2 in those days as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa , 3 in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his princes and attendants , the army officers of Persia and Media , the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence . 4 [1]And he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days , 180 e days . 5 When these days were completed , the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa , from the greatest to the least , in the court of the garden of the king's palace .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Esther 1:2-5
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.