Esther 1–10

The King’s Banquets

1And it happened in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Cush^a—over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.^{b 2}In those days as King Ahasuerus was sitting on the throne of his kingdom, which was in the citadel of Susa, ³he gave a banquet in the third year of his reign for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and officials of the provinces were in his presence ⁴as he displayed the wealth of the glory of his kingdom and the glorious splendor of his greatness for many days, one hundred and eighty days^c.

⁵And when those days were completed, the king gave for all the people that were present at the citadel of Susa, both great and small, a banquet in the courtyard of the king’s palace garden that lasted seven days. ⁶There were curtains of finely woven linen and blue cloth tied with cords of fine white linen and purple cloth to silver curtain rings and pillars of alabaster, and couches of gold and silver on a paved floor of alabaster, precious stone, mother-of-pearl, and costly stones.^{d 7}Drinks were served in goblets of gold and goblets of different kinds,^e and there was plentiful royal wine according to the bounty of the king.^{f 8}There were no restrictions on the drinking, for the king had instructed every official of his palace to do as each one pleased. ⁹Furthermore, Queen Vashti gave a banquet for the women in the palace^g that belonged to King Ahasuerus.

Queen Vashti Refuses the King’s Request

¹⁰On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven of the eunuchs attending King Ahasuerus, ¹¹to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown^h to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was very attractive.^{i 12}But Queen Vashti refused to come at the word of the king that was conveyed by^j the eunuchs. And the king became very angry, and his anger burned in him.

¹³And the king said to the wise men, the ones who know the times^k—for it was the procedure of the king before all those who knew [law and rights];^{l 14}and those next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memucan, the seven officials of Persia and Media who had access to the king^m and sat first in the kingdom— ¹⁵“According to the law, what is to be done with Queen Vashti, because she has not done the command of King Ahasuerus conveyed byⁿ the eunuchs? ¹⁶And Memucan said before the king and the officials, “Not only has Queen Vashti done wrong to the king, but to all the officials and all of the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. ¹⁷For this deed of the queen will be known^o to all the women, causing them to look with contempt on their husbands,^p as they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him but she did not come!’ ¹⁸This day the women of nobility from Persia and Media who have heard this deed of the queen will respond the same way to all the officials of the king and there will be no end to contempt and anger. ¹⁹If it pleases^q the king, let a royal edict^r go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of Persia and Media so that it will not be altered, that Vashti cannot come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to her neighbor who is better than she. ²⁰And let the king’s decree that he will make be proclaimed in all his kingdom, because it is vast and all the women will honor their husbands, great and small.”^s

²¹This advice pleased the king^t and the officials, and the king acted according to the word of Memucan. ²²And he sent letters to all the provinces of the king, to each province according to its own script, and to every people in their own language,^u that every man should be the master of his house and who speaks in the language^v of his people.

Esther is Chosen Queen

2After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. ²And the king’s servants attending him said, “Let them seek attractive young virgins for the king. ³Let the king appoint chief officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every attractive young virgin to the harem^a in the citadel of Susa under the care of^b Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let him give them their beauty treatment. ⁴And let the young woman who is pleasing^c in the king’s eyes become queen in place of Vashti.” The thing was good in the king’s eyes, and he acted accordingly.

⁵There was a Jew in the citadel of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, ⁶who was deported^d from Jerusalem with the exiles^e who were deported^f with Jeconiah^g the king of Judah, whom King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had deported.^{h 7}Heⁱ was raising Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter,^j for she did not have a father or a mother; the young woman had a beautiful figure and was very attractive. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had taken her as his daughter. ⁸And it happened, at the proclaiming of the edict of the king and his law, when many young women were being gathered to the citadel of Susa under Hegai’s care,^k Esther was taken to the king’s palace^l under the care of^m Hegai who was in charge of the women. ⁹The young woman pleased himⁿ and she won favor in his presence, and he quickly provided for her beauty treatment and her portion of food, with seven chosen maids to give to her from the king’s palace,^o and he advanced her and her maids to the best part of the harem.^{p 10}Esther did not disclose her people and her family because Mordecai had charged her that she must not tell. ¹¹And every day Mordecai would walk up and down in front of the courtyard of the harem^q to learn how Esther was doing.^r

¹²When the turn came for each girl to go to King Ahasuerus, after the end of twelve months of being under the regulations of the women—for the days of their beauty treatments had to be filled, six months with the oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and women’s cosmetics—¹³in this way, the girl goes to the king and all that she asks is given to her to take^s with her from the harem^t to the king’s palace.^{u 14}In the evening she would go and in the morning she would return to the second harem^v under the care of^w Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was called by name.

¹⁵When the turn came near for Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as a daughter, to go to the king, she did not ask anything except what Hegai the eunuch of the king who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther carried favor in the eyes of everyone that saw her. ¹⁶Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his palace,^x in the tenth month that is Tebeth in the seventh year of his reign. ¹⁷And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won his favor and loyalty more than all the virgins, so he put a royal crown^y on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸And the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. And he granted a tax amnesty^z to the provinces and he gave gifts with royal liberality.

A Plot Against the King

¹⁹When the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the gate of the king. ²⁰Esther had not made known her family and her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her,^a just as when she was brought up by him. ²¹In those days Mordecai was sitting at the gate of the king. Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from the keepers of the threshold, became angry and they conspired to assassinate^b King Ahasuerus. ²²And the matter became known to Mordecai and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told it to the king in the name of Mordecai. ²³And the matter was investigated and found to be so; and the two of them were hanged on the gallows, and it was written in the scroll of the events of the days before the presence of the king.

Haman is Promoted

3After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and he exalted him and set his position^a above all the officials who were with him. ²And all of the king’s servants who were at the gate of the king were kneeling and bowing down to Haman; for so the king had commanded concerning him, but Mordecai did not kneel and bow down. ³And the king’s servants who were at the gate of the king said to Mordecai, “Why are you transgressing the command of the king?” ⁴They spoke to him day after day, but he did not listen to them, and they informed Haman to see if Mordecai’s resolve would prevail;^b for he had told them that he was a Jew. ⁵And Haman saw that Mordecai was not kneeling and bowing down to him, and he was filled with wrath. ⁶But he considered it beneath him^c to lay hands on Mordecai only, for they told him of Mordecai’s people, and Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, who were in the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

⁷In the first month, that is, the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasurus, he cast pur—that is, the lot—before the presence of Haman for the day and for the month,^d until^e the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar. ⁸And Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and separated among the peoples in all of the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from every other people, and they do not observe^f the laws of the king; it is not appropriate for the king to tolerate them. ⁹If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will pay^g ten thousand talents^h of silver to those who do the job, to bring to the treasury of the king.” ¹⁰So the king removed his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the…