Esther 2
Legacy Standard Bible
A Queen in Place of Vashti
2 After these things (A)when the wrath of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and (B)what had been decided against her. 2 Then the young men of the king, who attended to him, said, “(C)Let young virgins, beautiful in appearance, be sought for the king. 3 And let the king appoint overseers in (D)all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every young virgin, beautiful in appearance, to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the hand of (E)Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who keeps charge of the women; and (F)let their cosmetics be given to them. 4 Then let the young lady who is good in the eyes of the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the word was good in the eyes of the king, and he did so.
5 Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew. And his name was (G)Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 6 (H)who had been taken away into exile from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been taken away into exile with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had taken away into exile. 7 And he was bringing up Hadassah, that is (I)Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
Esther Advances in Favor
8 Now it happened that when the word and law of the king were heard and (J)many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the hand of (K)Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s [a]house into the hand of Hegai, who kept charge of the women. 9 And the young lady was good in his eyes, and she advanced in lovingkindness before him. So he hurried to give her (L)cosmetics and portions of food to her, and to give to her seven choice young women from the king’s [b]house. And he transferred her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 10 (M)Esther did not tell anyone about her people or her kinsmen, for Mordecai had commanded her that she should not tell anyone about them. 11 And every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to know the well-being of Esther and [c]how she fared.
12 Now when it reached the turn of each young lady to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their cosmetic treatment were fulfilled as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women— 13 then the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she said she desired was given to her to come with her from the harem to the king’s house. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the hand of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept charge of the concubines. She would not again go in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.
15 Now when it reached the turn of Esther, (N)the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she did not seek anything except what (O)Hegai, the king’s eunuch who kept charge of the women, said. And Esther advanced in favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal house in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Esther Is Made Queen
17 And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she advanced in favor and lovingkindness before him more than all the virgins, so that (P)he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. 18 Then (Q)the king held a great feast, Esther’s feast, for all his princes and his servants; he also held a remission of taxes for the provinces and gave gifts (R)according to the king’s hand.
19 (S)And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai (T)was sitting at the king’s gate. 20 (U)Esther had not yet told anyone about her kinsmen or her people, just as Mordecai had commanded her; indeed Esther was doing [d]what Mordecai declared that she do, just as she had done (V)when she was being brought up by him.
Two of the King’s Eunuchs Are Hanged
21 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, (W)Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who were doorkeepers, became furious and sought to send forth their hand against King Ahasuerus. 22 But the matter became known to Mordecai, and (X)he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther said it to the king in Mordecai’s name. 23 Then the matter was sought out and found to be true, so they were both hanged on a [e]gallows; and it was written in (Y)the book of the chronicles in the king’s presence.
Footnotes
- Esther 2:8 Or palace
- Esther 2:9 Or palace
- Esther 2:11 Lit what was done to her
- Esther 2:20 Lit the declaration of Mordecai
- Esther 2:23 Lit tree, cf. Deut 21:22-23
Esther 2
Evangelical Heritage Version
2 When King Xerxes was no longer so angry, he remembered what Vashti had done and what had been decreed about her.
2 The young men who served as attendants to the king said, “Search for good-looking, young virgins for the king. 3 Let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of the kingdom to do this. Gather all the good-looking, young virgins into the citadel at Susa, to the harem under the supervision of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, the overseer of the women. Give them beauty treatments. 4 The young woman who pleases the king should be queen instead of Vashti.” The king agreed and implemented the plan.
5 In the citadel at Susa there was a Jew named Mordecai, who was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish the Benjaminite. 6 Kish had been taken from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon with the other captives who were exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah.[a]
7 Mordecai had raised his cousin Hadassah (also called Esther) because she had no father or mother. She was shapely and good-looking. When her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her as his daughter.
8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, and many young women had been gathered into the citadel of Susa under the supervision of Hegai, Esther was taken to the king’s palace, to Hegai, who was in charge of the harem. 9 She pleased Hegai and gained his favor. He quickly provided her with beauty treatments and food. He assigned a good position in the harem to her and to the seven female attendants picked out for her from the king’s palace.
10 Esther had not revealed her nationality or her family background because Mordecai had told her not to do so.
11 Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the harem, to learn about Esther’s well-being and about what was going to be done with her.
12 Every young woman received a turn to go to King Xerxes after she had received the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments. For six months they used oil of myrrh; for six months perfumes and other beauty treatments for women. 13 Then the young woman went to the king. Everything she desired was given to her when she went from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 She went to the king in the evening. In the morning she returned to the second harem, under the supervision of Sha’ashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She did not return to the king unless he was delighted with her and she was summoned by name.
15 Esther was the daughter of Abihail, Mordecai’s uncle. Mordecai had adopted her.
When her turn came to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, had advised. Esther won the approval of everyone watching her.
16 Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, during the seventh year[b] of his reign.
17 The king loved Esther more than he loved all the other women. She won his favor and approval more than all the other virgins did. He placed the crown of the kingdom on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
18 The king gave a great banquet in honor of Esther for all his officials and administrators. He declared a tax holiday for the provinces and gave gifts as only the king could give.
19 When the virgins were gathered together for a second time,[c] Mordecai was sitting in the gatehouse to the king’s palace. 20 (Esther had not revealed her family or her nationality because when Mordecai had been taking care of her, Mordecai had told her not to do so.)
21 When Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gatehouse, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who controlled access to the entrance to the palace, became very angry and plotted to kill King Xerxes. 22 When Mordecai learned about this, he told Queen Esther. She passed the report along to the king, crediting Mordecai by name. 23 The matter was investigated, and the charges were found to be true, and both of them were hanged.[d] This incident was recorded in the daily record book, in the presence of the king.
Footnotes
- Esther 2:6 This occurred in 597 bc. Jeconiah was also called Jehoiachin.
- Esther 2:16 About 479 bc
- Esther 2:19 Or had been moved to the second harem
- Esther 2:23 Or impaled on a pole
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