^acalling him lord. You have become her children if you do good, ¹^,^bnot fearing any intimidation.

⁷^aYou husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker ^bvessel, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

⁸¹Now to sum up, ^aall of you be like-minded, sympathetic, ^bbrotherly, ^ctender-hearted, and ^dhumble in spirit; ⁹^anot returning evil for evil or ^breviling for reviling, but ¹giving a ^cblessing instead, for ^dyou were called for the very purpose that you might ^einherit a blessing. ¹⁰For, “^aThe one who desires life, to love and see good days,Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

¹¹“^aHe must turn away from evil and do good;He must seek peace and pursue it.¹²“^aFor the eyes of the ¹Lord are toward the righteous,And His ears attend to their prayer,But the face of the ²Lord is against those who do evil.”

Suffering for Righteousness

¹³^aAnd who is ¹there to ²harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? ¹⁴But even if you should ^asuffer for the sake of righteousness, ^byou ¹are blessed. ^cAnd do not fear their fear, and do not be troubled, ¹⁵but ¹sanctify ^aChrist as Lord in your hearts, always being ready ^bto make ²a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the ^chope that is in you, yet ^dwith gentleness and ^efear, ¹⁶having a ^agood conscience so that in the thing in which ^byou are slandered, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. ¹⁷For ^ait is better, ^bif ¹God should will it so, that you suffer for doing good rather than for doing wrong. ¹⁸For ^aChrist also suffered for sins ^bonce for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might ^cbring you to God, having been put to death ^din the flesh, but made alive ^ein the ¹spirit; ¹⁹in ¹which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, ²⁰who once were disobedient, when the ^apatience of God ^bkept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of ^cthe ark, in which a few, that is, ^deight ^epersons, were brought safely through the ¹water. ²¹^aCorresponding to that, baptism now saves you—^bnot the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal ¹of a ^cgood conscience to God—through ^dthe resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²^awho is at the right hand of God, ^bhaving gone into heaven, ^cafter angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

Keep Fervent in Your Love

4Therefore, since ^aChrist has ¹suffered in the flesh, ^barm yourselves also with the same purpose—because ^che who has ²suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin— ²^aso as to no longer live ^bthe rest of the time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the ^cwill of God. ³For ^athe time already past is sufficient for you to have worked out the desire of the Gentiles, ¹^,^bhaving pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and ²abominable idolatries. ⁴In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of ^adissipation, ^bmaligning you, ⁵but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge ^athe living and the dead. ⁶For to this ^athe gospel has been ¹proclaimed even to those who are now dead, so that though they were judged in the flesh as men, they live in the spirit according to the will of God.

⁷^aThe end of all things is at hand; therefore, ^bbe of sound thinking and sober spirit for the purpose of ¹prayer. ⁸Above all, ^akeep fervent in your love for one another, because ^blove covers a multitude of sins. ⁹^aBe hospitable to one another without ^bgrumbling. ¹⁰^aAs each one has received a gift, employ it in serving one another as good ^bstewards of the manifold grace of God— ¹¹^awhoever speaks, ¹as one speaking the ^boracles of God; whoever serves, as one serving ²^,^cby the strength which God supplies; so that ^din all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, ^eto whom belongs the glory and might forever and ever. Amen.

Sharing the Suffering of Christ

¹²^aBeloved, do not be surprised at the ^bfiery trial among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you. ¹³But to the degree you are ^asharing the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the ^brevelation of His glory ^cyou may rejoice with exultation. ¹⁴If you are insulted ¹^,^afor the name of Christ, ^byou are blessed, ^cbecause the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵Make sure that ^anone of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a ¹^,^btroublesome meddler; ¹⁶but if anyone suffers as a ^aChristian, he is not to be put to shame, but is to ^bglorify God in this name. ¹⁷For it is time for judgment ^ato begin ¹with ^bthe house of God; and if it ^cbegins with us first, what will be the outcome for those ^dwho do not obey the ^egospel of God? ¹⁸^aAnd if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, ¹what will become of the ^bgodless man and the sinner? ¹⁹Therefore, those also who suffer according to ^athe will of God must entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing good.

The Fear of Yahweh

23When you sit down to dine with a ruler,Understand well ¹what is before you,²So you should put a knife to your throatIf you are a ^aman of appetite.³Do not ^adesire his delicacies,For it is bread of falsehood.⁴^aDo not weary yourself to gain wealth,^bBecause of your understanding, cease!⁵Do you make your eyes fly up to see it? But it is not there!Because ^ait certainly makes itself wingsLike an eagle that flies toward the heavens.⁶^aDo not eat the bread of ¹a ^bselfish man,And do not desire his delicacies;⁷For as he ¹calculates in his soul, so he is.“Eat and drink!” he says to you,But ^ahis heart is not with you.⁸You will ^avomit up ¹the morsel you have eaten,And you will corrupt your pleasant words.⁹^aDo not speak in the ¹hearing of a fool,For he will ^bdespise the insight of your speech.¹⁰Do not move the ancient boundaryAnd do not ^acome into the fields of the orphans,¹¹For their ^aRedeemer is strong;^bHe will plead their case against you.¹²Bring your heart to disciplineAnd your ears to ¹words of knowledge.¹³^aDo not withhold discipline from the child,Although you ¹strike him with the rod, he will not die.¹⁴You shall ¹strike him with the rodAnd ^adeliver his soul from Sheol.¹⁵My son, if your heart is ^awise,My own heart also will be glad;¹⁶And my ¹inmost being will exultWhen your lips speak ^aupright things.¹⁷^aDo not let your heart be jealous of sinners,But be zealous in the ¹^,^bfear of Yahweh ²always.¹⁸Surely there is a ¹^,^afuture,And your ^bhope will not be cut off.¹⁹You, my son, listen and ^abe wise,And ^bdirect your heart in the way.²⁰Do not be with ^aheavy drinkers of wine,Or with ^bgluttonous eaters of meat;²¹For the ^aheavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty,And ^bdrowsiness will clothe them with rags.²²^aListen to your father who begot you,And ^bdo not despise your mother when she is old.²³^aBuy truth, and do not sell it,Get wisdom and discipline and understanding.²⁴The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,And ^ahe who begets a wise son will be glad in him.²⁵Let your ^afather and your mother be glad,And let her rejoice who gave birth to you.²⁶^aGive your heart to me, my son,And let your eyes ¹^,^bdelight in my ways.²⁷For a harlot is a ^adeep pitAnd ¹a ^bforeign woman is a narrow well.²⁸Surely she ^alies in wait as a robber,And adds to the treacherous among men.²⁹Who has ^awoe? Who has sorrow?Who has contentions? Who has complaining?Who has wounds without cause?Who has redness of eyes?³⁰Those who ^alinger long over wine,Those who go to search out ^bmixed wine.³¹Do not look on the wine when it glistens red,When it ¹sparkles in the cup,When it ^agoes down smoothly;³²At the end—like a serpent it ^abites,And like a ^bviper it stings.³³Your eyes will see strange thingsAnd your heart will ^aspeak perverse things.³⁴And you will be like one who lies down in the heart of the sea,Or like one who lies down on the top of a ¹mast.³⁵“They ^astruck me, but I did not become ¹ill;They beat me, but I did not know it.When shall I awake?I will ^bseek yet another.”