The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Esdras 03
1 Now King Darius made a great feast for
all his subjects,for all who were borninhis
house, for all the princes of Media and of
Persia,
2 and for all the local governors and captains
and governors who were under him,
from India to Ethiopia, in the one hundred
twenty seven provinces.
3 They ate and drank, and when they
were satisfied went home. Then King
Darius went into his bedchamber slept, but
awakened out of his sleep.
4 Then the three young men of the bodyguard,
who guarded the king, spoke one to another:
5 “Let every one of us state what one
thing is strongest. King Darius will give
he whose statement seems wiser than the
others great gifts and greathonors intoken
of victory.
6 He shall be clothed in purple, drink
from gold cups, sleep on a gold bed, and
have a chariot with bridles of gold, a fine
linen turban, and a chain around his neck.
7 He shall sit next to Darius because of
his wisdom, and shall be called cousin of
Darius.”
8 Then they each wrote his sentence,
sealed them, and laid them under King
Darius’ pillow,
9 and said, “When the king wakes up,
someone will give him the writing.
Whoever the king and the three princes
of Persia judge that his sentence is the wisest,
to him shall the victory be given, as it is
written.”
10 The first wrote, “Wine is the
strongest.”
11 The second wrote, “The king is
strongest.”
12 The third wrote, “Women are
strongest, but above all things Truth is the
victor.”
13 Now when the king woke up, they took
the writing and gave itto him, so he read it.
14 Sending out, he called all the princes
of Persia and of Media,the local governors,
the captains, the governors, and the chief
officers
15 and sat himself down in the royal seat
of judgment; and the writing was read
before them.
16 He said, “Call the young men, and they
shall explain their own sentences. So they
were called and came in.
17 They said to them, “Explain what you
have written.” Then the first, who had
spoken of the strength of wine, began
18 and said this: “O sirs, how exceedingly
strong wine is! It causes all men who drink
it to go astray.
19 It makes the mind of the king and of
the fatherless childtobe the same, likewise
of the bondman and of the freeman, of the
poor man and of the rich.
20 It also turns every thought into cheer
and mirth, so that a man remembers
neither sorrow nor debt.
21 It makes every heart rich, so that a
man remembers neither king nor local
governor. It makes people say things in
large amounts.
22 When they are in their cups, they
forget their love both to friends and kindred,
and before long draw their swords.
23 But when they awake from their
wine, they don’t remember what they
have done.
24 O sirs, isn’t wine the strongest, seeing
that it forces people to do this?” And when
he had said this, he stopped speaking.