3rd Ezra 3

CHAPTER 3

¹King Darius made a great supper to all his servants, and to all the master judges of Media and Persia,

²and to all that weared purple, and to governors, and to counsellors, and to prefects under him, from India unto Ethiopia, to an hundred and seven and twenty provinces.

³And when they had eaten and drunken, and were fulfilled, they turned again. Then king Darius went up in his little bed-place, and slept, and was awakened.

⁴Then those three young men, keepers of the body, the which [or that] kept the body of the king, said one to another,

⁵Say we each of us a word, that before pass in knowing ; and whose ever word seem wiser than of another [or of the tother] , king Darius shall give to him great gifts,

⁶and to be covered with purple, and to drink in gold, and to sleep upon gold; and he shall give him a golden chariot, with the bridle, and a mitre of bis, and a bie about the neck;

⁷and he shall sit in the second place from Darius, for his wisdom; and he shall be called Darius’ cousin.

⁸Then each of them three writing his word, sealed, and put those under the pillow of king Darius;

⁹and said, When the king hath risen, they will take [or shall give] to him their things written, and whatever thing the king shall deem of three, and the master judges of Persia, forsooth the word of him is wiser than of the others , to him shall be given the victory, as it is written.

¹⁰One wrote, Wine is strong.

¹¹Another wrote, The king is stronger.

¹²The third wrote, Women be strongest; truth overcometh forsooth over all things.

¹³And when the king had risen up, they took their things written [or their written things] , and gave those to him, and he read.

¹⁴And he sent and called all the master judges of Persia, and of the land Media, and the clothed men in purple, and the rulers of provinces, and prefects;

¹⁵and they set in council, and the writings were read before them.

¹⁶And the king said, Calleth the young men, and they shall show their words. And they were called, and they came in.

¹⁷And Darius said to them, Show ye to us of these things that be written. And the first, that had said of the strength of wine, he began,

¹⁸and said to them, Men! full sur-passingly strong is wine; to all men that drink it, it beareth down the mind;

¹⁹also it maketh the mind vain, both of king and of the fatherless child; also of servant and of free men, of poor and of rich;

²⁰and it turneth all the mind into secureness, and [in] to gladness; and it remembereth not any sorrow and debt;

²¹and it maketh all the entrails honest or feel rich ; and it remembereth not king, nor master judge; and all things it maketh speak by talents;

²²and when they have drunken, they remember not friendship nor brotherhood, and not long after they take swords;

²³and when they have been drenched of wine, and rise, they have no mind what things they did.

²⁴O men! whether wine is not surpassingly strong, that thus constrain-eth men to do? And this thing said, he held his peace.