5 When the days of the wedding feast were over, the king held a six-day wine festival for everyone who remained in the city. They all met in the walled garden of the royal palace.
6 White linen and cotton curtains hung from shining white and red-purple ropes tied to gold and silver rings and marble posts. Gold and silver couches sat on a mosaic floor made of emerald, marble, and mother-of-pearl.
7 The cups were made of gold and silver. There was a miniature cup made of ruby, worth 1,710,000 pounds of silver. The king made sure there was plenty of the best wine, which he himself also drank.
8 The wine festival had no established rules, so the king ordered everyone serving wine in the palace to offer as much as each guest wanted.
9 At the same time, Queen Vashti also held a wine festival of her own for women in King Artaxerxes’ palace.
10 On the seventh day, when wine had put the king in high spirits, the king gave an order to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbonah, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkass, the seven eunuchs who served King Artaxerxes personally.
11 They were to bring Queen Vashti before him so that he could introduce her as queen and place the royal crown upon her head. She was gorgeous, and he wanted to show off her beauty to his important guests and to the general public.