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EstherChapitre 1

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This happened in the days of Ahasuerus—the Ahasuerus who ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia.
In those days, while King Ahasuerus was seated on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa,
in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his officials and servants—the army of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the governors of the provinces were there before him—
and for many days, a hundred and eighty in all, he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendid glory of his greatness.
When those days were over, the king held a seven-day banquet in the garden court of the royal palace for all the people who were in the citadel of Susa, from the greatest to the least.
There were hangings of white linen and violet cloth, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings on pillars of marble. Couches of gold and silver stood on a pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stone.
Drinks were served in golden vessels, no two of them alike, and the royal wine flowed freely, as befitted the king's bounty.
The rule for the drinking was that no one should be compelled, for the king had instructed every steward of his household to serve each man just as he wished.
Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.
On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus—
to bring Queen Vashti before him wearing her royal crown, so that he might display her beauty to the peoples and the officials; for she was lovely to look at.
But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. Then the king became furious, and his anger burned within him.
So the king consulted the wise men who understood the times—for it was the king's custom to lay matters before all who knew law and judgment—
those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven officials of Persia and Media who had access to the king and held the highest rank in the kingdom.
"According to the law," he asked, "what is to be done with Queen Vashti, since she has not obeyed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?"
Memucan answered before the king and the officials: "Queen Vashti has not wronged the king alone, but all the officials and all the peoples in every province of King Ahasuerus.
For what the queen has done will become known to all the women, and they will despise their husbands, saying, 'King Ahasuerus commanded that Queen Vashti be brought before him, and she would not come.'
This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard what the queen did will speak the same way to all the king's officials, and there will be no end of contempt and anger.
So if it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him and be written into the laws of Persia and Media, never to be revoked, that Vashti shall never again come before King Ahasuerus, and that the king give her royal position to another woman who is better than she.
When the king's edict is proclaimed throughout his vast realm, all the women will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least."
This advice pleased the king and his officials, and the king did as Memucan proposed.
He sent letters to all the king's provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, declaring that every man should be master of his own household, and that each should speak the language of his own people.
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