¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, ^(A)Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,

⁹ Now ^(A)Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! ^(B)The ^[a]gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke ^(C)good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”

Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”

²⁵ So it happened, when their hearts were ^(A)merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

Wine Is a Mocker

²⁸ Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, “Watch now, when Amnon’s ^(A)heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon!’ then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and ^[a]valiant.”

¹⁸ And ^(A)do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another ^(B)in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making ^(C)melody in your heart to the Lord,

¹⁸ Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ Then the king ^[a]interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore ^(A)they served before the king.

³ Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring ^(A)some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, ⁴ young men ^(B)in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and ^(C)whom they might teach the language and ^[a]literature of the Chaldeans. ⁵ And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might ^(D)serve before the king.