Esther 2 · Verse 17

Esther 2:17

And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Esther 2:17, King James Version

Esther 2:17 in other translations

BSBAnd 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.
WEBThe king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
ASVAnd the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
YLTand the king loveth Esther above all the women, and she receiveth grace and kindness before him above all the virgins, and he setteth a royal crown on her head, and causeth her to reign instead of Vashti,
DARBYAnd the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins, and he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
BBEAnd Esther was more pleasing to the king than all the women, and to his eyes she was fairer and more full of grace than all the other virgins: so he put his crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
WebsterAnd the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

What does Esther 2:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
17. the king loved Esther above all the women--The choice fell on Esther, who found favor in the eyes of Ahasuerus. He elevated her to the dignity of chief wife, or queen. The other competitors had apartments assigned them in the royal harem, and were retained in the rank of secondary wives, of whom Oriental princes have a great number. he set the royal crown upon her head--This consisted only of a purple ribbon, streaked with white, bound round the forehead. The nuptials were celebrated by a magnificent entertainment, and, in honor of the auspicious occasion, "he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king." The dotation of Persian queens consisted in consigning to them the revenue of certain cities, in various parts of the kingdom, for defraying their personal and domestic expenditure. Some of these imposts the king remitted or lessened at this time.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 17 Set the royal crown upon her head - Made her what is now called in the East the Sultana, the queen. She was the mistress of all the rest of the wives, all of whom were obliged to pay her the most profound respect.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Esther 2:1-20

We see to what absurd practices those came, who were destitute of Divine revelation, and what need there was of the gospel of Christ, to purify men from the lusts of the flesh, and to bring them back to the original institution of marriage. Esther was preferred as queen. Those who suggest that Esther committed sin to come at this dignity, do not consider the custom of those times and countries. Every one that the…

Read the full comment on Esther 2:1-20 →

Esther 2:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֶּאֱהַ֨בvai.ye.'e.Havand he lovedH157
הַמֶּ֤לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
אֶסְתֵּר֙'es.TerEstherH635
מִכָּל\־mi.kolmore than allH3605
הַנָּשִׁ֔יםha.na.Shimthe womenH802
וַתִּשָּׂא\־va.ti.sa'-and she boreH5375
חֵ֥ןchenfavorH2580
וָחֶ֛סֶדva.Che.sedand favorH2617
לְפָנָ֖יוle.fa.Nav<to> before himH6440
מִכָּל\־mi.kolmore than allH3605
הַבְּתוּלֹ֑תha.be.tu.Lotthe virginsH1330
וַיָּ֤שֶׂםvai.Ya.semand he putH7760
כֶּֽתֶר\־ke.ter-a crown ofH3804
מַלְכוּת֙mal.KhutroyaltyH4438
בְּרֹאשָׁ֔הּbe.ro.Shahon head herH7218
וַיַּמְלִיכֶ֖הָvai.yam.li.Khe.haand he made queen herH4427
תַּ֥חַתTa.chatin place ofH8478
וַשְׁתִּֽי\׃vash.TiVashtiH2060

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Esther 2:17

  • Psalms 113:7-8

    He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

  • Luke 1:48-52

    For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. …

  • Ezekiel 17:24

    And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the Lord have spoken and have done it.

  • Psalms 75:6-7

    For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

  • 1 Samuel 2:8

    He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

  • Esther 1:11

    To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.

  • Esther 4:14

    For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
favour. or, kindness. in his sight. Heb. before him. sothat he set.
4:14; 1Sa 2:8; Ps 75:6,7; 113:7,8; Eze 17:24; Lu 1:48-52Bishop Patrick observes, that those who suggest that Esther committed a great sin to come at the dignity of queen of Persia, do not consider the custom of those times and countries. Every one that the king took to his bed was married to him, and was his wife of a lower rank, as Hagar was to Abraham.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Esther 2:16

    So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

  • Esther 2:17

    And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

  • Esther 2:18

    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.

Read all of Esther 2

Esther 2:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y el rey amó á Esther sobre todas las mujeres, y halló gracia y benevolencia delante de él más que todas las vírgenes; y puso la corona real en su cabeza, é hízola reina en lugar de Vasthi.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le roi aima Esther plus que toutes les femmes, et elle trouva grâce et faveur devant lui plus que toutes les vierges, et il mit la couronne du royaume sur sa tête et la fit reine à la place de Vasthi.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und der König gewann Esther lieb, mehr als alle Weiber, und sie erlangte Gnade und Gunst vor ihm, mehr als alle die Jungfrauen. Und er setzte die königliche Krone auf ihr Haupt und machte sie zur Königin an Vastis Statt.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et adamavit eam rex plus quam omnes mulieres, habuitque gratiam et misericordiam coram eo super omnes mulieres: et posuit diadema regni in capite ejus, fecitque eam regnare in loco Vasthi.