Esther 2

Search for a New Queen

2Some time later, ^pwhen King Ahasuerus’s rage ^qhad cooled down, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what was decided against her. ^r2The king’s personal attendants ^ssuggested, “Let a search be made for beautiful young women for the king. ^t3Let the king appoint commissioners ^uin each province of his kingdom, so that they may assemble all the beautiful young women to the harem at the fortress of Susa. ^vPut them under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, ^wwho is in charge of the women, ^xand give them the required beauty treatments. ⁴Then the young woman who pleases the king ^ywill become queen instead of Vashti.” ^zThis suggestion pleased the king, and he did accordingly.

⁵In the fortress of Susa, there was a Jewish man named Mordecai ^ason of Jair, son of Shimei, ^bson of Kish, ^ca Benjaminite. ⁶He had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the other captives when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took King Jeconiah ^dof Judah into exile. ^e7Mordecai was the legal guardian of his cousin ^fHadassah (that is, Esther), because she didn’t have a father or mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was extremely good-looking. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. ^g

⁸When the king’s command and edict became public knowledge, many young women gathered at the fortress of Susa under Hegai’s care. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. ⁹The young woman pleased him and gained his favor ^hso that he accelerated the process of the beauty treatments and the special diet that she received. He assigned seven hand-picked female servants to her from the palace and transferred her and her servants to the harem’s best quarters.

¹⁰Esther did not reveal her ethnic background or her birthplace, because Mordecai had ordered her not to. ¹¹Every day Mordecai took a walk in front of the harem’s courtyard to learn how Esther was doing and to see what was happening to her.

¹²During the year before each young woman’s turn to go to King Ahasuerus, the harem regulation required her to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months. ¹³When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the palace. ¹⁴She would go in the evening, and in the morning she would return to a second harem under the supervision of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. ⁱShe never went to the king again, unless he desired her and summoned her by name. ^j

Esther Becomes Queen

¹⁵Esther was the daughter of Abihail, ^kthe uncle of Mordecai who had adopted her as his own daughter. When her turn came to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem, suggested. Esther won approval in the sight of everyone who saw her. ^l

¹⁶She was taken to King Ahasuerus in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. ^m17The king loved Esther more than all the other women. She won more favor and approval from him than did any of the other young women. He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. ⁿ¹⁸The king held a great banquet for all his officials and staff. ^oIt was Esther’s banquet. He freed his provinces from tax payments and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty. ^p

¹⁹When the young women ^qwere assembled together for a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate. ^r20Esther still had not revealed her birthplace or her ethnic background, as Mordecai had directed. She obeyed Mordecai’s orders, as she always had while he raised her.

Mordecai Saves the King

²¹During those days while Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two eunuchs ^swho guarded the king’s entrance, became infuriated and planned to assassinate ^tKing Ahasuerus. ²²When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she told the king on Mordecai’s behalf. ^u23When the report was investigated and verified, both men were hanged on the gallows. ^vThis event was recorded in the Historical Record in the king’s presence.