1. Now in the days of Ahasuerus, also called Xerxes, who reigned from India to Ethiopia, over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces,
2. in those days, the palace where King Ahasuerus sat on the royal throne of his kingdom was in Susa.
3. In the third year of his reign, he prepared a feast for all his officials and his servants. So the army commanders of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the officials of the provinces were before him.
4. He unveiled the riches of his glorious kingdom and the costly luxury of his greatness for many days, one hundred and eighty days.
5. When these days were completed, the king prepared a seven-day feast for all the people present, from the greatest to the least, in the citadel of Susa. This feast was in the courtyard garden of the king’s palace
6. where white and blue linen hangings were fastened with cords of white and purple linen to silver rings and columns of marble. The gold- and silver-plated couches were on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and other costly stones.