Queen Vashti, however, refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs. And the king became furious, and his anger burned within him.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by the eunuchs. Therefore the king was very angry, and his anger burned in him.
- KJV But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.
- NKJV But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.
- NASB But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s order delivered by the eunuchs. So the king became very angry, and his wrath burned within him.
- NLT But when they conveyed the king’s order to Queen Vashti, she refused to come. This made the king furious, and he burned with anger.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Vashti refuses to come, and the king is enraged. Her defiance ignites a crisis that reshapes the throne.
Overview
The text does not explain Vashti's motive, and faithful readers differ on whether her refusal was noble self-respect or an act of disobedience; the narrator simply records it and the king's fury. Her refusal, and the king's anger, become the providential means by which the throne is opened for Esther. What looks like mere palace drama is the first turn in God's hidden plan to preserve His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Prov 19:12A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass.
- Prov 20:2The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; whoever provokes him forfeits his own life.
- 1 Pet 3:1Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives
- Nah 1:6Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.
- Exod 32:22“Do not be enraged, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know that the people are intent on evil.
- Ps 74:1A Maskil of Asaph. Why have You rejected us forever, O God? Why does Your anger smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?
- Deut 29:20The LORD will never be willing to forgive him. Instead, His anger and jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse written in this book will fall upon him. The LORD will blot out his name from under heaven
- Eph 5:24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
- Gen 3:16To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
- Exod 32:19As Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, he burned with anger and threw the tablets out of his hands, shattering them at the base of the mountain.
- Dan 3:13Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,
- Eph 5:22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
- Dan 2:12This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
- Ps 79:5How long, O LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?
- Rev 6:16–17And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
- Dan 3:19At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Though God is never named, his hidden hand preserves the people from whom the Messiah will come — a deliverance 'for such a time as this' that anticipates the open deliverance of Christ.
How Esther 1:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.