American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Now it came to pass in the days of {Or, Xerxes Hebrew: Ahashverosh.}Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces),
that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the {Or, castle}palace,
in the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him;
when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even a hundred and fourscore days.
And when these days were fulfilled, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
There were hangings of {Or, fine cloth, white and blue}white cloth, of {Or, cotton}green, and of blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement {Or, of porphyry, and white marble, and alabaster, and stone of blue color}of red, and white, and yellow, and black marble.
And they gave them drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance, according to the {Hebrew: hand.}bounty of the king.
And the drinking was according to the law; none could compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king wasmerry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven {Or, eunuchs (and so in verse 12 &c.)}chamberlains that ministered in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,
to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on.
But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by the chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times (for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment;
and the next unto him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom),
What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not done the bidding of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?
And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
For this deed of the queen will come abroad unto all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.
And this day will the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen {Or, tell it}say the like unto all the king's princes. So will there arise {Or, enough}much contempt and wrath.
If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, {Hebrew: that it pass not away.}that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate {Hebrew: unto her companion.}unto another that is better than she.
And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give to their husbands honor, both to great and small.
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
for he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and should speak according to the language of his people.
and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, {Isaiah 59:20 f.}There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer;He shall turn away {Greek: ungodlinesses.}ungodliness from Jacob:
And he said, {Or, Because there is a hand against the throne of Jehovah Hebrew: A hand is lifted up upon the throne of Jah.}Jehovah hath sworn: Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
That saith of {Hebrew: Coresh.}Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; {Or, and the foundation of the temple shall be laid}and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, {Or, all this shall stir up the realm}he shall stir up all against the realm of {Hebrew: Javan.}Greece.
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called {That is, My delight is in her}Hephzi-bah, and thy land {That is, Married}Beulah; for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them.
For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard;
God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by {Greek: distributions.}gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.
For not unto angels did he subject {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world to come, whereof we speak.
But one hath somewhere testified, saying, {Psalm 8:4 ff.}What is man, that thou art mindful of him?Or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Thou madest him {Or, for a little while lower}a little lower than the angels;Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, {Many authorities omit And didst…hands.}And didst set him over the works of thy hands:
Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet.For in that he subjected all things unto him, he left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him.
But we behold him who hath been made {Or, for a little while lower}a little lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, {Or, having brought}in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the {Or, captain}author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
saying, {Psalm 22:22}I will declare thy name unto my brethren,In the midst of the {Or, church}congregation will I sing thy praise.
And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, {Isaiah 8:17 f.}Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me.
Since then the children are sharers in {Greek: blood and flesh. Ephesians 6:12}flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he {Or, may}might bring to nought him that {Or, hath}had the power of death, that is, the devil;
and {Or, may}might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
{Greek: For verily not of angels doth he take hold, but he taketh hold of &c. Compare Isaiah 41:9; Ecclus 4:11; chapter 8, 9 (in the Greek).}For verily not to angels doth he give help, but he giveth help to the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
{Or, For having been himself tempted in that wherein he hath suffered}For {Or, wherein}in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
Now it came to pass in the days of {Or, Xerxes Hebrew: Ahashverosh.}Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces),
that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the {Or, castle}palace,
in the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him;
when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even a hundred and fourscore days.
And when these days were fulfilled, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace.
There were hangings of {Or, fine cloth, white and blue}white cloth, of {Or, cotton}green, and of blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement {Or, of porphyry, and white marble, and alabaster, and stone of blue color}of red, and white, and yellow, and black marble.
And they gave them drink in vessels of gold (the vessels being diverse one from another), and royal wine in abundance, according to the {Hebrew: hand.}bounty of the king.
And the drinking was according to the law; none could compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.
Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king wasmerry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven {Or, eunuchs (and so in verse 12 &c.)}chamberlains that ministered in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,
to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on.
But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by the chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times (for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment;
and the next unto him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom),
What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not done the bidding of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?
And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
For this deed of the queen will come abroad unto all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.
And this day will the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen {Or, tell it}say the like unto all the king's princes. So will there arise {Or, enough}much contempt and wrath.
If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, {Hebrew: that it pass not away.}that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate {Hebrew: unto her companion.}unto another that is better than she.
And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give to their husbands honor, both to great and small.
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
for he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and should speak according to the language of his people.
I say then, Did God cast off his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
God did not cast off his people which he foreknew. Or know ye not what the scripture {1 Kings 19:10}saith of {Or, in…Compare Mark 12:26}Elijah? how he pleadeth with God against Israel:
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
But what {1 Kings 19:18}saith the answer of God unto him? I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
But if it is by grace, it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
What then? That which Israel seeketh for, that he obtained not; but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened:
according as it is written, {Isaiah 29:10; Deuteronomy 29:4.}God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day.
And David saith, {Psalm 69:22 f.}Let their table be made a snare, and a trap,And a stumblingblock, and a recompense unto them:
Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see,And bow thou down their back always.
I say then, Did they stumble that they might fall? God forbid: but by their {Or, trespass Compare chapter 5:15 ff.}fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.
Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
But I speak to you that are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;
if by any means I may provoke to jealousy them that are my flesh, and may save some of them.
For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
And if the firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive, wast grafted in among them, and didst become partaker with them {Many ancient authorities read of the root and of the fatness.}of the root of the fatness of the olive tree;
glory not over the branches: but if thou gloriest, it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee.
Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee.
Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
For if thou wast cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and wast grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree; how much more shall these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;
and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, {Isaiah 59:20 f.}There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer;He shall turn away {Greek: ungodlinesses.}ungodliness from Jacob:
{Isaiah 27:9}And this is {Greek: the covenant from me.}my covenant unto them,When I shall take away their sins.
As touching the {See chapter 10:15, 16 and marginal note on chapter 1:1}gospel, they are enemies for your sake: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sake.
For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of.
For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,
even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy.
For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.
O the depth {Or, of the riches and the wisdom & c.}of the riches {Or, both of wisdom & c.}both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory {Greek: unto the ages.}for ever. Amen.