Section 1:1–9
King Xerxes gave a big feast
This section describes the setting for the story. It begins with a description of the Persian Empire and the feast which King Xerxes held in the third year of his reign to show his people how rich he was.
Paragraph 1:1–2
1:1a
This is what happened: In Hebrew, the story begins with a word which many versions do not translate at all (see 1:1 in Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). If you have a special way in your language to indicate the beginning of a story, you should use it here.
Xerxes: Xerxes was the king of the Persian Empire from 485–464 BC. Xerxes was his name in Greek. In the Hebrew text, his name is given as Ahasuerus and a number of English versions use this form (King James Version, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Revised Standard Version). You should follow the English version most commonly used in your area.
1:1b
provinces: The Persian Empire was so large that it was divided into 127 districts, called provinces in the Berean Standard Bible. The king appointed officials in each province so that the whole empire could be governed well.
1:1c
India: This was the same area as present day India and was the part of the Persian Empire furthest to the east.
Cush: This referred to the upper Nile region which today is known as Ethiopia. It was the part of the Persian Empire furthest to the west.
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