8. There were no limits on the drinks; the king had given orders to the palace servants that everyone could have as much as he wanted.
9. Meanwhile, inside the royal palace Queen Vashti was giving a banquet for the women.
10. On the seventh day of his banquet the king was drinking and feeling merry, so he called in the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas.
11. He ordered them to bring in Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown. The queen was a beautiful woman, and the king wanted to show off her beauty to the officials and all his guests.
12. But when the servants told Queen Vashti of the king's command, she refused to come. This made the king furious.
13. Now it was the king's custom to ask for expert opinion on questions of law and order, so he called for his advisers, who would know what should be done.
14. Those he most often turned to for advice were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan — seven officials of Persia and Media who held the highest offices in the kingdom.