Section 1:10–22
Queen Vashti disobeyed the king and he removed her from her position as queen
Towards the end of the feast, when he had drunk too much wine, the king sent a message, ordering the queen to come to him so that he could show off her beauty to his guests. But she probably did not wish to be seen by a crowd of drunken, leering men, and so she refused. The king was very angry about the queen’s disobedience and asked his advisors what the law said about how she should be punished. The advisors said that the king should divorce the queen, in order to show all wives in the empire that they must obey their husbands. The king was pleased with this advice and issued a decree to inform everyone about it.
Paragraph 1:10–12
1:10a
the king’s heart was merry with wine: Literally, “the heart of the king was good with wine.” By the last day of the feast, the king had drunk a lot of wine. If you have alcoholic drinks in your area, you probably have an expression to describe a person who has drunk enough wine to make him think he is very happy. You should use that expression here.
1:10b
eunuchs: Many of the king’s servants were eunuchs, that is, men who had been castrated and therefore could no longer have sexual relations with a women. In ancient times a king would use such men to protect his wives because they would not try to have sexual relations with the women. If a literal translation would shock your readers or be too difficult to translate, then use a word for an important servant, and explain the meaning of “eunuch” in a footnote or in the glossary.
who served him: Literally “who served the face of the king.” This probably refers to the king’s personal servants, who were responsible for looking after him.
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