EstherChapter 2

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¹Some time later, King Xerxes' anger cooled down. Then he remembered Vashti and what she had done. He remembered the order that had been made against her. ²Then the king's servants who waited on him said, "Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. ³Let the king choose men in each province of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young women. Let them bring the women to the harem in the fortress city of Susa. Let them be put in the care of Hegai. He is the king's eunuch who is in charge of the women. Let them be given beauty treatments. ⁴Then let the young woman who pleases the king be made queen in place of Vashti." The king liked this idea, and he did it. ⁵Now there was a Jewish man in the fortress city of Susa named Mordecai. He was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish. ⁶Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried him away from Jerusalem as a captive. He was taken along with Jeconiah king of Judah and the others who were captured. ⁷Mordecai had raised Hadassah, who was also called Esther. She was the daughter of his uncle. He raised her because she had no father or mother. The young woman had a lovely figure and was beautiful to look at. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. ⁸The king's order and law were announced. Then many young women were gathered in the fortress city of Susa. They were put in the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace. She was put in the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. ⁹The young woman pleased Hegai, and he was kind to her. So he quickly gave her beauty treatments and special food. He gave her seven chosen servant girls from the palace. He moved her and her servant girls to the best place in the harem. ¹⁰Esther did not tell anyone who her people or family were, because Mordecai had told her not to tell. ¹¹Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem. He wanted to find out how Esther was doing and what was happening to her. ¹²Before each young woman's turn to go to King Xerxes, she had to have twelve months of beauty care. That was the rule of the harem. For six months she was treated with oil of myrrh. For six more months she was treated with perfumes and lotions. ¹³When a young woman went to the king, she could take anything she asked for. She could take it with her from the harem to the king's palace. ¹⁴She would go there in the evening. In the morning she would go back to a second harem. It was in the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go to the king again unless he was pleased with her and called for her by name. ¹⁵Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, Mordecai's uncle. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter. When it was her turn to go to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai advised. Hegai was the king's trusted eunuch in charge of the harem. And everyone who saw Esther liked her. ¹⁶Esther was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace. It was in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth. It was the seventh year of his rule. ¹⁷The king loved Esther more than all the other women. She won his kindness and favor more than all the other virgins. So he put the royal crown on her head. He made her queen in place of Vashti. ¹⁸Then the king held a great feast for all his officials and servants. It was called Esther's feast. He gave the provinces a break from paying taxes. He gave gifts as only a rich king could give. ¹⁹The virgins were gathered a second time. At that time Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. ²⁰Esther still had not told anyone who her family or her people were. Mordecai had told her not to. She obeyed Mordecai, just as she did when he was raising her. ²¹In those days Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. Two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, grew angry. They guarded the door to the king. They made a secret plan to kill King Xerxes. ²²But Mordecai found out about the plot. He told Queen Esther. Then she told the king, and she said Mordecai was the one who found it out. ²³The report was looked into and found to be true. So both men were hanged on a pole. All this was written down in the Book of the Chronicles while the king watched.