Esther 1:1

King James Version (KJV)

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

Translations

Esther 1:1 - Amplified Bible

IT WAS in the days of Ahasuerus [Xerxes], the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces.

Esther 1:1 - American Standard Version

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces),

Esther 1:1 - Bible in Basic English

Now it came about in the days of Ahasuerus, (that Ahasuerus who was ruler of a hundred and twenty-seven divisions of the kingdom, from India as far as Ethiopia:)

Esther 1:1 - Darby Bible

And it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (that is, the Ahasuerus that reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces),

Esther 1:1 - English Standard Version

Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces,

Esther 1:1 - King James Version

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

Esther 1:1 - La Biblia de las Americas

Aconteciò en los dìas de Asuero (O, Jerjes; heb., Ajashverosh), el rey Asuero que reinò desde la India hasta Etiopìa (Heb., Cush) sobre ciento veintisiete provincias,

Esther 1:1 - The Message

This is the story of something that happened in the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled from India to Ethiopia—127 provinces in all. King Xerxes ruled from his royal throne in the palace complex of Susa. In the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his officials and ministers. The military brass of Persia and Media were also there, along with the princes and governors of the provinces.

Esther 1:1 - New American Standard Bible

Now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces,

Esther 1:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy

Eran los dìas de Asuero (Jerjes), el rey Asuero que reinò desde la India hasta Etiopìa sobre 127 provincias.

Esther 1:1 - World English Bible

Now it happened in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over one hundred twenty-seven provinces),

Esther 1:1 - Young's Living Translation

And it cometh to pass, in the days of Ahasuerus -- he [is] Ahasuerus who is reigning from Hodu even unto Cush, seven and twenty and a hundred provinces --

Esther 1:1 - Additional Comments

This is a book that we can relate to today; it shows how God intercedes for us with out what we see as supernatural miracles. Even though God's name never appears in the book, His fingerprints are on every page. This is typically how God works today - He works circumstances to accomplish His purpose in our lives.
The Jews returned from Babylon to Jerusalem 536 BC.
The Temple was Rebuilt 536-516 BC.
Esther became Queen of Persia 478 BC.
Esther saved the Jews from massacre 473 BC.
Nehemiah rebuilt the Wall of Jerusalem 444 BC.
So, Esther appeared about 40 years after the Temple was rebuilt, and about 30 years before the Wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt.
The king named in the Book of Esther ruled over the kingdoms of Persia, Media, and Babylonia, "from India to Ethiopia." This was in all probability the Xerxes of secular history, who succeeded his father Darius (B.C. 485). In the LXX version (the Septuagint, the Greek translation, translated between 300-200 BC) of the Book of Esther the name Artaxerxes occurs for Ahasuerus. He reigned for twenty-one years (B.C. 486-465). He invaded Greece with an army, it is said, of more than 2,000,000 soldiers, only 5,000 of whom returned with him. Leonidas, with his famous 300, arrested his progress at the Pass of Thermopylae, and then he was defeated disastrously by Themistocles at Salamis. It was after his return from this invasion that Esther was chosen as his queen.
The Greek historian Herodotus describes this king as a cruel, capricious, sensual man. We see that image over and over in this book.

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