2:18a

officials and servants: See notes on 1:3a.

2:18b

tax holiday: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as holiday is more literally “causing to rest.” There are two main ways that English versions translate this word:

(1)__ It refers to any type of holiday.

(New International Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version)

(2) It refers to a period of not paying taxes, something that kings of that time sometimes did to celebrate special events.

(Berean Standard Bible, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow the first option.

2:18c

worthy of the king’s bounty: This means that the king did it in a way which displayed his generosity. He did it in the way people expected a king to behave.

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