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19 Later the king demanded a second bevy of beautiful girls.[a] By that time Mordecai had become a government official.

20 Esther still hadn’t told anyone she was a Jewess, for she was still following Mordecai’s orders, just as she had in his home.

21 One day as Mordecai was on duty at the palace, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh—who were guards at the palace gate—became angry at the king and plotted to assassinate him. 22 Mordecai heard about it and passed on the information to Queen Esther, who told the king, crediting Mordecai with the information. 23 An investigation was made, the two men found guilty, and impaled alive.[b] This was all duly recorded in the book of the history of King Ahasuerus’ reign.

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Footnotes

  1. Esther 2:19 Later . . . a second bevy of beautiful girls, or “When Esther and the other girls had been transferred to the second harem.”
  2. Esther 2:23 impaled alive, literally, “hanged on a tree.” Possibly the meaning is that they were crucified.

Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy

19 When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.(A) 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.(B)

21 During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana[a] and Teresh, two of the king’s officers(C) who guarded the doorway, became angry(D) 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(E) on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals(F) in the presence of the king.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Esther 2:21 Hebrew Bigthan, a variant of Bigthana