Old/New Testament

Queen Vashti does not obey the king

1 These things happened when King Xerxes ruled. He was the king who ruled over 127 regions, from India to Ethiopia. ² King Xerxes lived in the capital, the city of Susa. ³ During the third year that he ruled, he gave a big feast for his leaders and officers. The soldiers from the army of Persia and Media came to the feast. The rulers and leaders of the regions in the kingdom also came.

⁴ The feast continued for 180 days. King Xerxes wanted to show everyone how rich and powerful he was. He wanted to show that he was a great king. ⁵ When this feast finished, he gave another feast for everyone who lived in Susa. It was for people who were important, and for ordinary people as well. The feast continued for seven days. It was in part of the garden of the king's palace. ⁶ The gardens had curtains made of expensive white linen and purple material. They hung from silver rings on white stone pillars. White and purple strings held the curtains. There were seats made from gold and silver. The floor had many kinds of valuable stones to make it beautiful.

⁷ People at the feast drank from gold cups. Each cup was different. The king gave plenty of his own wine to everyone to drink. ⁸ Everyone could drink as much wine as they wanted. The king told his officers to give each person what they wanted, no more and no less.

⁹ At the same time, the king's wife, Queen Vashti, gave a feast for all the women in the palace.^[a]

¹⁰ On the seventh day of the feast, King Xerxes was feeling happy, because he had drunk so much wine. He had seven eunuchs who served him in the palace. Their names were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas. ¹¹ He told them to bring Queen Vashti to him. He said that she must wear her royal crown. He wanted to show everyone at his feast how beautiful his queen was. She was a very beautiful woman. ¹² The eunuchs told Queen Vashti what the king had commanded. But she refused to go to him. This made the king very angry.

¹³ The king spoke to his wise advisors about what had happened. These men understood the laws and customs of Persia. When something like this happened, the king would ask them what he should do. ¹⁴ The seven advisors who were often with the king were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan. These men were the most important officers in the kingdom.

¹⁵ The king asked them, ‘What should we do with Queen Vashti? What does our law say about this? The eunuchs took my message to her, but she did not obey my command. And I am the king!’

¹⁶ One of the advisors, Memukan, replied to the king and the other officers. He said, ‘Queen Vashti has not only done something wrong against you, the king. She has also done a wrong thing against all the officers and all the people too. That is all the men who live in your kingdom. ¹⁷ When other women hear about this, they will not obey their own husbands. All the women will say, “Queen Vashti did not obey her husband, King Xerxes. When he told her to come to him, she refused to do it!” ¹⁸ Everywhere in Persia and Media, the wives of the king's officers will know what Queen Vashti has done. From today, they will refuse to obey their husbands. They will no longer respect their husbands, and the men will be very angry.

¹⁹ So we suggest this, if you agree as king. You should give a royal command. It should become one of the laws of Persia and Media, so that nobody can change it. This law must say that Vashti must never see you again. Then you should find a woman who deserves to be queen more than Vashti. ²⁰ You must send this command to everyone in your great kingdom. When people know about this law, all the women will respect their husbands. They will obey them, whether they are important people or ordinary people.’

²¹ The king and his officers liked this idea. So the king did as Memukan had said. ²² He sent letters to all the regions of his kingdom. The letters were in the language of each region, so that all the people could read and understand the law. The law said that every man should be the ruler of his family and he should speak the language of his people.

Esther becomes queen

2 Some time later, King Xerxes was not feeling so angry. He thought about Vashti and what she had done. He remembered the law that he had made, that she should not be queen any more.^[b]

² The king's servants who helped him in the palace said, ‘We think that the king should send some men to look for beautiful young women for him. ³ The king could choose officers from every region of his kingdom to do this. They will bring all the beautiful young women here to Susa. Hegai will take care of them in the royal harem.^[c] He is the eunuch who has that job. The young women will receive special oils and perfumes to make them more beautiful. ⁴ The king may choose the young woman that pleases him most. She may take the place of Vashti as queen.’

King Xerxes thought that this was a good idea. He did everything that the servants said.

⁵ A Jewish man called Mordecai lived in Susa. He was the son of Jair. Jair was the son of Shimei. Shimei was the son of Kish. Kish was a descendant of Benjamin. ⁶ When Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon, he had taken Kish away from Jerusalem as a prisoner. That was the time when Nebuchadnezzar also took Jeconiah, king of Judah, away to Babylon as well as other Jews.^[d]

⁷ Mordecai was taking care of a young cousin called Hadassah. She was also called Esther.^[e] Esther's mother and father were no longer alive. She was the daughter of Mordecai's uncle. When her parents died, Mordecai took care of her, as if she was his own daughter. Esther was very beautiful.

⁸ Esther was one of the young women that the king's officers took to Susa. That happened because of the king's command. The beautiful young women lived in the royal harem. Hegai had the authority to take care of them. ⁹ Hegai liked Esther and he was kind to her. As soon as Esther arrived, Hegai gave her special food and oils to make her more beautiful. He chose seven female servants from the king's palace to take care of her. Then he moved Esther and her servants to the best rooms in the harem.

¹⁰ Esther did not tell anyone that she was a Jew. That is what Mordecai had told her. ¹¹ Mordecai wanted to know what was happening to Esther. So every day he walked in the palace yard that was near the harem. He wanted to hear some news about her.

¹² All the young women stayed in the harem for 12 months. For six months they received myrrh oil for their bodies. Then they received perfume and different kinds of oil for another six months. After that time they could each go to the king's bedroom. ¹³ When the time came for a young woman to go to the king, she could take whatever she wanted with her. She would take those things with her from the harem to the king's room.^[f]

¹⁴ She would go to be with the king in the evening. She would stay with him during that night. In the morning, she went to a different part of the harem. That was where the king's slave wives lived. One of the king's eunuchs, Shaashgaz, took care of them there.^[g] After that, the young woman would only see the king again if he was pleased with her. Then he would ask for her by name.

¹⁵ One evening, it was the time for Abihail's daughter, Esther, to go to the king. Abihail was Mordecai's uncle. After Abihail had died, Mordecai took care of Esther as if she was his own daughter. Everyone who saw Esther liked her. When she went to the king, she took with her only the things that Hegai had suggested. ¹⁶ Esther went to King Xerxes in his royal rooms in the palace. That happened in the tenth month of the year, called Tebeth. King Xerxes had ruled for seven years.

¹⁷ The king loved Esther more than he loved any of the other women. He was more pleased with her than all the other young women. He put the royal crown on her head. He chose Esther to be queen, instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ The king gave a great feast for all the leaders and officers of his kingdom. He did it to give honour to Esther. He said that there would be a holiday for people in all the regions. He also gave expensive gifts to people.

Mordecai saves the king

¹⁹ Some time later, the young women all came together again in the harem. At this time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, as one of his officers.^[h]

²⁰ Esther still had not told anyone that she was a Jew. Mordecai had told her that she should not tell anyone. She continued to obey Mordecai, as she had done when she lived with him as his daughter.

²¹ One day, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. While he was there, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh, became angry with King Xerxes. They decided that they would kill the king. ²² Mordecai heard about this. So he told Queen Esther about it. Queen Esther told the king what Mordecai had said. ²³ The king sent his men to see if it was true. When he discovered that Mordecai had told the truth, he said that the two eunuchs must die. So his officers hanged them from a wooden tower until they were dead. They wrote about this event in the history book, while the king watched.

Ananias and Sapphira

5 But there was a man called Ananias among the group of believers. His wife was called Sapphira. Together they sold one of their fields. ² Ananias gave part of the money that he received to the apostles. But he kept part of the money for himself. Sapphira knew all about what Ananias had done.^[a]

³ Peter said to Ananias, ‘Ananias, Satan wanted you to tell a lie and you have obeyed him. You have told a lie to the Holy Spirit. That is a bad thing to do! You sold your field, but you did not give us all the money. You kept part of it for yourselves.^{[b] 4} Before you sold the field, it belonged to you. And after you sold the field, the money was yours. You could choose what to do with it. But you chose to do a very bad thing. You did not only tell a lie to us men. You have told a lie to God.’

⁵ As soon as he heard Peter say this, Ananias fell down and he died. When people heard what had happened, they were all very afraid. ⁶ Some young men came into the room. They put cloths around Ananias's dead body and they carried it outside. Then they buried it.

⁷ About three hours later, Ananias's wife, Sapphira, came into the room. She did not know what had happened to her husband. ⁸ Peter asked Sapphira, ‘Was this all the money that you and your husband received for your field?’ ‘Yes,’ Sapphira answered. ‘That was all the money that we received.’

⁹ Peter said to her, ‘It was wrong for you and your husband to do this bad thing. You agreed together to tell a lie to the Holy Spirit of the Lord God. Listen! The men who have just buried your husband are at the door again now. They will carry your body out too.’

¹⁰ Immediately, Sapphira fell down in front of Peter and she died. Then the young men came into the room. They saw that Sapphira was dead. So they carried her outside and they buried her body next to her husband. ¹¹ The whole group of believers, and many other people, heard about what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. They were all very afraid.

The apostles do some powerful things for the people to see

¹² At that time, the apostles were doing many miracles that showed God's power among the people. All the believers often met together in the yard of the temple in a place called Solomon's porch. ¹³ The other people were afraid to meet with the group of believers. But people respected the believers very much. ¹⁴ More and more people became believers and they joined the group. So now many men and women believed in the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ As a result, people carried their sick friends into the streets and put them on beds and mats. They hoped that Peter would pass that way and make their sick friends well again. They just wanted Peter's shadow to touch them.^{[c] 16} Many people also came into Jerusalem from the small towns near the city. They brought their sick friends with them. Some of those sick people had bad spirits that gave them trouble. God caused all these sick people to become well again.

The most important priest puts the apostles in prison

¹⁷ People liked the apostles very much. So the most important priest and his friends who belonged to the Sadducees' group were very jealous. ¹⁸ These important men took hold of the apostles and they put them in the city's prison. ¹⁹ But during the night, one of the Lord God's angels came and he opened the prison gates. He led the apostles out of the prison. ²⁰ The angel said to them, ‘Go and stand in the yard of the temple. Tell the people everything about this new life that God gives.’

²¹ The apostles did what the angel told them to do. At dawn they went into the yard of the temple. They began to teach the people there.

Then the most important priest and his friends arrived. They told the group of Jewish leaders to meet with them. All the most important people in Israel were in that group. Then they sent their police to the prison to bring the apostles to the meeting place.