3 ⁴ Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept guard over the person of the king, said to one another, 3 ⁵ "Let each of us state what one thing is strongest; and to him whose statement seems wisest, Darius the king will give rich gifts and great honors of victory. 3 ⁶ He shall be clothed in purple, and drink from gold cups, and sleep on a gold bed, and have a chariot with gold bridles, and a turban of fine linen, and a necklace about his neck; 3 ⁷ and because of his wisdom he shall sit next to Darius and shall be called kinsman of Darius."

3 ⁸ Then each wrote his own statement, and they sealed them and put them under the pillow of Darius the king, 3 ⁹ and said, "When the king wakes, they will give him the writing; and to the one whose statement the king and the three nobles of Persia judge to be wisest the victory shall be given according to what is written." 3 ¹⁰ The first wrote, "Wine is strongest." 3 ¹¹ The second wrote, "The king is strongest." 3 ¹² The third wrote, "Women are strongest, but truth is victor over all things."

3 ¹³ When the king awoke, they took the writing and gave it to him, and he read it. 3 ¹⁴ Then he sent and summoned all the nobles of Persia and Media and the satraps and generals and governors and prefects, 3 ¹⁵ and he took his seat in the council chamber, and the writing was read in their presence. 3 ¹⁶ And he said, "Call the young men, and they shall explain their statements." So they were summoned, and came in. 3 ¹⁷ And they said to them, "Explain to us what you have written."

Then the first, who had spoken of the strength of wine, began and said: 3 ¹⁸ "Gentlemen, how is wine the strongest? It leads astray the minds of all who drink it. 3 ¹⁹ It makes equal the mind of the king and the orphan, of the slave and the free, of the poor and the rich. 3 ²⁰ It turns every thought to feasting and mirth, and forgets all sorrow and debt. 3 ²¹ It makes all hearts feel rich, forgets kings and satraps, and makes every one talk in millions. 3 ²² When men drink they forget to be friendly with friends and brothers, and before long they draw their swords. 3 ²³ And when they recover from the wine, they do not remember what they have done. 3 ²⁴ Gentlemen, is not wine the strongest, since it forces men to do these things?" When he had said this, he stopped speaking.