Old/New Testament

Queen Vashti Disobeys the King

1 This is what happened during the time of King Xerxes. He was the king who ruled the 127 areas from India to Cush. ² In those days King Xerxes ruled from his capital city of Susa. ³ In the third year of his rule, he gave a banquet. It was for all his important men and royal officers. The army leaders from the countries of Persia and Media were there. And the important men from all Xerxes’ empire were there.

⁴ The banquet lasted 180 days. All during that time King Xerxes was showing off the great wealth of his kingdom. And he was showing his own honor and greatness. ⁵ When the 180 days were over, the king gave another banquet. It was held in the courtyard of the palace garden for 7 days. It was for everybody in the palace at Susa, from the greatest to the least important. ⁶ The courtyard had fine white curtains and purple drapes. These were tied to silver rings on marble pillars by white and purple cords. And there were gold and silver couches. These were on a floor set with tiles of white marble, shells and gems. ⁷ Wine was served in gold cups of various kinds. And there was plenty of the king’s wine because he was very generous. ⁸ The king commanded that each guest be permitted to drink as much as he wished. He had told the wine servers to serve each man what he wanted.

⁹ Queen Vashti also gave a banquet. It was for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

¹⁰ On the seventh day of the banquet, King Xerxes was very happy because he had been drinking much wine. He gave a command to the seven eunuchs who served him. They were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas. ¹¹ He commanded them to bring him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown. She was to come to show her beauty to the people and important men. She was very beautiful. ¹² The eunuchs told Queen Vashti about the king’s command. But she refused to come. Then the king became very angry. His anger was like a burning fire.

¹³ It was a custom for the king to ask advice from experts about law and order. So King Xerxes spoke with the wise men. They would know the right thing to do. ¹⁴ The wise men the king usually talked to were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memucan. They were seven of the important men of Persia and Media. These seven had special privileges to see the king. They had the highest rank in the kingdom.

¹⁵ The king asked those men, “What does the law say must be done to Queen Vashti? She has not obeyed the command of King Xerxes, which the eunuchs took to her.”

¹⁶ Then Memucan spoke to the king and the other important men. He said, “Queen Vashti has not done wrong to the king alone. She has also done wrong to all the important men and all the people in all the empire of King Xerxes. ¹⁷ All the wives of the important men of Persia and Media will hear about the queen’s actions. Then they will no longer honor their husbands. They will say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought to him. But she refused to come.’ ¹⁸ Today the wives of the important men of Persia and Media have heard about the queen’s actions. And they will speak in the same way to their husbands. And there will be no end to disrespect and anger.

¹⁹ “So, our king, if it pleases you, give a royal order. And let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be changed. The law should say Vashti is never again to enter the presence of King Xerxes. Also let the king give her place as queen to someone who is better than she is. ²⁰ And let the king’s order be announced everywhere in his large kingdom. Then all the women will respect their husbands, from the greatest to the least important.”

²¹ The king and his important men were happy with this advice. So King Xerxes did as Memucan suggested. ²² He sent letters to all the areas of the kingdom. A letter was sent to each area, written in its own form of writing. And a letter was sent to each group of people, written in their own language. These letters announced that each man was to be the ruler of his own family. Also, each family was to speak the language of the man.

Esther Is Made Queen

2 Later, King Xerxes was not so angry. Then he remembered Vashti and what she had done. And he remembered his order about her. ² Then the king’s personal servants had a suggestion. They said, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. ³ Let the king choose supervisors in every area of his kingdom. Let them bring every beautiful young virgin to the palace at Susa. These women should be taken to the women’s quarters and put under the care of Hegai. He is the king’s eunuch in charge of the women. And let beauty treatments be given to them. ⁴ Then let the girl who most pleases the king become queen in place of Vashti.” The king liked this advice. So he did as they said.

⁵ Now there was a Jewish man in the palace of Susa. His name was Mordecai son of Jair. Jair was the son of Shimei. And Shimei was the son of Kish. Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin. ⁶ Mordecai had been taken captive from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Mordecai was part of the group taken into captivity with Jehoiachin king of Judah. ⁷ Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, who had no father or mother. So Mordecai took care of her. Hadassah was also called Esther, and she had a very pretty figure and face. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

⁸ The king’s command and order had been heard. And many girls had been brought to the palace in Susa. They had been put under the care of Hegai. When this happened, Esther was also taken to the king’s palace. She was put into the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. ⁹ Esther pleased Hegai, and he liked her. So Hegai quickly began giving Esther her beauty treatments and special food. He gave her seven servant girls chosen from the king’s palace. Then Hegai moved Esther and her seven servant girls to the best part of the women’s quarters.

¹⁰ Esther did not tell anyone about her family or who her people were. Mordecai had told her not to. ¹¹ Every day Mordecai walked back and forth near the courtyard. This was where the king’s women lived. He wanted to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.

¹² Before a girl could take her turn with King Xerxes, she had to complete 12 months of beauty treatments. These were ordered for the women. For 6 months she was treated with oil and myrrh. And she spent 6 months with perfumes and cosmetics. ¹³ Then she was ready to go to the king. Anything she asked for was given to her. She could take it with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. ¹⁴ In the evening she would go to the king’s palace. And in the morning she would return to another part of the women’s quarters. There she would be placed under the care of a man named Shaashgaz. Shaashgaz was the king’s eunuch in charge of the slave women. The girl would not go back to the king again unless he was pleased with her. Then he would call her by name to come back to him.

¹⁵ Esther daughter of Abihail, Mordecai’s uncle, had been adopted by Mordecai. The time came for Esther to go to the king. She asked for only what Hegai suggested she should take. (Hegai was the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women.) And everyone who saw Esther liked her. ¹⁶ So Esther was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace. This happened in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth. It was in Xerxes’ seventh year as king.

¹⁷ And the king was pleased with Esther more than with any of the other virgins. And he liked her more than any of the others. So King Xerxes put a royal crown on Esther’s head. And he made her queen in place of Vashti. ¹⁸ Then the king gave a great banquet for Esther. He invited all his important men and royal officers. He announced a holiday in all the empire. And he was generous and gave everyone a gift.

Mordecai Discovers an Evil Plan

¹⁹ Now Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. This was when the virgins were gathered the second time. ²⁰ And Esther had still not told anyone about her family or who her people were. That is what Mordecai had told her to do. She still obeyed Mordecai just as she had done when he was bringing her up.

²¹ Now Bigthana and Teresh were two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway. While Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana and Teresh became angry at the king. And they began to make plans to kill King Xerxes. ²² But Mordecai found out about their plans and told Queen Esther. Then Queen Esther told the king. She also told him that Mordecai had found out about the evil plan. ²³ When the report was investigated, it was found to be true. The two officers who had planned to kill the king were hanged. And all this was written down in the daily court record in the king’s presence.

Ananias and Sapphira

5 A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some land. ² But he gave only part of the money to the apostles. He secretly kept some of it for himself. His wife knew about this, and she agreed to it. ³ Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan rule your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit. Why did you keep part of the money you received for the land for yourself? ⁴ Before you sold the land, it belonged to you. And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. Why did you think of doing this? You lied to God, not to men!” ^5-6 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried it out, and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.

⁷ About three hours later his wife came in. She did not know what had happened. ⁸ Peter said to her, “Tell me how much money you got for your field. Was it this much?”

Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was the price.”

⁹ Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The men who buried your husband are at the door! They will carry you out.” ¹⁰ At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ The whole church and all the others who heard about these things were filled with fear.

Proofs from God

¹² The apostles did many signs and miracles among the people. And they would all meet together on Solomon’s Porch. ¹³ None of the others dared to stand with them. All the people were saying good things about them. ¹⁴ More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to the group of believers. ¹⁵ As Peter was passing by, the people brought their sick into the streets. They put their sick on beds and mats so at least Peter’s shadow might fall on them. ¹⁶ Crowds came from all the towns around Jerusalem. They brought their sick and those who were bothered by evil spirits. All of them were healed.

The Apostles Obey God

¹⁷ The high priest and all his friends (a group called the Sadducees) became very jealous. ¹⁸ They took the apostles and put them in jail. ¹⁹ But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail. He led the apostles outside and said, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the Temple. Tell the people everything about this new life.” ²¹ When the apostles heard this, they obeyed and went into the Temple. It was early in the morning, and they began to teach.

The high priest and his friends arrived. They called a meeting of the Jewish leaders and all the important older men of the Jews. They sent some men to the jail to bring the apostles to them.