When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When the king’s decree which he shall make is published throughout all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give their husbands honor, both great and small.”
- KJV And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.
- BSB The edict the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom—and so all women, from the least to the greatest, will honor their husbands.”
- NASB When the king’s edict which he will make is heard throughout his kingdom, great as it is, then all women will give honor to their husbands, great and small.”
- NLT When this decree is published throughout the king’s vast empire, husbands everywhere, whatever their rank, will receive proper respect from their wives!”
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
He claims the decree, once published, will make all wives honor their husbands. Law is enlisted to enforce respect by command.
Overview
Memucan promises that a public edict will restore order to every household great and small. The assumption that honor can be legislated reveals the shallowness of this wisdom. The scene shows human authority anxiously securing itself, while the unseen God orders these very decisions toward the preservation of Israel.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Col 3:18Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
- Eph 5:33Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
- Eph 5:22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
- 1 Pet 3:1–7In the same way, wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; so that, even if any don’t obey the Word, they may be won by the behavior of their wives without a word;
- Deut 17:13All the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
- Deut 21:21All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.
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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 1:20 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
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