1. Ezra 3

¹Ve Kral Darius, egemenliği altındaki tüm tebaaya, kendi ev halkının tamamına, Medya ve Pers ülkesinin tüm ileri gelenlerine büyük bir şölen verdi.

²Ayrıca Hindistan'dan Etiyopya'ya kadar uzanan yüz yirmi yedi satraplıktaki tüm satraplara, komutanlara ve yerel yöneticilere de şölen verdi.

³Yiyip içtiler ve doyduktan sonra dağıldılar; Kral Darius da kendi yatak odasına çekilip uyudu ve sonra uyandı.

⁴O zaman kralın bedenini korumakla görevli üç genç muhafız birbirlerine şöyle dediler:

⁵"Her birimiz üstün gelecek birer düşünce ortaya koyalım; kimin sözü diğerininkinden daha bilgece bulunursa, Kral Darius ona büyük armağanlar ve büyük zafer ödülleri verecektir.

⁶Erguvani giysiler kuşanacak, altın kaplardan içecek, altın üzerinde uyuyacak; altın gemli bir arabaya, ince ketenden bir başlığa ve boynuna takılacak bir gerdanlığa sahip olacaktır.

⁷Bilgeliğinden ötürü Darius'un ardından ikinci sırada oturacak ve Darius'un akrabası olarak adlandırılacaktır."

⁸Bunun üzerine her biri kendi düşüncesini yazıp mühürledi ve Kral Darius'un yastığının altına koyarak şöyle dediler:

⁹"Kral uyandığında bu yazıyı ona verecekler; kral ve Pers ülkesinin üç ileri geleni kimin sözünü daha bilgece bulursa, yazıldığı gibi zafer ona verilecektir."

¹⁰Birincisi şöyle yazdı: "Şarap en üstünüdür."

¹¹İkincisi şöyle yazdı: "Kral en üstünüdür."

¹²Üçüncüsü şöyle yazdı: "Kadınlar en üstünüdür, ama her şeyin üzerinde gerçek galip gelir."

¹³Kral uyandığında yazıyı alıp ona verdiler, o da okudu.

¹⁴Haber gönderip Pers ve Medya'nın tüm ileri gelenlerini, satrapları, komutanları, yerel yöneticileri ve yüksek görevlileri çağırdı; divan salonundaki tahtına oturdu ve yazı onların önünde okundu.

¹⁵Sonra, "Gençleri çağırın, kendi sözlerini açıklasınlar" dedi; böylece çağrıldılar ve içeri girdiler.

¹⁶Onlara, "Yazdıklarınız hakkında bize açıklama yapın" denildi.

¹⁷Şarabın gücü hakkında konuşan birincisi söze başlayıp şöyle dedi: "Ey insanlar, şarap nasıl da üstün gelir! Onu içen tüm insanların zihnini saptırır.

¹⁸Kralın ve yetimin zihnini bir eder; köle ile özgür insanın, yoksul ile zenginin zihnini de bir kılar.

¹⁹Her zihni şenliğe ve sevince dönüştürür; hiçbir acıyı ve hiçbir borcu hatırlatmaz.

²⁰Bütün yürekleri zenginleştirir; ne kralı ne de satrabı hatırlatır ve insana her şeyi talantlar üzerinden konuşturur.

²¹İçtiklerinde dostlarına ve kardeşlerine dostluk göstermeyi unuturlar ve çok geçmeden kılıçlarını çekerler.

²²Şarabın etkisinden ayıldıklarında ise ne yaptıklarını hatırlamazlar.

²³Ey insanlar, insanı böyle yapmaya zorlayan şarap en üstünü değil midir?" Böyle konuştuktan sonra sustu.

¹ΚΑΙ βασιλεὺς Δαρεῖος ἐποίησε δοχὴν μεγάλην πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτὸν καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς οἰκογενέσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς μεγιστᾶσι τῆς Μηδίας καὶ τῆς Περσίδος

²καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς σατράπαις καὶ στρατηγοῖς καὶ τοπάρχαις τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτόν, ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Ινδικῆς μέχρις Αἰθιοπίας ἐν ταῖς ἑκατὸν εἰκοσιεπτὰ σατραπείαις.

³καὶ ἐφάγοσαν καὶ ἐπίοσαν καὶ ἐμπλησθέντες ἀνέλυσαν. ὁ δὲ Δαρεῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνέλυσεν εἰς τὸν κοιτῶνα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἐκοιμήθη καὶ ἔξυπνος ἐγένετο.

⁴τότε οἱ τρεῖς νεανίσκοι οἱ σωματοφύλακες οἱ φυλάσσοντες τὸ σῶμα τοῦ βασιλέως εἶπαν ἕτερος πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον·

⁵εἴπωμεν ἕκαστος ἡμῶν ἕνα λόγον, ὃς ὑπερισχύσει· καὶ οὗ ἐὰν φανῇ τὸ ῥῆμα αὐτοῦ σοφώτερον τοῦ ἑτέρου, δώσει αὐτῷ Δαρεῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς δωρεὰς μεγάλας καὶ ἐπινίκια μεγάλα

⁶καὶ πορφύραν περιβαλέσθαι καὶ ἐν χρυσώμασι πίνειν καὶ ἐπὶ χρυσῷ καθεύδεν καὶ ἅρμα χρυσοχάλινον καὶ κίδαριν βυσσίνην καὶ μανιάκην περὶ τὸν τράχηλον,

⁷καὶ δεύτερος καθιεῖται Δαρείου διὰ τὴν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ συγγενὴς Δαρείου κληθήσεται.

⁸καὶ τότε γράψαντες ἕκαστος τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λόγον ἐσφραγίσαντο καὶ ἔθηκαν ὑπὸ τὸ προσκεφάλαιον Δαρείου τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ εἶπαν·

⁹ὅταν ἐγερθῇ ὁ βασιλεύς, δώσουσιν αὐτῷ τὸ γράμμα, καὶ ὃν ἂν κρίνῃ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ οἱ τρεῖς μεγιστᾶνες τῆς Περσίδος ὅτι οὗ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ σοφώτερος, αὐτῷ δοθήσεται τὸ νῖκος καθὼς γέγραπται.

¹⁰ὁ εἷς ἔγραψεν, ὑπερισχύει ὁ οἶνος.

¹¹ὁ ἕτερος ἔγραψεν, ὑπερισχύει ὁ βασιλεύς.

¹²ὁ τρίτος ἔγραψεν, ὑπερισχύουσιν αἱ γυναῖκες, ὑπὲρ δὲ πάντα νικᾷ ἡ ἀλήθεια.

¹³καὶ ὅτε ἐξηγέρθη ὁ βασιλεύς, λαβόντες τὸ γράμμα ἔδωκαν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀνέγνω.

¹⁴καὶ ἐξαποστείλας ἐκάλεσε πάντας τοὺς μεγιστᾶνας τῆς Περσίδος καὶ τῆς Μηδείας καὶ τοὺς σατράπας καὶ στρατηγοὺς καὶ τοπάρχας καὶ ὑπάτους καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐν τῷ χρηματιστηρίῳ, καὶ ἀνεγνώσθη τὸ γράμμα ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν.

¹⁵καὶ εἶπε· καλέσατε τοὺς νεανίσκους, καὶ αὐτοὶ δηλώσουσι τοὺς λόγους ἑαυτῶν· καὶ ἐκλήθησαν καὶ εἰσήλθοσαν.

¹⁶καὶ εἶπαν αὐτοῖς· ἀπαγγείλατε ἡμῖν περὶ τῶν γεγραμμένων.

¹⁷Καὶ ἤρξατο ὁ πρῶτος ὁ εἴπας περὶ τῆς ἰσχύος τοῦ οἴνου καὶ ἔφη οὕτως· ἄνδρες, πῶς ὑπερισχύει ὁ οἶνος; πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς πιόντας αὐτὸν πλανᾷ τὴν διάνοιαν·

¹⁸τοῦ τε βασιλέως καὶ τοῦ ὀρφανοῦ ποιεῖ τὴν διάνοιαν μίαν, τήν τε τοῦ οἰκέτου καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἐλευθέρου, τήν τε τοῦ πένητος καὶ τὴν τοῦ πλουσίου.

¹⁹καὶ πᾶσαν διάνοιαν μεταστρέφει εἰς εὐωχίαν καὶ εὐφροσύνην καὶ οὐ μέμνηται πᾶσαν λύπην καὶ πᾶν ὀφείλημα.

²⁰καὶ πάσας καρδίας ποιεῖ πλουσίας καὶ οὐ μέμνηται βασιλέα οὐδὲ σατράπην καὶ πάντα διὰ ταλάντων ποιεῖ λαλεῖν.

²¹καὶ οὐ μέμνηται, ὅταν πίνωσι, φιλιάζειν φίλοις καὶ ἀδελφοῖς, καὶ μετ᾿ οὐ πολὺ σπῶνται τὰς μαχαίρας·

²²καὶ ὅταν ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου ἐγερθῶσιν, οὐ μέμνηνται ἃ ἔπραξαν.

²³ὦ ἄνδρες, οὐχ ὑπερισχύει ὁ οἶνος, ὅτι οὕτως ἀναγκάζει ποιεῖν; καὶ ἐσίγησεν οὕτως εἴπας.

¹Now when Darius reigned, he made a great feast unto all his subjects, and unto all his household, and unto all the princes of Media and Persia,

²And to all the governors and captains and lieutenants that were under him, from India unto Ethiopia, of an hundred twenty and seven provinces.

³And when they had eaten and drunken, and being satisfied were gone home, then Darius the king went into his bedchamber, and slept, and soon after awaked.

⁴Then three young men, that were of the guard that kept the king’s body, spake one to another;

⁵Let every one of us speak a sentence: he that shall overcome, and whose sentence shall seem wiser than the others, unto him shall the king Darius give great gifts, and great things in token of victory:

⁶As, to be clothed in purple, to drink in gold, and to sleep upon gold, and a chariot with bridles of gold, and an headtire of fine linen, and a chain about his neck:

⁷And he shall sit next to Darius because of his wisdom, and shall be called Darius his cousin.

⁸And then every one wrote his sentence, sealed it, and laid it under king Darius his pillow;

⁹And said that, when the king is risen, some will give him the writings; and of whose side the king and the three princes of Persia shall judge that his sentence is the wisest, to him shall the victory be given, as was appointed.

¹⁰The first wrote, Wine is the strongest.

¹¹The second wrote, The king is strongest.

¹²The third wrote, Women are strongest: but above all things Truth beareth away the victory.

¹³Now when the king was risen up, they took their writings, and delivered them unto him, and so he read them:

¹⁴And sending forth he called all the princes of Persia and Media, and the governors, and the captains, and the lieutenants, and the chief officers; And sat him down in the royal seat of judgment; and the writings were read before them.

¹⁵And he said, Call the young men, and they shall declare their own sentences. So they were called, and came in.

¹⁶And he said unto them, Declare unto us your mind concerning the writings.

¹⁷Then began the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine; And he said thus, O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink it:

¹⁸It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich:

¹⁹It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt:

²⁰And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by talents:

²¹And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords:

²²But when they are from the wine, they remember not what they have done.

²³O ye men, is not wine the strongest, that enforceth to do thus? And when he had so spoken, he held his peace.