To celebrate the occasion, he gave a great banquet in Esther’s honor for all his nobles and officials, declaring a public holiday for the provinces and giving generous gifts to everyone.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- NASB Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts in proportion to the king’s bounty.
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
The king celebrates with a great feast and grants the provinces a holiday and gifts. Esther's coronation is marked with empire-wide rejoicing.
Overview
The lavish banquet, named Esther's feast, continues the book's motif of feasting at major turns in the story. The king's generosity reflects his delight in his new queen. Unknown to Ahasuerus, this celebration honors the very woman God has appointed to deliver His people, and the joy here foreshadows the greater joy of deliverance to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Judg 14:10–17His father went down to the woman; and Samson made a feast there, for the young men used to do so.
- 1 Sam 25:8Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes; for we come on a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your son David.’”
- Neh 8:11So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Hold your peace, for the day is holy. Don’t be grieved.”
- Esth 9:22as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy.
- Esth 1:3–5in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him.
- Esth 1:7They gave them drinks in golden vessels of various kinds, including royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king.
- Matt 22:2“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son,
- Rev 11:10Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
- Song 3:11Go out, you daughters of Zion, and see king Solomon, with the crown with which his mother has crowned him, in the day of his weddings, in the day of the gladness of his heart.
- Luke 14:8“When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him,
- Gen 29:22Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
- Song 5:1I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, friends! Drink, yes, drink abundantly, beloved.
- Rev 19:9He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” He said to me, “These are true words of God.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:18 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
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