¹⁵ When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail^(A)) to go to the king,^(B) she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor^(C) of everyone who saw her. ¹⁶ She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷ Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen^(D) instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ And the king gave a great banquet,^(E) Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials.^(F) He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.^(G)

Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy

¹⁹ When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.^{(H) 20} But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.^(I)

²¹ During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana^[a] and Teresh, two of the king’s officers^(J) who guarded the doorway, became angry^(K) and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. ²² But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. ²³ And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled^(L) on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals^(M) in the presence of the king.^(N)