1 Esdras 3

1 And Darius the king made a great banquet for all who were under him, and for all those born in his household, and for all the nobles of Media and Persia, [a] 2 and for all the satraps and generals and local rulers under him, from India as far as Ethiopia, in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces. [b] 3 And they ate and drank, and when they had had their fill they withdrew; and Darius the king withdrew to his bedroom, and he slept, and then he woke.

4 Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept watch over the king’s body, said to one another, 5 “Let each of us say one word, whichever will prevail; and the man whose saying is found wiser than the other’s — to him Darius the king will give great gifts and great prizes for the victory: 6 to be clothed in purple, and to drink from vessels of gold, and to sleep on gold, and a chariot with gold-mounted bridles, and a turban of fine linen, and a chain around his neck; 7 and he will sit second to Darius because of his wisdom, and he will be called the kinsman of Darius.”

8 And then each of them wrote his own word, and they sealed it, and they laid it under the pillow of Darius the king, and they said, 9 “When the king rises, they will give him the writing; and whichever man the king and the three nobles of Persia judge to have the wiser word — to him the victory will be given, as it stands written.”

10 One wrote, “Wine prevails.” 11 Another wrote, “The king prevails.” 12 The third wrote, “Women prevail, but above all things truth wins the victory.”

13 And when the king was awakened, they took the writing and gave it to him, and he read it. 14 And he sent and called all the nobles of Persia and Media, and the satraps and generals and local rulers and the highest officers, and he took his seat in the council chamber, and the writing was read out in front of them. [c] 15 And he said, “Call the young men, and they themselves will make their own words plain.” And they were called, and they came in. 16 And they said to them, “Report to us about what is written.” [d]

17 And the first, who had spoken about the strength of wine, began, and he said this: 18 “Men, how does wine prevail? It leads astray the mind of everyone who drinks it. 19 It makes the mind of the king and the mind of the fatherless one and the same, and the mind of the servant and of the free man, and of the poor man and of the rich. 20 And it turns every mind to feasting and gladness, and it remembers no sorrow and no debt. [e] 21 And it makes all hearts rich, and it remembers neither king nor satrap, and it makes a man talk of everything in seventy-five-pound weights. [f] 22 And while they are drinking it does not remember to show friendship to friends and brothers, and not long afterward they draw their swords; 23 and when they have come away from the wine, they do not remember what they did. 24 Men, does wine not prevail, since it forces people to act like this?” And when he had spoken so, he fell silent.