Esther 2

1 Later on, after all this had happened, King Xerxes' anger subsided and he thought about Vashti and what she'd done, and the decree issued against her.

After these things, when the king's feelings were calmer, the thought of Vashti and what she had done and the order he had made against her, came back to his mind.

2 His advisors suggested to him, “Why not order a search to find beautiful young virgins for Your Majesty?

Then the servants who were waiting on the king said to him, Let search be made for some fair young virgins for the king:

3 Your Majesty should put officers in charge in each province of his empire to gather all the beautiful young women and bring them to the king's harem at the fortress of Susa. They should placed under the supervision of Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the women, and they should be given beauty treatments.

Let the king give authority to certain men in all the divisions of his kingdom, to get together all the fair young virgins and send them to Shushan, the king's town, to the women's house, under the care of Hegai, the king's servant, the keeper of the women: and let the things needed for making them clean be given to them;

4 The young woman the king finds most attractive can become queen in place of Vashti.” The king thought this was a good idea, so he acted upon it.

And let the girl who is pleasing to the king be queen in place of Vashti. And the king was pleased with this suggestion; and he did so.

5 There was a Jewish man living in the fortress of Susa named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite

Now there was a certain Jew in Shushan named Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

6 who was among those taken prisoner with King Jehoiachin of Judah and carried into exile from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

Who had been taken away from Jerusalem among those who had been made prisoner with Jeconiah, king of Judah, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken him away.

7 He had brought up Hadassah (or Esther), his uncle's daughter, because she had no father or mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was very attractive. After her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.

And he had been a father to Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his father's brother: for she had no father or mother, and she was very beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his daughter.

8 When the king's order and decree had been announced, many young women were brought to the fortress of Susa under the supervision of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the king's palace and placed under the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.

So when the order made by the king was publicly given out, and a number of girls had been placed in the care of Hegai in the king's house in Shushan, Esther was taken into the king's house and put in the care of Hegai, the keeper of the women.

9 Esther caught his eye and he treated her favorably. He quickly arranged beauty treatments and special food for her. He also provided her with seven specially-chosen maids from the king's palace, and moved her and her maids to the best location in the harem.

And he was pleased with the girl and was kind to her; and he quickly gave her what was needed for making her clean, and the things which were hers by right, and seven servant-girls who were to be hers from the king's house: and he had her and her servant-girls moved to the best place in the women's part of the house.

10 Esther had not let anyone know her nationality or who her family was, because Mordecai had ordered her not to.

Esther had not said what family or people she came from, for Mordecai had given her orders not to do so.

11 Each day Mordecai spent time walking around in front of the courtyard of the harem so he could find out how Esther was doing and what was happening to her.

And every day Mordecai took his walk before the square of the women's house, to see how Esther was and what would be done to her.

12 Before it was the turn of a young woman to go to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments for women that were required: six months with oil of myrrh, and six with perfumed oils and ointments.

Now every girl, when her turn came, had to go in to King Ahasuerus, after undergoing, for a space of twelve months, what was ordered by the law for the women (for this was the time necessary for making them clean, that is, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with sweet perfumes and such things as are needed for making women clean):

13 When it was time for the young woman to go to the king, she was given whatever she asked for to take with her from the harem to the king's palace.

And in this way the girl went in to the king; whatever she had a desire for was given to her to take with her from the women's house into the house of the king.

14 In the evening she would go, and in the morning she would return to a different harem under the supervision of Shaashgaz, who was the king's eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would not go back to be with the king again unless he was particularly attracted to her and called for her by name.

In the evening she went, and on the day after she came back to the second house of the women, into the keeping of Shaashgaz, one of the king's unsexed servants who had the care of the king's wives: only if the king had delight in her and sent for her by name did she go in to him again.

15 (Esther was the daughter of Abihail, Mordecai's uncle. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.) When it was Esther's turn to go to the king, she didn't ask for anything to take with her except what Hegai advised. (He was the king's eunuch in charge of the women.) Esther was looked on with admiration by everybody.

Now when the time came for Esther, the daughter of Abihail, his father's brother, whom Mordecai had taken as his daughter, to go in to the king, she made request for nothing but what Hegai, the king's servant and keeper of the women, had given her. And Esther was looked on kindly by all who saw her.

16 Esther was taken to King Xerxes into his royal palace, in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

So Esther was taken in to King Ahasuerus in his house in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his rule.

17 The king loved Esther more than all the other women. He treated her more favorably and with greater kindness than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

And Esther was more pleasing to the king than all the women, and to his eyes she was fairer and more full of grace than all the other virgins: so he put his crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

18 The king gave a great feast for all his officials and administrators—Esther's feast. He also declared it a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed generous gifts.

Then the king gave a great feast for all his captains and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he gave orders through all the divisions of his kingdom for a day of rest from work, and gave wealth from his store.

19 Even though there had been a second gathering of virgins, and Mordecai had been given a position by the king,

And when the virgins came together in the second house of the women, Mordecai took his seat in the doorway of the king's house.

20 Esther still did not let anyone know about her family or her nationality, as Mordecai had ordered her. She followed Mordecai's instructions just as she did when he brought her up.

Esther had still said nothing of her family or her people, as Mordecai had given her orders; for Esther did what Mordecai said, as when she was living with him.

21 At that time, as Mordecai was doing his work at the palace gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two eunuchs who guarded the entrance to the king's rooms, became furious with King Xerxes and looked for a way to assassinate him.

In those days, while Mordecai was seated at the king's doorway, two of the king's servants, Bigthan and Teresh, keepers of the door, being angry, were looking for a chance to make an attack on King Ahasuerus.

22 Mordecai found out about the plot and reported it to Queen Esther. Esther in turn told the king on Mordecai's behalf.

And Mordecai, having knowledge of their purpose, sent word of it to Esther the queen; and Esther gave the news to the king in Mordecai's name.

23 When the plot was investigated and found to be true, both men were impaled on poles. This was recorded in the official Book of Records by order of the king.

And when the thing had been looked into, it was seen to be true, and the two of them were put to death by hanging on a tree: and it was put down in the records before the king.