Limitless Word
At the same time, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
Esther 1:9 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to King Ahasuerus.
  • KJV Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.
  • BSB Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.
  • NKJV Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.
  • NASB Queen Vashti also held a banquet for the women in the palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Queen Vashti hosts a separate feast for the women in the royal house. This introduces the queen who will soon defy the king.

Overview

Vashti's parallel banquet sets up the coming clash, as the king will summon her from her own gathering. The mention of two feasts highlights the customary separation of men and women in the Persian court. This small detail becomes the hinge of the plot, the means by which God will eventually open the way for Esther to become queen.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Esth 5:8If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said.”
  • Esth 5:4Esther said, “If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Esther videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Esther 1:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on EstherMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Though God is never named, his hidden hand preserves the people from whom the Messiah will come — a deliverance 'for such a time as this' that anticipates the open deliverance of Christ.

How Esther 1:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.