Esther 1 · Verse 16

Esther 1:16

And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
Esther 1:16, King James Version

Esther 1:16 in other translations

BSBAnd in the presence of the king and his princes, Memucan replied, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the princes and the peoples in all the provinces of King Xerxes.
WEBMemucan answered before the king and the princes, “Vashti the queen has not done wrong to just the king, but also to all the princes, and to all the people who are in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus.
ASVAnd Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
YLTAnd Memucan saith before the king and the heads, ‘Not against the king by himself hath Vashti the queen done perversely, but against all the heads, and against all the peoples that are in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus;
DARBYThen said Memucan before the king and the princes, The queen Vashti has not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.
BBEAnd before the king and the captains, Memucan gave his answer: Vashti the queen has done wrong, not only to the king, but to all the captains and to all the peoples in all the divisions of the kingdom of King Ahasuerus;
WebsterAnd Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.

What does Esther 1:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 1:13-19

13-19. 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 Es 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…

Read the full comment on Esther 1:13-19 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Esther 1:10-22

Ahasuerus's feast ended in heaviness, by his own folly. Seasons of peculiar festivity often end in vexation. Superiors should be careful not to command what may reasonably be disobeyed. But when wine is in, men's reason departs from them. He that had rule over 127 provinces, had no rule over his own spirit. But whether the passion or the policy of the king was served by this decree, God's providence made way for…

Read the full comment on Esther 1:10-22 →

Esther 1:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
מְמוּכָ֗ןmu.me.khanMemucanH4462
לִפְנֵ֤יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
וְהַשָּׂרִ֔יםve.ha.sa.Rimand the officialsH8269
לֹ֤אlo'notH3808
עַל\־'al-onH5921
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
לְבַדּ֔וֹle.va.Doto only himH905
עָוְתָ֖ה'a.ve.Tahshe did wrongH5753
וַשְׁתִּ֣יvash.TiVashtiH2060
הַמַּלְכָּ֑הha.mal.Kahthe queenH4436
כִּ֤יkiforH3588
עַל\־'al-onH5921
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הַשָּׂרִים֙ha.sa.Rimthe officialsH8269
וְעַל\־ve.'al-and onH5921
כָּל\־kol-allH3605
הָ֣עַמִּ֔יםha.'a.Mimthe peoplesH5971
אֲשֶׁ֕ר'a.SherwhichH834
בְּכָל\־be.khol[are] in allH3605
מְדִינ֖וֹתme.di.Not[the] provinces ofH4082
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ\׃'a.chash.ve.Ro.oshAhasuerusH325

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Esther 1:16

  • 1 Corinthians 6:7-8

    Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

  • Acts 25:10

    Then said Paul, I stand at Cesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest.

  • Acts 18:14

    And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Vashti.This reasoning 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 into the conclusion, being either too intoxicated to be able to discern right from wrong, or too intent on reducing women to a state of vassalage, to neglect the present favourable opportunity.
done wrong.
Ac 18:14; 25:10; 1Co 6:7,8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Esther 1:15

    What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?

  • Esther 1:16

    And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.

  • 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.

Read all of Esther 1

Esther 1:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y dijo Memucán delante del rey y de los príncipes: No solamente contra el rey ha pecado la reina Vasthi, sino contra todos los príncipes, y contra todos los pueblos que hay en todas las provincias del rey Assuero.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Memucan dit devant le roi et les princes: Ce n’est pas contre le roi seulement que la reine Vasthi a mal agi, mais contre tous les princes et contre tous les peuples qui sont dans toutes les provinces du roi Assuérus;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da sprach Memukan vor dem König und den Fürsten: Nicht an dem König allein hat sich die Königin Vasti vergangen, sondern auch an allen Fürsten und an allen Völkern, die in allen Landschaften des Königs Ahasveros wohnen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Responditque Mamuchan, audiente rege atque principibus: Non solum regem læsit regina Vasthi, sed et omnes populos et principes qui sunt in cunctis provinciis regis Assueri.