Esther 1:17

17 For the conduct of the queen will become known to all women, causing them to despise their husbands ^[a] and say, ‘King Xerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not come.’

Esther 1:17 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 1:17

For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women,
&c.] It will soon be spread all over the king's dominions, and reach the ears of the wives of all his subjects, and become their general talk everywhere: so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes:
make light of their authority, refuse subjection to them, slight their commands, and neglect to yield obedience to them, and so not give them the honour that is due unto them: when it shall be reported, the King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the
queen to be brought in before him, and she came not;
was disobedient to his commands, refused to go along with the chamberlains sent by the king to fetch her.

Esther 1:17 In-Context

15 “According to law,” he asked, “what should be done with Queen Vashti, since she refused to obey the command of King Xerxes delivered by the eunuchs?”

16 And in the presence of the king and his princes, Memucan replied, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the princes and the peoples in all the provinces of King Xerxes.

17 For the conduct of the queen will become known to all women, causing them to despise their husbands and say, ‘King Xerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not come.’

18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard about the queen’s conduct will say the same thing to all the king’s officials, resulting in much contempt and wrath.

19 So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or to disdain their husbands in their eyes