11 And it cometh to pass, in the days of Ahasuerus—he 'is' Ahasuerus who is reigning from Hodu even unto Cush, seven and twenty and a hundred provinces— 2 in those days, at the sitting of the king Ahasuerus on the throne of his kingdom, that 'is' in Shushan the palace, 3 in the third year of his reign, he hath made a banquet to all his heads and his servants; of the force of Persia and Media, the chiefs and heads of the provinces 'are' before him, 4 in his shewing the wealth of the honour of his kingdom, and the glory of the beauty of his greatness, many days—eighty and a hundred days. 5 And at the fulness of these days hath the king made to all the people who are found in Shushan the palace, from great even unto small, a banquet, seven days, in the court of the garden of the house of the king— 6 white linen, white cotton, and blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on rings of silver, and pillars of marble, couches of gold, and of silver, on a pavement of smaragdus, and white marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black marble— 7 and the giving of drink in vessels of gold, and the vessels 'are' divers vessels, and the royal wine 'is' abundant, as a memorial of the king. 8 And the drinking 'is' according to law, none is pressing, for so hath the king appointed for every chief one of his house, to do according to the pleasure of man and man. 9 Also Vashti the queen hath made a banquet for women, in the royal house that the king Ahasuerus hath.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Esther 1:1-9
Commentary on Esther 1:1-9
(Read Esther 1:1-9)
The pride of Ahasuerus's heart rising with the grandeur of his kingdom, he made an extravagant feast. This was vain glory. Better is a dinner of herbs with quietness, than this banquet of wine, with all the noise and tumult that must have attended it. But except grace prevails in the heart, self-exaltation and self-indulgence, in one form or another, will be the ruling principle. Yet none did compel; so that if any drank to excess, it was their own fault. This caution of a heathen prince, even when he would show his generosity, may shame many called Christians, who, under pretence of sending the health round, send sin round, and death with it. There is a woe to them that do so; let them read it, and tremble, Habakkuk 2:15,16.