Esther 2:18

Esther

¹⁶ She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷ And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.

¹⁹ When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.

²⁰ Esther still had not revealed her lineage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed. She obeyed Mordecai’s command, as she had done under his care.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.
KJV: Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.
WEB: Then the king made a great feast for all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces, and gave gifts according to the king’s bounty.
ASV: Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther`s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the bounty of the king.
DARBY: And the king made a great feast to all his princes and his servants, Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave presents according to the king's bounty.
BLB: And the king made a great feast for all his officials and servants—the feast of Esther—and he made a time of rest for the provinces, and he gave gifts according to the hand of the king.

ÅB: Og kongen gjorde et stort gjestebud for alle sine fyrster og tjenere til ære for Ester, og han innvilget landskapene ettergivelse av skatter og delte ut gaver, som det høvde for en konge.
OTB: Da ga kongen en stor bankett, Esters bankett, for alle sine adelige og embetsmenn. Han erklærte en høytid i provinsene og delte ut gaver med kongelig generøsitet.
B1930: Og kongen gjorde et stort gjestebud for alle sine fyrster og tjenere til ære for Ester, og han tilstod landskapene eftergivelse av skatter og delte ut gaver, som det høvde for en konge.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Genesis 29:22
So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast.
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Judges 14:10–17
Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.
Read in context
1 Samuel 25:8
Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on the day of a feast. Please give whatever you can afford to your servants and to your son David.’”
Read in context
Matthew 22:2
“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
Read in context
Esther 1:3–5
In the third year of his reign, Xerxes held a feast for all his officials and servants. The military leaders of Persia and Media were there, along with the nobles and princes of the provinces.
Read in context
Luke 14:8
“When you are invited to a wedding banquet, do not sit in the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited.
Read in context
Esther 9:22
as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.
Read in context
Nehemiah 8:11
And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”
Read in context