Lectionary Calendar
Friday, July 18th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Esther 1:21

The king and the princes liked this. The king did what Memucan proposed. He sent bulletins to every part of the kingdom, to each province in its own script, to each people in their own language: "Every man is master of his own house; whatever he says, goes."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Divorce;   Family;   Husband;   Memucan;   Persia;   Queen;   Vashti;   Wife;   Women;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Chamberlain;   Shushan;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Memucan;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Esther;   Memucan;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Perizzites;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Memucan ;   Prince, Princess;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Vashti;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Memu'can;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Memucan;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for June 4;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The king and his counselors approved the proposal, and he followed Memucan’s advice.
Hebrew Names Version
The saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memukhan:
King James Version
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
English Standard Version
This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed.
New Century Version
The king and his important men were happy with this advice, so King Xerxes did as Memucan suggested.
New English Translation
The matter seemed appropriate to the king and the officials. So the king acted on the advice of Memucan.
Amplified Bible
This statement (advice) pleased the king and the officials, and the king did what Memucan proposed.
New American Standard Bible
Now this word pleased the king and the officials, and the king did as Memucan proposed.
World English Bible
The saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
Geneva Bible (1587)
And this saying pleased the King and the princes, and the King did according to the worde of Memucan.
Legacy Standard Bible
And this word was good in the eyes of the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan.
Berean Standard Bible
The king and his princes were pleased with this counsel; so the king did as Memucan had advised.
Contemporary English Version
King Xerxes and his officials liked what Memucan had said,
Complete Jewish Bible
This advice pleased the king and the officials, so the king did what Memukhan had suggested —
Darby Translation
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan.
Easy-to-Read Version
The king and his important officials were happy with this advice, so King Xerxes did as Memucan suggested.
George Lamsa Translation
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Meaucan;
Good News Translation
The king and his officials liked this idea, and the king did what Memucan suggested.
Lexham English Bible
This advice pleased the king and the officials, and the king acted according to the word of Memucan.
Literal Translation
And the saying pleased the king, and the rulers. And the king did according to the word of Memucan.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
This pleased the kynge and the prynces, and the kynge dyd acordynge to the worde of Memuchan.
American Standard Version
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
Bible in Basic English
And this suggestion seemed good to the king and the captains; and the king did as Memucan said;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thus saying pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the worde of Memucan.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the word pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan;
King James Version (1611)
And the saying pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did as Muchaeus had said,
English Revised Version
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
His counsel pleside the kyng and the prynces, and the kyng dide bi the counsel of Manucha;
Update Bible Version
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
Webster's Bible Translation
And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
New King James Version
And the reply pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan.
New Living Translation
The king and his nobles thought this made good sense, so he followed Memucan's counsel.
New Life Bible
What was said pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan said.
New Revised Standard
This advice pleased the king and the officials, and the king did as Memucan proposed;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the thing seemed good in the eyes of the king, and the rulers, - and the king did according to the word of Memucan.
Douay-Rheims Bible
His counsel pleased the king, and the princes: and the king did according to the counsel of Mamuchan.
Revised Standard Version
This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memu'can proposed;
Young's Literal Translation
And the thing is good in the eyes of the king, and of the princes, and the king doth according to the word of Memucan,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
This word pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed.

Contextual Overview

10On the seventh day of the party, the king, high on the wine, ordered the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants (Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas) to bring him Queen Vashti resplendent in her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the guests and officials. She was extremely good-looking. 12But Queen Vashti refused to come, refused the summons delivered by the eunuchs. The king lost his temper. Seething with anger over her insolence, the king called in his counselors, all experts in legal matters. It was the king's practice to consult his expert advisors. Those closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven highest-ranking princes of Persia and Media, the inner circle with access to the king's ear. He asked them what legal recourse they had against Queen Vashti for not obeying King Xerxes' summons delivered by the eunuchs. 16Memucan spoke up in the council of the king and princes: "It's not only the king Queen Vashti has insulted, it's all of us, leaders and people alike in every last one of King Xerxes' provinces. The word's going to get out: ‘Did you hear the latest about Queen Vashti? King Xerxes ordered her to be brought before him and she wouldn't do it!' When the women hear it, they'll start treating their husbands with contempt. The day the wives of the Persian and Mede officials get wind of the queen's insolence, they'll be out of control. Is that what we want, a country of angry women who don't know their place? 19"So, if the king agrees, let him pronounce a royal ruling and have it recorded in the laws of the Persians and Medes so that it cannot be revoked, that Vashti is permanently banned from King Xerxes' presence. And then let the king give her royal position to a woman who knows her place. When the king's ruling becomes public knowledge throughout the kingdom, extensive as it is, every woman, regardless of her social position, will show proper respect to her husband." 21The king and the princes liked this. The king did what Memucan proposed. He sent bulletins to every part of the kingdom, to each province in its own script, to each people in their own language: "Every man is master of his own house; whatever he says, goes."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

pleased the king: Heb. was good in the eyes of the king, Esther 1:19, Esther 2:4, Genesis 41:37

Reciprocal: Genesis 45:16 - it pleased Pharaoh well Joshua 22:30 - it pleased them 2 Samuel 17:4 - pleased Absalom well

Cross-References

Genesis 1:24
God spoke: "Earth, generate life! Every sort and kind: cattle and reptiles and wild animals—all kinds." And there it was: wild animals of every kind, Cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile and bug. God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:26
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, And, yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of Earth." God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
Genesis 1:31
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.
Job 26:5
"All the buried dead are in torment, and all who've been drowned in the deep, deep sea. Hell is ripped open before God, graveyards dug up and exposed. He spreads the skies over unformed space, hangs the earth out in empty space. He pours water into cumulus cloud-bags and the bags don't burst. He makes the moon wax and wane, putting it through its phases. He draws the horizon out over the ocean, sets a boundary between light and darkness. Thunder crashes and rumbles in the skies. Listen! It's God raising his voice! By his power he stills sea storms, by his wisdom he tames sea monsters. With one breath he clears the sky, with one finger he crushes the sea serpent. And this is only the beginning, a mere whisper of his rule. Whatever would we do if he really raised his voice!"
Jonah 1:17
Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish's belly three days and nights.
Jonah 2:10
Then God spoke to the fish, and it vomited up Jonah on the seashore.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the saying pleased the king and the princes,.... The king, and the other six princes and counsellors, approved of the proposal, and unanimously agreed to it:

and the king did according to the word of Memucan; passed a law according to his advice, and signed and sealed it, and registered it among the laws of the kingdom, not to be revoked.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile