Esther Chapter 10 verse 1 Holy Bible
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
read chapter 10 in ASV
And King Ahasuerus put a tax on the land and on the islands of the sea.
read chapter 10 in BBE
And king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land and the isles of the sea.
read chapter 10 in DARBY
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
read chapter 10 in KJV
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
read chapter 10 in WBT
The king Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land, and on the isles of the sea.
read chapter 10 in WEB
And the king Ahasuerus setteth a tribute on the land and the isles of the sea;
read chapter 10 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 1. - King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was the first to do this (Herod., 3:89); but, as the tribute had to be rearranged from time to time (ibid., 6:42), any subsequent Persian monarch who made a fresh arrangement might be said to "lay a tribute on the land." Xerxes is not unlikely to have done so after his return from Greece, as he had lost portions of his territories. And on the islands of the sea. The Hebrew expression translated by "islands of the sea" includes maritime tracts. Xerxes by the Greek expedition lost the islands of the AEgean, but still held certain tracts upon the coast of Europe, which were occupied for a considerable time by Persian garrisons (Herod., 7:106, 107). These would necessarily be included in any assessment that he may have made, and it is even not unlikely that Xerxes would lay his assessment on the AEgean islands, though he might not be able to collect it.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English ReadersX.(1) Laid a tribute.--The disastrous expedition to Greece must have taxed the resources of the empire to the utmost, and fresh tribute would therefore be requisite to fill the exhausted coffers. Besides this, a harassing war was still going on, even ten years after the battle of Salamis, on the coast of Asia Minor, and this would require fresh supplies.The isles of the sea.--The chief island yet remaining to the Persian Empire was Cyprus. Those in the 'gean Sea were now free from Persian rule, but possibly, even after the loss, the old phrase may have been retained; just as in modern times we have Kings of "England, France, and Ireland," and of "the two Sicilies, and Jerusalem" &c.
