¹⁶Then Memucan declared to the king and his officials: “Queen Vashti has insulted not only the king but also his officials—in fact, every man in the empire! ¹⁷Every woman in the empire will begin to look down on her husband as soon as she hears what the queen has done. They’ll say, ‘King Xerxes commanded Queen Vashti to come to him, and she refused.’ ¹⁸When the wives of the royal officials of Persia and Media hear about the queen’s behaviour they will be telling their husbands about it before the day is out. Wives everywhere will have no respect for their husbands, and husbands will be angry with their wives. ¹⁹If it please Your Majesty, issue a royal proclamation that Vashti may never again appear before the king. Order it to be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it can never be changed. Then give her place as queen to some better woman. ²⁰When your proclamation is made known all over this huge empire, every woman will treat her husband with proper respect, whether he’s rich or poor.”

²¹The king and his officials liked this idea, and the king did what Memucan suggested.

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