¹⁸ Then the king ^(A)made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the ^[a]generosity of a king.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Write: ^(A)‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, ^(B)“These are the true sayings of God.”

^10 (A)And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, ^(B)and send gifts to one another, ^(C)because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

⁸ “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;

² “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,

²² as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of ^(A)sending presents to one another and gifts to the ^(B)poor.

⁷ And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, ^(A)according to the ^[a]generosity of the king.

³ that in the third year of his reign he ^(A)made a feast for all his officials and servants—the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him— ⁴ when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all.

⁵ And when these days were completed, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in ^[a]Shushan the ^[b]citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace.

¹¹ So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.”

⁸ Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore ^[a]let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on ^(A)a feast day. Please give whatever comes to your hand to your servants and to your son David.’ ”