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Es 1:1-22.
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英文原文
Es 1:1-22.
AHASUERUS MAKES ROYAL FEASTS.
1. Ahasuerus--It is now generally agreed among learned men that the Ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the Xerxes who figures in Grecian history.
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繁體中文
3. 為他的領袖和臣僕設擺筵席——如此盛大、且延續如此長久的筵席，古代與近代東方國家的奢華君王屢有舉辦。然而這一節慶時期的前一段似乎專供娛樂，尤其用來展示朝廷的宏偉與珍藏；其末了則在王宮的御園之內設一次特別筵席，連續七日。古時的書珊宮近年已從壓在它上面的厚土與廢墟中被發掘出來；那座宮殿無疑就是本段所指的實際建築，其中有一座由大理石柱構成的大廳。「這座大柱廊的位置，與這裡所描述的相符。它矗立於土丘中央的高處，至於土丘的其餘部分，我們可以想像是按波斯的風俗布滿花園與噴泉。這樣，柱廊便代表了『王宮御園的院子』，其中有『大理石柱』。我甚至傾向於認為，『書珊城堡』（Shushan the palace）一語，特別是指現有遺址中的這一部分，以別於書珊的衛城與書珊城」[LOFTUS，《迦勒底與蘇西亞納》]。
英文原文
3. made a feast unto all his princes and his servants--Banquets on so grand a scale, and extending over so great a period, have been frequently provided by the luxurious monarchs of Eastern countries, both in ancient and modern times. The early portion of this festive season, however, seems to have been dedicated to amusement, particularly an exhibition of the magnificence and treasures of the court, and it was closed by a special feast of seven days' continuance, given within the gardens of the royal palace. The ancient palace of Susa has been recently disinterred from an incumbent mass of earth and ruins; and in that palace, which is, beyond all doubt, the actual edifice referred to in this passage, there is a great hall of marble pillars. "The position of the great colonnade corresponds with the account here given. It stands on an elevation in the center of the mound, the remainder of which we may well imagine to have been occupied, after the Persian fashion, with a garden and fountains. Thus the colonnade would represent the 'court of the garden of the king's palace' with its 'pillars of marble.' I am even inclined to believe the expression, 'Shushan the palace,' applies especially to this portion of the existing ruins, in contradistinction to the citadel and the city of Shushan" [LOFTUS, Chaldaea and Susiana].
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6. 有白色、綠色、藍色的帳子，等等——在富貴人家，逢喜慶之時，風俗上是從牆壁中間往下，用懸掛於鉤上的、五彩繽紛的錦緞或絨帷來裝飾房間，並可隨意取下。
床是用金、銀作的——即按東方風俗，賓客所斜倚的臥榻；這些臥榻或完全用金銀造成，或鑲嵌以這些貴重金屬的飾物，置於用彩色的各樣大理石所鋪的高地上。
英文原文
6. Where were white, green, and blue hangings, &c.--The fashion, in the houses of the great, on festive occasions, was to decorate the chambers from the middle of the wall downward with damask or velvet hangings of variegated colors suspended on hooks, or taken down at pleasure.
the beds were of gold and silver--that is, the couches on which, according to Oriental fashion, the guests reclined, and which were either formed entirely of gold and silver or inlaid with ornaments of those costly metals, stood on an elevated floor of parti-colored marble.
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7. 用金器皿賜酒——我們有理由相信，從本段記載，以及
斯 5:6; 7:2, 7, 8
中飲酒在描述中占了最顯著的位置來看，這更像是一場酒宴，而非盛宴。
英文原文
7. they gave them drink in vessels of gold--There is reason to believe from this account, as well as from
Es 5:6; 7:2, 7, 8,
where the drinking of wine occupies by far the most prominent place in the description, that this was a banquet rather than a feast.
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9. 王后瓦實提在亞哈隨魯王的宮內，也為婦女設擺筵席——慶祝是雙重的；因為按東方風俗，男女並不在社交中混雜，朝廷命婦便由王后另在一處接待。
英文原文
9. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women--The celebration was double; for, as according to the Oriental fashion, the sexes do not intermingle in society, the court ladies were entertained in a separate apartment by the queen.
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10-12. 第七日，王飲酒心中快樂——隨著節日的推進，飲酒越發放縱，因此筵席的尾聲通常以狂歡縱慾為標記。
他吩咐……七個太監——這些是掌管後宮的太監。瓦實提拒絕順服那要她在一群醉漢狂歡者面前有失端莊地顯露自己的命令，既合乎她女性的端莊，也合乎她為王后的身分；因為按波斯風俗，王后比別人的妻子更加深居簡出，遠離眾人的注視。若不是王的血因酒而發熱，或他的理智被受傷的驕傲所壓倒，他本應看出，她這端莊的舉動既維護了她自己的尊榮，也維護了他自己的尊榮。
英文原文
10-12. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine--As the feast days advanced, the drinking was more freely indulged in, so that the close was usually marked by great excesses of revelry.
he commanded . . . the seven chamberlains--These were the eunuchs who had charge of the royal harem. The refusal of Vashti to obey an order which required her to make an indecent exposure of herself before a company of drunken revellers, was becoming both the modesty of her sex and her rank as queen; for, according to Persian customs, the queen, even more than the wives of other men, was secluded from the public gaze. Had not the king's blood been heated with wine, or his reason overpowered by force of offended pride, he would have perceived that his own honor, as well as hers, was consulted by her dignified conduct.
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13-19. 王對智慧人說——這些人大概就是瑪代波斯的術士（magi），波斯王若不先諮詢他們關於行事的吉時，便從不採取任何步驟；而
斯 1:14
所記的那些人，就是組成國家內閣的「七位謀臣」（參較
拉 7:14）。
看來他們所有人的智慧都被動員起來，與王商議在瓦實提違抗王命這一前所未有的事件之後當採取什麼行動。在一個王意絕對的國度與朝廷中，這樣一次拒絕所引起的震驚，我們幾乎難以想像。聚集的眾貴胄對這一膽大妄為的冒犯驚駭萬分。他們隨即又為可能臨到各人家中的後果而憂慮；狂歡縱飲之聲頓時止息，轉為深刻而焦急的商議：當對這桀驁不馴的王后施以何種懲罰。然而奉承王、並使所有婦女受轄制這一目的，卻要藉此達成。眾謀臣或因醉酒，或因諂媚，不敢反對；大家一致採納了米母干那帶有朝廷氣味的建議，宣稱出於對國家公共利益的明智考量，對瓦實提的懲罰不能輕於褫奪她的王后尊位。判決於是宣布，並傳遍帝國各地。
英文原文
13-19. Then the king said to the wise men--These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in
Es 1:14
were the "seven counsellors" (compare
Ezr 7:14)
who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be taken after so unprecedented an occurrence as Vashti's disobedience of the royal summons. It is scarcely possible for us to imagine the astonishment produced by such a refusal in a country and a court where the will of the sovereign was absolute. The assembled grandees were petrified with horror at the daring affront. Alarm for the consequences that might ensue to each of them in his own household next seized on their minds; and the sounds of bacchanalian revelry were hushed into deep and anxious consultation what punishment to inflict on the refractory queen. But a purpose was to be served by the flattery of the king and the enslavement of all women. The counsellors were too intoxicated or obsequious to oppose the courtly advice of Memucan was unanimously resolved, with a wise regard to the public interests of the nation, that the punishment of Vashti could be nothing short of degradation from her royal dignity. The doom was accordingly pronounced and made known in all parts of the empire.
斯 1:1-22。
亞哈隨魯王設擺王筵。
1. 亞哈隨魯——如今學者們普遍同意，本段所提及的亞哈隨魯，就是希臘歷史中所載的薛西斯（Xerxes）。