^1:16Memucan then replied to the king and the officials, “The wrong of Queen Vashti is not against the king alone, but against all the officials and all the people who are throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ^1:17For the matter concerning the queen will spread to all the women, leading them to treat their husbands with contempt, saying, ‘When King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Queen Vashti into his presence, she would not come.’ ^1:18And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger! ^1:19If the king is so inclined,³⁷ let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed,³⁸ that Vashti³⁹ may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another⁴⁰ who is more deserving than she.⁴¹^1:20And let the king’s decision which he will enact be disseminated⁴² throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is.⁴³ Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly.”

^1:21The matter seemed appropriate to the king and the officials. So the king acted on the advice of Memucan.

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Footnotes

37 Heb “If upon the king it is good”; “If it please the king.” Deferential language was common in ancient Near Eastern court language addressing a despot; it occurs often in Esther.
38 Laws … that cannot be repealed. On the permanence of the laws of Media and Persia see also Esth 8:8 and Dan 6:8, 12, 15.
39 Previously in this chapter the word “queen” accompanies Vashti’s name (cf. vv. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17). But here, in anticipation of her demotion, the title is dropped.
40 Heb “her neighbor”; “someone else.”
41 Heb “who is better than she.” The reference is apparently to worthiness of the royal position as demonstrated by compliance with the king’s wishes, although the word טוֹב (tob, “good”) can also be used of physical beauty. Cf. , , “more worthy than she.”
42 Heb “heard”; , , “published”; , “proclaimed.”
43 The phrase “vast though it is” is not included in the , although it is retained by almost all English versions.