Nobles

People of high rank who therefore had great power and importance.

Nobles were of high rank

Esther 1:14; Proverbs 25:6–7 See also Judges 5:25; 1 Kings 21:8, 1 Kings 21:11; 2 Kings 24:12; 2 Chronicles 23:20; Nehemiah 4:14, Nehemiah 4:19, Nehemiah 7:5; Esther 5:11; Jeremiah 27:20; Luke 19:12; 1 Corinthians 1:26

His closest advisors were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and ranked highest in the kingdom.

Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, and do not stand in the place of great men; for it is better to be told, “Come up here!” than to be demoted in the presence of the prince. Even what you have seen with your own eyes,

Nobles had great power and importance

Daniel 5:1–3 See also Judges 5:13; 2 Samuel 10:2–3 parallel 1 Chronicles 19:2–3; Esther 1:3, Esther 1:11, Esther 1:16, Esther 1:21, Esther 2:18, Esther 9:3; Psalm 47:9; Proverbs 8:15–16; Jeremiah 14:3; Jonah 3:7

Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

Nobles' abuse of their rank and power

Nehemiah 5:6–7, Nehemiah 5:12 See also Nehemiah 3:5, Nehemiah 13:17; Ezekiel 34:2

When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry, and after serious thought I rebuked the nobles and officials, saying, “You are exacting usury from your own brothers!” So I called a large assembly against them

“We will restore it,” they replied, “and will require nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” So I summoned the priests and required of the nobles and officials an oath that they would do what they had promised.

God's judgment of nobles who abused their power

Job 34:18–19 See also Job 12:20–21; Psalm 107:40, Psalm 149:6–8; Isaiah 5:13–14, Isaiah 34:12; Ezekiel 17:12; Nahum 3:10

who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’ who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.