Esther 2:18 (LSB)

Passage

Then the king held a great feast, Esther’s feast, for all his princes and his servants; he also held a remission of taxes for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king’s hand.

Nearby Context

Esther 2:16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal house in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

Esther 2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she advanced in favor and lovingkindness before him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

Esther 2:18 Then the king held a great feast, Esther’s feast, for all his princes and his servants; he also held a remission of taxes for the provinces and gave gifts according to the king’s hand.

Esther 2:19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.

Esther 2:20 Esther had not yet told anyone about her kinsmen or her people, just as Mordecai had commanded her; indeed Esther was doing what Mordecai declared that she do, just as she had done when she was being brought up by him.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "held", "great", "feast", "esther", "princes", and "servants". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "king" and "held", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And the king loved Esther more than..." into verse 19's "And when the virgins were gathered together...", so "king" and "held" belong inside that flow. In Esther context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "king" and "held" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.