Esther 2:18

Esther 2:18 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the king made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king.

Context of Esther 2:18

16She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17And 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. 19When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20Esther 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.

Esther 2:18 word by word

וַיַּ֨עַשׂ הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ מִשְׁתֶּ֣ה גָד֗וֹל לְכָל־שָׂרָיו֙ וַעֲבָדָ֔יו אֵ֖ת מִשְׁתֵּ֣ה אֶסְתֵּ֑ר וַהֲנָחָ֤ה לַמְּדִינוֹת֙ עָשָׂ֔ה וַיִּתֵּ֥ן מַשְׂאֵ֖ת כְּיַ֥ד הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃Read the interlinear

• Then the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• heldעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: offerH6213
• a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• banquetמִשְׁתֶּהmishteh · feastH4960
• Esther’sאֶסְתֵּר'estêr · EstherH635
• for allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• his officialsשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• and servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• a tax holidayהֲנָחָהhănâchâh · holidayH2010
• in the provincesמְדִינָהmedîynâh · provinceH4082
• and gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• giftsמַשְׂאֵתmaώ'êth · tributeH4864
• bountyיָדyâd · hand: toH3027

Cross-references for Esther 2:18

• Esther 1:3In 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.
• Genesis 29:22So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast.
• Judges 14:10Then his father went to visit the woman, and Samson prepared a feast there, as was customary for the bridegroom.
• Matthew 22:2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.
• 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.
• Revelation 19:9Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
• Esther 9:22as 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.
• 1 Samuel 25:8Ask 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 spare to your servants and to your son David.’”
• Nehemiah 8:11And the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”
• Revelation 11:10And those who dwell on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send one another gifts, because these two prophets had tormented them.

Commentaries on Esther 2:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Made a release to the provinces - Remitted some kind of tribute or impost, in honor of Esther, at her coronation, as our kings generally do when they are crowned, ordering a discharge from prison of many who are confined for minor offenses. As it was the custom of the Persian kings to give their queens something like what is called with us the aurum reginae, "queen gold," which was a tenth of all fines, etc., above what was given to the king; (for they…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18A release - Either remission of taxation, or of military service, or of both.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18he king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet: The king honored his wife instead of showing her off (compare Esther 1:11). He proclaimed a tax holiday: The Hebrew word for “public holiday” (hanakhah) is related to the verb meaning “rest” (nukh). The book describes how the Jewish people found rest from their enemies' threats (see Esther 9:16–22).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-201-3. After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased--On recovering from the violent excitement of his revelry and rage, the king was pierced with poignant regret for the unmerited treatment he had given to his beautiful and dignified queen. But, according to the law, which made the word of a Persian king irrevocable, she could not be restored. His counsellors, for their own sake, were solicitous to remove his disquietude, and hastened…Read the comment

Topics related to Esther 2:18

• Chamberlain
• Marriage

In the dictionaries

• Esther, Book of
• Gift
• Release
• Vashti

Commentaries on Esther 2

• 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