Esther 1:22

Esther 1:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.
• New International Version (NIV)He sent dispatches to all parts of the kingdom, to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, proclaiming that every man should be ruler over his own household, using his native tongue.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he sent letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its own script, and to every people in their own language, that each man should be master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own people.

Context of Esther 1:22

20You must send this command to everyone in your great kingdom. When people know about this law, all the women will respect their husbands. They will obey them, whether they are important people or ordinary people.’ 21The king and his officers liked this idea. So the king did as Memukan had said. He sent letters to all the regions of his kingdom. The letters were in the language of each region, so that all the people could read and understand the law. The law said that every man should be the ruler of his family and he should speak the language of his people.

Esther 1:22 word by word

וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח סְפָרִים֙ אֶל־כָּל־מְדִינ֣וֹת הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ אֶל־מְדִינָ֤ה וּמְדִינָה֙ כִּכְתָבָ֔הּ וְאֶל־עַ֥ם וָעָ֖ם כִּלְשׁוֹנ֑וֹ לִהְי֤וֹת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ שֹׂרֵ֣ר בְּבֵית֔וֹ וּמְדַבֵּ֖ר כִּלְשׁ֥וֹן עַמּֽוֹ׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For he sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• lettersסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: documentH5612
• into all the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• provincesמְדִינָהmedîynâh · provinceH4082
• according to the writingכְּתָבkâthâb · writingH3791
• thereof, and to every peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• after their languageלָשׁוֹןlâshôn lâshôn leshônâh · tongue: languageH3956
• that every manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• should bear ruleשָׂרַרώârar · to ruleH8323
• in his own houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• should be publishedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696

Cross-references for Esther 1:22

• Esther 3:12On the 13th day of the first month, Haman asked the king's secretaries to come to him. They wrote Haman's commands in letters to the king's rulers and officers in every region. They wrote the letters in the languages that people spoke in the different regions. Haman used the authority of King Xerxes and he marked the letters with the king's special ring.
• Esther 8:9They called the king's secretaries to come and write the new law. They did that on the 23rd day of the third month (Sivan). Mordecai told them what to write. They sent the letters to the Jews, the rulers and the officers in all the regions of the kingdom. There were 127 regions, from India as far as Ethiopia. They wrote the letters in the languages that people spoke in each region. They also wrote to the Jews in their own language. Everyone would know what the new law said.
• Daniel 3:29No other god can save people like their God has done for them. So I make a command for the people of every nation who speak any language. They must never say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If anyone does that, my soldiers will cut them into pieces. They will knock down those people's houses so that they become heaps of stones.’
• Daniel 4:1This is a message from King Nebuchadnezzar. I am sending this message to everyone in the world, the people in every nation, who speak every language. I hope that you all may have good and happy lives.
• Ephesians 5:22Wives, obey your own husbands, as you obey the Lord.
• 1 Timothy 2:12I do not let a woman teach men. I do not let a woman have authority over men. Instead, she should listen quietly.
• Luke 16:8Jesus then said, ‘The servant in the story was not honest. But his master spoke well about what he had done. It would help the servant later in his life. People that do not obey God think carefully. They know how to do well with people who are like themselves. But people who live in God's light often think less carefully.
• Acts 2:5At that time, Jews who came from many different countries in the world were staying in Jerusalem. They were Jews who carefully obeyed God's Law.
• 1 Corinthians 14:19But when the church meets together, I want to help other believers and teach them. So I would rather say five words that people understand than thousands of words in a different language.

Commentaries on Esther 1:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22That every man should bear rule in his own house - Both God's law and common sense taught this from the foundation of the world. And is it possible that this did not obtain in the Persian empire, previously to this edict? The twentieth verse has another clause, That all wives shall give to their husbands honor, both to great and small. This also was universally understood. This law did nothing. I suppose the parade of enactment was only made to deprive…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22He sent letters - The Persian system of posts incidentally noticed in the present book Esther 3:12-15; Esther 8:9-14, is in entire harmony with the accounts of Herodotus and Xenophon. Into every province according to the writing thereof - The practice of the Persians to address proclamations to the subject-nations in their own speech, and not merely in the language of the conqueror, is illustrated by the bilingual and trilingual inscriptions of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-22Verses 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 Esther to the crown, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22The decree was published in each region's script and language so everyone in the Persian Empire could understand it. every man should be master of his own household: In the ancient Near East, it was already common for men to rule their houses. The decree made this custom legally enforceable.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-22Commentary by Robert Jamieson 1. Ahasuerus--It is now generally agreed among learned men that the Ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the Xerxes who figures in Grecian history.Read the comment

Topics related to Esther 1:22

• Divorce
• Family
• Husband
• Persia
• Proclamation
• Queen
• Vashti
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Shushan
• Esther, Book of
• Relationships, Family
• Province
• decree, decreed

Commentaries on Esther 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings