From the early Church Fathers to now.
1 Jewish · 1 Reformed · 1 Methodist · 1 Catholic
“And he commanded a magnificent feast to be prepared for all the princes, and for his servants, for the marriage and wedding of Esther. And he gave rest to all the provinces, and bestowed gifts according to princely magnificence.”
“and he granted a release In her honor, he released them from the tax that was [levied] upon them. and gave gifts He sent them gifts, and everything was in order to entice her, perhaps she would tell her nationality. But nevertheless—Esther would not tell.”
“Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and servants, even Esther's feast,.... A feast to all his nobles, courtiers, and ministers of state, on account of his marriage with Esther; which, according to the Greek version, was held seven days; but, according to Josephus, it lasted a whole month (t): and he made a release to the provinces; of taxes and tribute due to him, as was the custom of the kings of Persia when they came to the throne, as Herodotus (u) relates; so Smerdis the magus, that mounted the throne after Cambyses, pretending to be his brother, released them for three years to come (w); and Grotius says kings used to do it at their marriage, but gives no instance of it: and gave gifts: according to the latter Targum, to the provinces, all of them, that he might be sure that the people of Esther shared his favours, who were as yet unknown; but rather these gifts were given to his nobles, or it may be to Esther; so the former Targum,"he gave to her a gift and portion:" according to the state of the king; his royal ability and munificence, and suitable to his grandeur; and it was usual with the Persian kings to give to their wives whole cities for one thing or another, as for necklaces, hair laces, shoes, &c. (x); Socrates (y) speaks of a whole country in Persia called the "Queen's girdle", and another her "Headdress". (t) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2.) (u) Erato, sive, l. 6. c. 59. (w) Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 67. (x) Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 98. Cicero in Verrem, l. 3. Orat. 8. (y) In Plat. Alcibiad.”
“Made a release to the provinces - Remitted some kind of tribute or impost, in honor of Esther, at her coronation, as our kings generally do when they are crowned, ordering a discharge from prison of many who are confined for minor offenses. As it was the custom of the Persian kings to give their queens something like what is called with us the aurum reginae, "queen gold," which was a tenth of all fines, etc., above what was given to the king; (for they gave them such a city to buy them clothes, another for their hair, a third for their necklaces, a fourth for their pearls, etc.); it is probable that, on this occasion, Esther so wishing, he relieved those cities and provinces which had before paid this queen gold from all these expenses; and this would tend greatly to make the queen popular.”
“Servants. Septuagint add, “seven days, and he magnified the nuptials of Esther.” (Haydock) — Rest, from labour. (Calmet) — Septuagint, “remission to all his subjects,” of tribute, as was sometimes done. (Herodotus iii. 66.) (Tirinus) (Calmet) — Gifts, on Esther. (Chaldean) (Malvenda)”
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.