Ester 2
Svenska 1917
2 Efter en tids förlopp, sedan konung Ahasveros' vrede hade lagt sig, tänkte han åter på Vasti och vad hon hade gjort, och vad som var beslutet om henne.
2 Då sade konungens män som betjänade honom: »Må man för konungens räkning söka upp unga och fagra jungfrur,
3 och må konungen i sitt rikes alla hövdingdömen förordna vissa män som samla tillhopa alla dessa unga och fagra jungfrur till fruhuset i Susans borg och överlämna dem åt konungens hovman Hege, kvinnovaktaren, och man give dem vad nödigt är till deras beredelse.
4 Och den kvinna som konungen finner behag i blive drottning i Vastis ställe.» Detta tal behagade konungen, och han gjorde så.
5 I Susans borg fanns då en judisk man som hette Mordokai, son till Jair, son till Simei, son till Kis, en benjaminit;
6 denne hade blivit bortförd från Jerusalem med de fångar som fördes bort tillsammans med Jekonja, Juda konung, när denne fördes bort av Nebukadnessar, konungen i Babel.
7 Han var fosterfader åt Hadassa, som ock kallades Ester, hans farbroders dotter; ty hon hade varken fader eller moder. Hon var en flicka med skön gestalt, fager att skåda; och efter hennes faders och moders död hade Mordokai upptagit henne såsom sin egen dotter.
8 Då nu konungens befallning och påbud blev kunnigt, och många unga kvinnor samlades tillhopa till Susans borg och överlämnades åt Hegai, blev ock Ester hämtad till konungshuset och överlämnad åt kvinnovaktaren Hegai.
9 Och flickan behagade honom och fann nåd inför honom; därför skyndade han att giva henne vad nödigt var till hennes beredelse, så ock den kost hon skulle hava, ävensom att giva henne från konungshuset de sju tärnor som utsågos åt henne. Och han lät henne med sina tärnor flytta in i den bästa delen av fruhuset.
10 Men om sitt folk och sin släkt hade Ester icke yppat något, ty Mordokai hade förbjudit henne att yppa något därom.
11 Och Mordokai gick var dag fram och åter utanför gården till fruhuset, för att få veta huru det stod till med Ester, och vad som vederfors henne.
12 Nu var det så, att när ordningen kom till den ena eller andra av de unga kvinnorna att gå in till konung Ahasveros, sedan med henne hade förfarits i tolv månader såsom det var påbjudet om kvinnorna (så lång tid åtgick nämligen till att bereda dem: sex månader med myrraolja och sex månader med välluktande kryddor och annat som var nödigt till kvinnornas beredelse),
13 när alltså en kvinna gick in till konungen, då fick hon taga med sig ifrån fruhuset till konungshuset allt vad hon begärde.
14 Och sedan hon om aftonen hade gått ditin, skulle hon om morgonen, när hon gick tillbaka, gå in i det andra fruhuset och överlämnas åt konungens hovman Saasgas, som hade vakten över bihustrurna. Hon fick sedan icke mer komma in till konungen, om icke konungen hade funnit sådant behag i henne, att hon uttryckligen blev kallad till honom.
15 Då nu ordningen att gå in till konungen kom till Ester, dotter till Abihail, farbroder till Mordokai, som hade upptagit henne till sin dotter, begärde hon intet annat än det som konungens hovman Hegai, kvinnovaktaren, rådde henne till. Och Ester fann nåd för allas ögon, som sågo henne.
16 Ester blev hämtad till konung Ahasveros i hans kungliga palats i tionde månaden, det är månaden Tebet, i hans sjunde regeringsår.
17 Och Ester blev konungen kärare än alla de andra kvinnorna, och hon fann nåd och ynnest inför honom mer än alla de andra jungfrurna, så att han satte en kunglig krona på hennes huvud och gjorde henne till drottning i Vastis ställe.
18 Och konungen gjorde ett stort gästabud för alla sina furstar och tjänare, ett gästabud till Esters ära; och han beviljade skattelindring åt sina hövdingdömen och delade ut skänker, såsom det hövdes en konung.
19 När sedermera jungfrur för andra gången samlades tillhopa och Mordokai satt i konungens port
20 (men Ester hade, såsom Mordokai bjöd henne, icke yppat något om sin släkt och sitt folk, ty Ester gjorde efter Mordokais befallning, likasom när hon var under hans vård),
21 vid den tiden, under det att Mordokai satt i konungens port, blevo Bigetan och Teres, två av de hovmän hos konungen, som höllo vakt vid tröskeln, förbittrade på konung Ahasveros och sökte tillfälle att bära hand på honom.
22 Härom fick Mordokai kunskap, och han berättade det för drottning Ester; därefter omtalade Ester det för konungen på Mordokais vägnar.
23 Saken blev nu undersökt och så befunnen; och de blevo båda upphängda på trä. Och detta upptecknades i krönikan, för konungen.
Esther 2
EasyEnglish Bible
Esther becomes queen
2 Some time later, King Xerxes was not feeling so angry. He thought about Vashti and what she had done. He remembered the law that he had made, that she should not be queen any more.[a]
2 The king's servants who helped him in the palace said, ‘We think that the king should send some men to look for beautiful young women for him. 3 The king could choose officers from every region of his kingdom to do this. They will bring all the beautiful young women here to Susa. Hegai will take care of them in the royal harem.[b] He is the eunuch who has that job. The young women will receive special oils and perfumes to make them more beautiful. 4 The king may choose the young woman that pleases him most. She may take the place of Vashti as queen.’
King Xerxes thought that this was a good idea. He did everything that the servants said.
5 A Jewish man called Mordecai lived in Susa. He was the son of Jair. Jair was the son of Shimei. Shimei was the son of Kish. Kish was a descendant of Benjamin. 6 When Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon, he had taken Kish away from Jerusalem as a prisoner. That was the time when Nebuchadnezzar also took Jeconiah, king of Judah, away to Babylon as well as other Jews.[c]
7 Mordecai was taking care of a young cousin called Hadassah. She was also called Esther.[d] Esther's mother and father were no longer alive. She was the daughter of Mordecai's uncle. When her parents died, Mordecai took care of her, as if she was his own daughter. Esther was very beautiful.
8 Esther was one of the young women that the king's officers took to Susa. That happened because of the king's command. The beautiful young women lived in the royal harem. Hegai had the authority to take care of them. 9 Hegai liked Esther and he was kind to her. As soon as Esther arrived, Hegai gave her special food and oils to make her more beautiful. He chose seven female servants from the king's palace to take care of her. Then he moved Esther and her servants to the best rooms in the harem.
10 Esther did not tell anyone that she was a Jew. That is what Mordecai had told her. 11 Mordecai wanted to know what was happening to Esther. So every day he walked in the palace yard that was near the harem. He wanted to hear some news about her.
12 All the young women stayed in the harem for 12 months. For six months they received myrrh oil for their bodies. Then they received perfume and different kinds of oil for another six months. After that time they could each go to the king's bedroom. 13 When the time came for a young woman to go to the king, she could take whatever she wanted with her. She would take those things with her from the harem to the king's room.[e]
14 She would go to be with the king in the evening. She would stay with him during that night. In the morning, she went to a different part of the harem. That was where the king's slave wives lived. One of the king's eunuchs, Shaashgaz, took care of them there.[f] After that, the young woman would only see the king again if he was pleased with her. Then he would ask for her by name.
15 One evening, it was the time for Abihail's daughter, Esther, to go to the king. Abihail was Mordecai's uncle. After Abihail had died, Mordecai took care of Esther as if she was his own daughter. Everyone who saw Esther liked her. When she went to the king, she took with her only the things that Hegai had suggested. 16 Esther went to King Xerxes in his royal rooms in the palace. That happened in the tenth month of the year, called Tebeth. King Xerxes had ruled for seven years.
17 The king loved Esther more than he loved any of the other women. He was more pleased with her than all the other young women. He put the royal crown on her head. He chose Esther to be queen, instead of Vashti. 18 The king gave a great feast for all the leaders and officers of his kingdom. He did it to give honour to Esther. He said that there would be a holiday for people in all the regions. He also gave expensive gifts to people.
Mordecai saves the king
19 Some time later, the young women all came together again in the harem. At this time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, as one of his officers.[g]
20 Esther still had not told anyone that she was a Jew. Mordecai had told her that she should not tell anyone. She continued to obey Mordecai, as she had done when she lived with him as his daughter.
21 One day, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. While he was there, two of the king's eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh, became angry with King Xerxes. They decided that they would kill the king. 22 Mordecai heard about this. So he told Queen Esther about it. Queen Esther told the king what Mordecai had said. 23 The king sent his men to see if it was true. When he discovered that Mordecai had told the truth, he said that the two eunuchs must die. So his officers hanged them from a wooden tower until they were dead. They wrote about this event in the history book, while the king watched.
Footnotes
- 2:1 King Xerxes could not change the law. Because of this law he no longer had a queen.
- 2:3 (1) Often kings at the time of this story had many wives. The harem was the part of the palace where the king's wives lived. — (2) It was also the name of the wives of a man who has several wives. The men who looked after a harem were eunuchs.
- 2:6 Judah was the south part of Israel.
- 2:7 Hadassah was a Hebrew name. Esther was a Persian name.
- 2:13 Each young woman could choose what clothes and jewels she wanted to wear when she went to be with the king.
- 2:14 These women did not have any authority in the house. In the king's harem, some of these women did not see the king again. They did not have the authority that the queen had.
- 2:19 The king's gate at the palace was the place where the king's officers would meet.
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