Esther 2
The Voice
2 A little while later, when King Ahasuerus was no longer angry, he began thinking about Vashti, her actions that night at the party, and his decision to dismiss her from his presence. 2 Seeing the king’s mood, his servants had a suggestion.
Servants: King Ahasuerus, someone should find beautiful young women who are old enough to be married for you. 3 We suggest you appoint officers in every province of Persia to round up every eligible woman and add her to your harem in the citadel of Susa. Hegai, the king’s eunuch who is in charge of the harem, will see to it that all of the women are properly prepared and receive all the needed cosmetics. 4 Then whichever young woman delights you the most will reign as queen in Vashti’s place.
King Ahasuerus liked the advice of his servants and gave them permission to execute the plan.
5 Meanwhile in the citadel of Susa, there was a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai. He was the son of Jair who was a descendent of Shimei and Kish. 6 It was at the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon that Jeconiah (king of Judah) and Mordecai’s ancestors had been forced out of the city of Jerusalem to live as exiles in Babylon. 7 Mordecai had a cousin who was a young and beautiful girl named Hadassah, and she was also called Esther. After her mother and father died, Mordecai adopted her into his family as his daughter.
8 As the result of the king’s decree, Esther, along with many other young women, was brought to the royal palace in the citadel of Susa, and she was put in the care of Hegai (who was in charge of the harem). 9 Esther soon impressed Hegai and was favored. He arranged that she be given the most lustrous beauty treatments and fed the finest fruits and vegetables from the king’s garden. He assigned to her seven servants and moved her and her servants to the harem’s finest rooms. 10 Mordecai had instructed Esther to keep her Jewish heritage a secret, and so she told no one. Still her cousin worried about her. 11 Every day Mordecai paced back and forth near the courtyard of the harem to see if he could find out some news, any news, about Esther.
12 Before going in to the king, each young woman went through 12 months of beauty treatments, as the harem’s rules prescribed. For the first 6 months the women were treated with the palace’s finest myrrh oil, and that was followed by 6 months in perfume and other women’s cosmetics. 13 This is how a young woman would go in to the king: each woman was allowed to take whatever she wanted or needed from the harem into the king’s rooms. 14 In the evening the woman would go in to King Ahasuerus’ chambers and then, the next morning, she would return to the harem again, but now she would be watched over by Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of his concubines. No woman returned to the king’s rooms unless he was pleased by her and called for her by name.
15 Esther was the daughter of Abihail who in turn was the uncle of Mordecai. When it was time for Esther, whom Mordecai had adopted, to go in to the king, she didn’t ask for anything special. She took only what Hegai suggested. Since he was the king’s eunuch in charge of the women, he would know what was best. Now Esther had some special qualities, and all who met her favored her. 16 In the 10th month (the month of Tebeth) during the 7th year of his reign, four years after King Ahasuerus dethroned Queen Vashti, Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus in the king’s rooms. 17 The king found her to be more desirable than all of the other women. Unlike the other young women brought before him, she alone won his heart and his favor. So he made her his queen instead of Vashti and placed the royal crown on her head. 18 King Ahasuerus invited all of the nobles and officials to a state banquet in honor of Esther, his new queen. He declared that day as a holiday throughout his entire kingdom and distributed extravagant gifts.
19 When the young women were gathered together for a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the palace gate where the men gathered for business and legal decisions. 20 Since Mordecai had required Esther to keep her Jewish heritage a secret, she had told no one. She continued to obey him as she did when he took care of her. 21 One day while Mordecai was at the gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the door, were plotting to kill King Ahasuerus. They were angry over some matter. 22 But Mordecai learned of their plan and reported it to Queen Esther who told the king about the plot, giving credit to her cousin. 23 After a thorough investigation, the report was proven true. So the two officers were killed and displayed on a pole. All of this information was chronicled in the presence of the king, in the public record.
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
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