Esther 2:10-14

Living Bible

¹⁰ Esther hadn’t told anyone that she was a Jewess, for Mordecai had said not to. ¹¹ He came daily to the court of the harem to ask about Esther and to find out what was happening to her.

^12-14 The instructions concerning these girls were that before being taken to the king’s bed, each would be given six months of beauty treatments with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. Then, as each girl’s turn came for spending the night with King Ahasuerus, she was given her choice of clothing or jewelry she wished, to enhance her beauty. She was taken to the king’s apartment in the evening and the next morning returned to the second harem where the king’s wives lived. There she was under the care of Shaashgaz, another of the king’s eunuchs and lived there the rest of her life, never seeing the king again unless he had especially enjoyed her and called for her by name.