Esther 1:18
Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath. Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath.
The setting is a drunken feast where the king, his judgment impaired by wine, sought to bring Vashti out to display her before the men assembled with him. At the same time she was holding her own feast for women of rank, conducted with modest courtesy, and she refused with a pure conscience rather than submit to his demand. Memucan, speaking for the king's advisers, warned that when the ladies of Persia and Media heard of the queen's deed they would likewise despise and disregard their husbands, so that contempt and anger would greatly increase. That predicted threat was used to justify the royal decree against Vashti and a command that wives must honor their husbands.
The verse belongs to an account of indulgence that does not glorify God, shaped by excessive wine and human wrongdoing. Those very events nevertheless worked for Israel's good. God restrains such events and directs earthly rulers to accomplish His purposes, even when they follow wrong practices and do not acknowledge His wisdom.