A Rainha Vasti Afronta o Rei
1Foi no tempo de Xerxes1.1 Hebraico: Assuero, variante do nome persa Xerxes., que reinou sobre cento e vinte e sete províncias, desde a Índia até a Etiópia1.1 Hebraico: Cuxe.. 2Naquela época o rei Xerxes reinava em seu trono na cidadela de Susã 3e, no terceiro ano do seu reinado, deu um banquete a todos os seus nobres e oficiais. Estavam presentes os líderes militares da Pérsia e da Média, os príncipes e os nobres das províncias.
4Durante cento e oitenta dias ele mostrou a enorme riqueza de seu reino e o esplendor e a glória de sua majestade. 5Terminados esses dias, o rei deu um banquete no jardim interno do palácio, de sete dias, para todo o povo que estava na cidadela de Susã, do mais rico ao mais pobre. 6O jardim possuía forrações em branco e azul, presas com cordas de linho branco e tecido roxo, ligadas por anéis de prata a colunas de mármore. Tinha assentos de ouro e de prata num piso de mosaicos de pórfiro, mármore, madrepérola e outras pedras preciosas. 7Pela generosidade do rei, o vinho real era servido em grande quantidade, em diferentes taças de ouro. 8Por ordem real, cada convidado tinha permissão de beber o quanto desejasse, pois o rei tinha dado instruções a todos os mordomos do palácio que os servissem à vontade.
9Enquanto isso, a rainha Vasti também oferecia um banquete às mulheres, no palácio do rei Xerxes.
10No sétimo dia, quando o rei Xerxes já estava alegre por causa do vinho, ordenou aos sete oficiais que o serviam—Meumã, Bizta, Harbona, Bigtá, Abagta, Zetar e Carcas— 11que trouxessem à sua presença a rainha Vasti, usando a coroa real. Ele queria mostrar aos seus súditos e aos nobres a beleza dela, pois era de fato muito bonita. 12Quando, porém, os oficiais transmitiram a ordem do rei à rainha Vasti, esta se recusou a ir, e o rei ficou furioso e indignado.
13Como era costume o rei consultar especialistas em questões de direito e justiça, ele mandou chamar os sábios que entendiam das leis 14e que eram muito amigos do rei: Carsena, Setar, Adamata, Társis, Meres, Marsena e Memucã; eles eram os sete nobres da Pérsia e da Média que tinham acesso direto ao rei e eram os mais importantes do reino.
15O rei lhes perguntou: “De acordo com a lei, o que se deve fazer à rainha Vasti? Ela não obedeceu à ordem do rei Xerxes transmitida pelos oficiais”.
16Então Memucã respondeu na presença do rei e dos nobres: “A rainha Vasti não ofendeu somente o rei, mas também todos os nobres e os povos de todas as províncias do rei Xerxes, 17pois a conduta da rainha se tornará conhecida por todas as mulheres, e assim também elas desprezarão seus maridos e dirão: ‘O rei Xerxes ordenou que a rainha Vasti fosse à sua presença, mas ela não foi’. 18Hoje mesmo as mulheres persas e medas da nobreza que ficarem sabendo do comportamento da rainha agirão da mesma maneira com todos os nobres do rei. Isso provocará desrespeito e discórdia sem fim.
19“Por isso, se for do agrado do rei, que ele emita um decreto real e que seja incluído na lei irrevogável da Pérsia e da Média, determinando que Vasti nunca mais compareça na presença do rei Xerxes. Também dê o rei a sua posição de rainha a outra que seja melhor do que ela. 20Assim, quando o decreto real for proclamado em todo o seu imenso domínio, todas as mulheres respeitarão seus maridos, do mais rico ao mais pobre”.
21O rei e seus nobres aceitaram de bom grado o conselho, de modo que o rei pôs em prática a proposta de Memucã. 22Para isso, enviou cartas a todas as partes do reino, a cada província e a cada povo, em sua própria escrita e em sua própria língua, proclamando que todo homem deveria mandar em sua própria casa.
Vashti Is Removed From Her Position as Queen
1King Xerxes ruled over the 127 territories in his kingdom. They reached from India all the way to Cush. Here is what happened during the time Xerxes ruled over the whole Persian kingdom. 2He was ruling from his royal throne in the fort of Susa. 3In the third year of his rule King Xerxes gave a feast. It was for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there. So were the princes and the nobles of the territories he ruled over.
4Every day for 180 days he showed his guests the great wealth of his kingdom. He also showed them how glorious his kingdom was. 5When those days were over, the king gave another feast. It lasted for seven days. It was held in the garden of the king’s courtyard. It was for all the people who lived in the fort of Susa. Everyone from the least important person to the most important was invited. 6The garden was decorated with white and blue linen banners. They hung from ropes that were made out of white linen and purple cloth. The ropes were connected to silver rings on marble pillars. There were gold and silver couches in the garden. They were placed on a floor that was made out of small stones. The floor had purple crystal, marble, mother-of-pearl and other stones of great value. 7Royal wine was served in gold cups. Each cup was different from all the others. There was plenty of wine. The king always provided as much as his guests wanted. 8He commanded that they should be allowed to drink as much or as little as they wished. He directed all his servants to give his guests what they asked for.
9Queen Vashti also gave a feast. Only women were invited. It was held in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
10On the seventh day Xerxes was in a good mood because he had drunk a lot of wine. So he gave a command to the seven officials who served him. They were Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas. 11King Xerxes told them to bring Queen Vashti to him. He wanted her to come wearing her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and nobles. She was lovely to look at. 12The attendants told Queen Vashti what the king had ordered her to do. But she refused to come. So the king became very angry.
13It was the king’s practice to ask for advice about matters of law and fairness. So he spoke with the wise men who understood what was going on at that time. 14They were the men closest to the king. Their names were Karshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena and Memukan. They were the seven nobles of Persia and Media. They were the king’s special advisers and the most important men in the kingdom.
15“You know the law,” the king said. “What should I do to Queen Vashti? She hasn’t obeyed my command. The officials told her what I ordered her to do, didn’t they?”
16Then Memukan gave a reply to the king and the nobles. He said, “Queen Vashti has done what is wrong. But she didn’t do it only against you, King Xerxes. She did it also against all the nobles. And she did it against the people in all the territories you rule over. 17All the women will hear about what the queen has done. Then they won’t respect their husbands. They’ll say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to be brought to him. But she wouldn’t come.’ 18Here is what will start today. The leading women in Persia and Media who have heard about the queen’s actions will act in the same way. They’ll disobey all your nobles, just as she disobeyed you. They won’t have any respect for their husbands. They won’t honor them.
19“So if it pleases you, send out a royal order. Let it be written down in the laws of Persia and Media. Those laws can never be changed. Let the royal order say that Vashti can never see you again. Also let her position as queen be given to someone who is better than she is. 20And let your order be announced all through your entire kingdom. Then all women will have respect for their husbands, from the least important to the most important.”
21The king and his nobles were pleased with that advice. So he did what Memukan had suggested. 22The king sent messages out to every territory in the kingdom. He sent them to each territory in its own writing. He sent them to every nation in its own language. The messages announced that every man should rule over his own family, using his own language.
