¹⁷ All the wives of the ·important men [nobles] of Persia and Media will hear about the queen’s ·actions [conduct]. Then they will ·no longer honor [be contemptuous of; despise] their husbands. They will say, ‘King ·Xerxes [^LAhasuerus] commanded Queen Vashti to be brought to him, but she refused to come.’ ¹⁸ Today the ·wives [noble ladies] of the ·important men [nobles] of Persia and Media have heard about the queen’s actions. So they will speak in the same way to ·their husbands [the king’s nobles], and there will be no end to ·disrespect [contempt] and anger.

¹⁹ “So, our king, if it pleases you, give a royal ·order [edict; decree], and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be ·changed [repealed; revoked; 8:8; Dan. 6:8, 12, 15]. The law should say Vashti [^Cat this point, the title “queen” is symbolically dropped from before her name] is never again to enter the presence of King ·Xerxes [^LAhasuerus]. Also let the king give her place as queen to someone who is ·better [more worthy/deserving] than she is.