Esther 1:13

¹¹ To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.

¹² But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.

Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment:

¹⁴ And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;)

¹⁵ What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Then the king consulted the wise men who knew the times, for it was customary for him to confer with the experts in law and justice.
KJV: Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment:
WEB: Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times (for it was the king’s custom to consult those who knew law and judgment;
ASV: Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, (for so was the king`s manner toward all that knew law and judgment;
DARBY: And the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king's business [conducted] before all that knew law and judgment;
BLB: And the king said to the wise men knowing the times—for thus was the manner of the king before the face of all those knowing law and judgment,

ÅB: Og kongen sa til vismennene, som forsto seg på tidene - slik ble kongens saker fremlagt for alle som forsto seg på lov og rett,
OTB: Da rådførte kongen seg med de vise menn som forsto tidene, for det var kongens skikk å tale foran alle som kjente lov og rett,
B1930: Og kongen sa til vismennene, som forstod sig på tidene - således blev kongens saker fremlagt for alle som forstod sig på lov og rett,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

1 Chronicles 12:32
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.
Read in context
Daniel 2:2
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
Read in context
Jeremiah 10:7
Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
Read in context
Matthew 16:3
And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Read in context
Daniel 2:12
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
Read in context
Daniel 5:7
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Read in context
Matthew 2:1
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Read in context
Daniel 2:27
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
Read in context