Esther 1:17

For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
deed	דְבַר de.var-	H1697	a word · noun, common masculine singular construct
queen	הַמַּלְכָּה֙ ha.mal.Kah	H4436	a queen · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
abroad	יֵצֵ֤א ye.Tze'	H3318	to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
women	הַנָּשִׁ֔ים ha.na.Shim	H802	a woman · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
despise	לְהַבְז֥וֹת le.hav.Zot	H959	to disesteem · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
husbands	בַּעְלֵיהֶ֖ן ba'.lei.Hen	H1167	a master · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine plural
eyes	בְּעֵינֵיהֶ֑ן be.'ei.nei.Hen	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine plural
reported	בְּאָמְרָ֗ם be.'a.me.Ram	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
king	הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Ahasuerus	אֲחַשְׁוֵר֡וֹשׁ 'a.chash.ve.Ro.osh	H325	Achashverosh (i.e. Ahasuerus or Artaxerxes · proper noun, a man's name
commanded	אָמַ֞ר 'a.Mar	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Vashti	וַשְׁתִּ֧י vash.Ti	H2060	Vashti · proper noun, a woman's name
queen	הַמַּלְכָּ֛ה ha.mal.Kah	H4436	a queen · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
in	לְהָבִ֨יא le.ha.Vi'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
before	לְפָנָ֖יו le.fa.Nav	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
came	בָֽאָה Va.'ah	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
2 Samuel 6:16 And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and danci…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 1:10–end

We have here a damp to all the mirth of Ahasuerus's feast; it ended in heaviness, not as Job's children's feast by a wind from the wilderness, not as Belshazzar's by a hand-writing on the wall, but by is own folly. An unhappy falling out there was, at the end of the feast, between the king and queen, which broke of the feast abruptly, and sent the guests away silent and ashamed. I. It was certainly the king's weakness to send for Vashti into his presence when he was drunk, and in company with abundance of gentlemen, many of whom, it is likely, were in the same condition. When his heart was merry with wine nothing would serve him but Vashti must come, well dressed as she was, with the crown o…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 1:13

Then the king said to the wise men--These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Est 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be taken after so unprecedented an occurrence as Vashti's disobedience of the royal summons. It is scarcely possible for us to imagine the astonishment produced by such a refusal in a country and a court where the will of the sovereign was absolute. The assembled grandees were petrified with horror at the daring…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on Esther 1:16

Vashti - hath not done wrong to the king only - This reasoning or arguing was inconsequent and false. Vashti had not generally disobeyed the king, therefore she could be no precedent for the general conduct of the Persian women. She disobeyed only in one particular; and this, to serve a purpose, Memucan draws into a general consequence; and the rest came to the conclusion which he drew, being either too drunk to be able to discern right from wrong, or too intent on reducing the women to a state of vassalage, to neglect the present favorable opportunity.

Dictionary and topics

Shushan — A lily, the Susa of Greek and Roman writers, once the capital of Elam. It lay in the uplands of Susiana, on the east of the Tigris, about 150 miles to the north of the head of the Persian Gulf. It is…
Divorce · in the Persian empire — in the Persian empire
Husband · .Ahasuerus — .Ahasuerus
Memucan · divorce Queen Vashti — divorce Queen Vashti
Persia · courtiers — courtiers
Queen · Divorce — Divorce
Vashti · banquet — banquet
Wife · Incorruptible, Vashti — Incorruptible, Vashti

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Esther 1:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 1:10–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 1:13

Adam Clarke on Esther 1:16

Dictionary and topics

Esther 1:17

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 1:10–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 1:13

Adam Clarke on Esther 1:16

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Esther 1:17

Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 1:16-18

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Esther 1:17

Rashi on Esther 1:17