1 Esdras 4

1And King Darius made a great banquet for all who were under him, and for all his household, and for all the nobles of Media and Persia,

2and to all the satraps and generals and local rulers under him, from India to Ethiopia, throughout the one hundred twenty-seven satrapies.

3And they ate and drank, and when they were filled they departed. But Darius the king went into his bedchamber and slept, and then awoke.

4Then the three young men, the bodyguards who were guarding the king’s person, said to one another,

5Let each of us speak one word that will prevail; and whoever’s statement appears wiser than the other’s, Darius the king will give him great gifts and great honors of victory,

6and to put on purple, and to drink from gold vessels, and to sleep on gold, and a chariot with gold bridles, and a turban of fine linen, and a necklace around the neck,

7And the second will sit beside Darius because of his wisdom, and he will be called a kinsman of Darius.

8And then, after each had written his own statement, they sealed them and placed them under the pillow of Darius the king,

9And they said, “When the king rises, they will give him the writing; and whoever the king and the three nobles of Persia judge that his argument is wiser, to him the victory will be given, as it is written.”

10One wrote, “Wine is stronger.”

11The other wrote, “The king prevails.”

12The third wrote, “Women are stronger, but above all things truth is victorious.”

13And when the king awoke, they took the letter and gave it to him, and he read it.

14And he sent out and summoned all the nobles of Persia and Media, and the satraps and generals and local rulers and governors,

15And he sat in the council chamber, and the letter was read before them. And he said, “Call the young men, and they will explain their words.” And they were called, and they entered.

16And they said to them, “Report to us about what has been written.” And the first, the one who had spoken about the strength of wine, began and said thus:

17Men, how greatly wine prevails! It leads astray the mind of all the men who drink it,

18It makes the mind of the king and of the orphan one, and that of the servant and that of the free, and that of the poor and that of the rich.

19and it turns every mind to feasting and gladness, and one remembers no sorrow and no debt.

20And it makes all hearts rich, and it remembers neither king nor satrap; and it makes everything speak in terms of talents.

21and they do not remember, while they are drinking, to show affection to friends and brothers, and before long they draw swords.

22And when they rise from the wine, they do not remember what they did.

23Men, does not wine prevail, since it compels one to act thus? And he fell silent after speaking in this way.

24And the second, who had spoken about the king’s strength, began to speak: “Men, do not men prevail, ruling over the land and the sea and everything in them?”

25But the king prevails over them and rules over them, and is master over them, and whatever he says to them, they obey.

26And many were driven out of their own minds because of women, and became servants because of them;

27And many were destroyed and were led astray and sinned because of women.

28And now, do you not believe me? Is not the king great in his authority? Do not all the lands fear to touch him?

29They were watching him, and Apame, the daughter of the admirable Bartacus, the king’s concubine, sitting at the king’s right hand,

30and taking the crown from the king’s head and putting it on herself; and she struck the king with her left hand.

31And besides this, the king stared at her with his mouth open; and if she laughs at him, he laughs; but if she is offended with him, he flatters her so that she may be reconciled to him.

32O men, how are women not strong, since they act in this way?

33Then the king and the nobles looked at one another, and he began to speak about the truth.

34Men, are not women strong? Great is the earth, and high is heaven, and swift in its course is the sun, because it turns in the circle of heaven and again runs back to its own place in one day.

35Is not the one who does these things great? And truth is great, and stronger than everything.

36All the earth calls truth blessed, and heaven blesses her; and all works shake and tremble, and with her there is nothing unjust.

37Wine is unjust, the king is unjust, women are unjust, and all the sons of men and all their works are unjust—all such things. And there is no truth in them, and in their injustice they will perish.

38And the truth remains and is strong forever, and lives and prevails forever and ever.

39and with her there is no partiality or favoritism, but she does what is just rather than all that is unjust and wicked; and all approve of her works,

40And in her judgment there is nothing unjust. And hers is the strength and the kingdom and the authority and the majesty of all the ages. Blessed be the God of truth.

41And he stopped speaking; and then all the people cried out, and then they said, “Great is the truth, and it prevails.”

42Then the king said to him, “Ask for whatever more you want beyond what has been written, and we will give it to you, because you have been found wiser; and you shall sit beside me, and you shall be called my kinsman.”

43Then he said to the king, “Remember the vow that you vowed to rebuild Jerusalem on the day when you received your kingdom,”

44and all the vessels taken from Jerusalem are to be sent back, which Cyrus set apart when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and vowed to send there.

45and you vowed to rebuild the temple which the Judeans burned when Judea was laid waste by the Chaldeans.

46And now this is what I ask, lord king, and what I request from you, and this is the greatness that comes from you: therefore I beg that you fulfill the vow which I vowed to the King of heaven to accomplish by your mouth.

47Then King Darius stood up and kissed him, and wrote letters for him to all the stewards and regional governors and generals and satraps, that they should escort him and all those with him who were going up to build Jerusalem.

48And he wrote letters to all the governors in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia and to those in Lebanon, to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem, so that they might build the city with him.

49And he wrote to all the Jews who were going up from the kingdom to Judea concerning freedom, that no official or satrap or toparch or steward should come to their doors,

50and that all the land that they hold should be tax-free for them; and that the Chaldeans should leave the villages of the Jews that they occupy;

51and for the building of the temple, that twenty talents be given each year until it is built.

52and on the altar they should offer burnt offerings every day, as they have the command to offer seventeen, and another ten talents yearly.

53And for all who go up from Babylonia to build the city, there shall be freedom for them and for their children, and for all the priests who go up.

54He also wrote concerning the provision and the priestly robe, in which they minister in it.

55And he wrote that support should be given to the Levites until the day when the house would be completed and Jerusalem built.

56And to all who guarded the city, he wrote that allotments and wages should be given to them.

57And he sent back all the vessels that Cyrus had set apart from Babylon; and everything that Cyrus had said to do, he himself also ordered to be done and sent to Jerusalem.

58And when the young man went out, lifting up his face toward heaven, in the direction of Jerusalem, he blessed the King of heaven,

59saying, “From you are victory, and from you is wisdom, and yours is the glory, and I am your servant.”

60Blessed are you, who have given me wisdom; and to you I give thanks, Master of the fathers.

61And he took the letters and went out to Babylon, and reported to all his brothers.

62And they blessed the God of their fathers, because he had given them relief and release.

63to go up and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple on which his name was called; and they celebrated with music and joy for seven days.

64Then the king said to him, “Ask for whatever you want beyond what has been written, and we will give it to you, since you have been found wiser; and you shall sit next to me, and you shall be called my kinsman.”

65Then he said to the king, “Remember the vow that I made to rebuild Jerusalem on the day when you received your kingdom,”

66and all the vessels taken from Jerusalem are to be sent back there—those that Cyrus set apart when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and vowed to send there.

67and you vowed to rebuild the temple which the Judeans burned when Judea was laid waste by the Chaldeans.

68And now this is what I ask, O lord king, and what I request from you, and this is the greatness that comes from you: therefore I beg that you do the vow which I vowed to the King of heaven that it should be done by your mouth.

69Then King Darius stood up and kissed him, and he wrote letters for him to all the stewards and local rulers and generals and satraps, that they should send him on his way, along with all those with him who were going up to rebuild Jerusalem.

70And he wrote letters to all the local rulers in Coele-Syria and Phoenicia and to those in Lebanon, to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem, so that they might build the city with him.

71And he wrote to all the Jews who were going up from the kingdom to Judea concerning their freedom, that no official, satrap, governor, or steward should come against their doors,

72and that all the land they possess should be tax-free for them; and that the Chaldeans should leave the villages of the Jews that they hold.

73and for the building of the temple, that twenty talents be given each year until it is built;

74and on the altar to offer burnt offerings daily, as they have been commanded, to offer seventeen, and another ten talents yearly;

75And to all who go up from Babylonia to build the city, freedom is to belong to them and to their children, and to all the priests who go up.

76He also wrote out the provision and the priestly robe—specifying in what they are to minister in it.

77And he wrote that support should be given to the Levites until the day when the house is completed and Jerusalem is built.

78And to all who guarded the city, he wrote to give them allotments and wages.

79And he sent back all the vessels that Cyrus had set apart from Babylon; and everything that Cyrus had said should be done, he himself also ordered to be done and to be sent to Jerusalem.

80And when the young man went out, lifting up his face toward heaven, facing Jerusalem, he blessed the King of heaven, saying,

81From you are victory and wisdom, and yours is the glory, and I am your servant.

82Blessed are you, who have given me wisdom; and to you I give thanks, Master of the fathers.

83And he took the letters and went out to Babylon and reported to all his brothers.

84and they blessed the God of their fathers, because he had given them relief and release.

85to go up and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple on which his name had been called; and they celebrated with music and joy for seven days.