Esther 1:3

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.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — The narrator describes King Xerxes in the third year of his reign, convening his officials, servants, military commanders, nobles, and provincial princes in the citadel of Susa.

The words — The text records a מִשְׁתֶּה (mish.Teh), literally a feast, and specifies the timeframe as שָלוֹשׁ (sha.lo.Vosh), meaning three years into his reign.

The thread — Parallel royal gatherings for officials and nobles occur in Esther 2:18, Mark 6:21, and Daniel 5:1.

Why it lands — The text records a prolonged public display of royal wealth followed by a private banquet, requiring the reader to track how political spectacle intersects with subsequent private decisions.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

בִּשְׁנַ֤תbi/sh.Natin/ year שָׁלוֹשׁ֙sha.lo.Voshthree לְמָלְכ֔וֹle./ma.le.Kh/oof/ reigning/ his עָשָׂ֣ה'a.Sahhe made מִשְׁתֶּ֔הmish.Teha feast לְכָל־le./kholfor/ all שָׂרָ֖יוsa.Ra/vofficials/ his וַעֲבָדָ֑יוva./'a.va.Da/vand/ servants/ his חֵ֣יל׀cheil[the] army of פָּרַ֣סpa.RasPersia וּמָדַ֗יu./ma.Daiand/ Media הַֽפַּרְתְּמִ֛יםha./par.te.Mimthe/ nobles וְשָׂרֵ֥יve./sa.Reiand/ [the] officials of הַמְּדִינ֖וֹתha./me.di.Notthe/ provinces לְפָנָֽיו׃le./fa.Na/v[were] <to>/ before/ him

King James Version

In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:

Cross-references

Mark 6:21 On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
Esther 2:18 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.
Daniel 5:1 Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them.
1 Kings 3:15 Then Solomon awoke, and indeed it had been a dream. So he returned to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.
Genesis 40:20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he held a feast for all his officials, and in their presence he lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
Isaiah 21:2 A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
Jeremiah 51:11 Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD—vengeance for His temple.
Esther 1:14 His closest advisors were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had personal access to the king and ranked highest in the kingdom.
Daniel 3:2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.
Daniel 5:28 PERES means that your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”