Esther 2

Later, when King Xerxes' anger had died down, he remembered Vashti and what she'd done and what he'd decreed about her.

And the king's personal attendants said, “Let a search be made for beautiful young women for the king.

Let the king appoint officers in every province of his kingdom to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the fortress of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the women, and let them be given beauty treatments.

Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice pleased the king, and he did it.

Now there was a Jew in the fortress of Susa called Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

who'd been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken with Jehoiachin king of Judah.

Mordecai had brought up Hadassah — that is, Esther — his uncle's daughter, because she had no father or mother. The young woman had a lovely figure and was beautiful, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.

When the king's order and edict had been announced, and many young women were brought to the fortress of Susa and put under Hegai's care, Esther was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who was in charge of the women.

The young woman pleased him and won his favour. He quickly provided her with her beauty treatments and her food, and gave her seven chosen maids from the king's palace, and moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.

Esther hadn't said anything about her people or her family background, because Mordecai had told her not to.

And every day Mordecai walked back and forth near the courtyard of the harem, to find out how Esther was and what was happening to her.

Before a young woman's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments — six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics.

And this is how she'd go to the king: she was given whatever she wanted to take with her from the harem to the king's palace.

She'd go in the evening, and in the morning she'd go back to another part of the harem, to the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch in charge of the concubines. She wouldn't go back to the king unless he was pleased with her and called for her by name.

When the turn came for Esther, the daughter of Mordecai's uncle Abihail, who'd taken her as his own daughter, she didn't ask for anything except what Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favour of everyone who saw her.

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.

And the king was more attracted to Esther than to any of the other women, and she won his favour and approval more than any of the others. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

And the king put on a great banquet, Esther's banquet, for all his nobles and officials. He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and handed out gifts with royal generosity.

When the young women were brought together a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.

Esther still hadn't said anything about her family background or her people, just as Mordecai had told her, because she went on doing what Mordecai said, as she had when he was bringing her up.

In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's officers who guarded the doorway, got angry and plotted to kill King Xerxes.

But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, and she reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai.

And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were hanged on a pole. And all this was written down in the book of the annals in the king's presence.