Queen Vashti Deposed

1 This is what happened during the time of Xerxes,^[a](A) the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces^(B) stretching from India to Cush^[b]:^(C)

³ and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet^(A) for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present.

⁵ When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days,^(A) in the enclosed garden^(B) of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa.

³⁰ And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces^(A) of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance—