1 Esdras 3

Revised Standard Version

The Debate of the Three Bodyguards

3 Now King Darius gave a great banquet for all that were under him and all that were born in his house and all the nobles of Media and Persia ² and all the satraps and generals and governors that were under him in the hundred and twenty-seven satrapies from India to Ethiopia. ³ They ate and drank, and when they were satisfied they departed; and Darius the king went to his bedroom, and went to sleep, and then awoke.

⁴ Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept guard over the person of the king, said to one another, ⁵ “Let each of us state what one thing is strongest; and to him whose statement seems wisest, Darius the king will give rich gifts and great honors of victory. ⁶ He shall be clothed in purple, and drink from gold cups, and sleep on a gold bed, and have a chariot with gold bridles, and a turban of fine linen, and a necklace about his neck; ⁷ and because of his wisdom he shall sit next to Darius and shall be called kinsman of Darius.”

⁸ Then each wrote his own statement, and they sealed them and put them under the pillow of Darius the king, ⁹ and said, “When the king wakes, they will give him the writing; and to the one whose statement the king and the three nobles of Persia judge to be wisest the victory shall be given according to what is written.” ¹⁰ The first wrote, “Wine is strongest.” ¹¹ The second wrote, “The king is strongest.” ¹² The third wrote, “Women are strongest, but truth is victor over all things.”

¹³ When the king awoke, they took the writing and gave it to him, and he read it. ¹⁴ Then he sent and summoned all the nobles of Persia and Media and the satraps and generals and governors and prefects, ¹⁵ and he took his seat in the council chamber, and the writing was read in their presence. ¹⁶ And he said, “Call the young men, and they shall explain their statements.” So they were summoned, and came in. ¹⁷ And they said to them, “Explain to us what you have written.”

The Speech about Wine

Then the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, began and said: ¹⁸ “Gentlemen, how is wine the strongest? It leads astray the minds of all who drink it. ¹⁹ It makes equal the mind of the king and the orphan, of the slave and the free, of the poor and the rich. ²⁰ It turns every thought to feasting and mirth, and forgets all sorrow and debt. ²¹ It makes all hearts feel rich, forgets kings and satraps, and makes every one talk in millions.^{[a] 22} When men drink they forget to be friendly with friends and brothers, and before long they draw their swords. ²³ And when they recover from the wine, they do not remember what they have done. ²⁴ Gentlemen, is not wine the strongest, since it forces men to do these things?” When he had said this, he stopped speaking.