Esther 2

1 Some time later, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered what Vashti had done and what had been decreed 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 Then the king’s servants who waited upon him said, ‘Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king,

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 and let the king appoint commissioners to all the provinces of his kingdom to gather them all to Susa the royal residence. Let them be brought into the women’s quarters under the custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who has charge of the women. Then give them what is needed to make them beautiful,

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 and let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.’ The proposal pleased the king so he put it into action.

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 In Susa the royal residence lived a Jew named Mordecai. He was 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 (Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem with the exiles who were deported with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took captive.)

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 Mordecai had adopted Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, since she had neither father nor mother. The girl was shapely and beautiful; and after her father and mother died, Mordecai raised her as if she was 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 command and decree were known, many girls were gathered together to Susa the capital under the custody of Hegai. Esther was also taken into the king’s palace and placed under the custody of Hegai, who had 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 The girl pleased him and gained his favour, so that he quickly gave her the cosmetics she needed to enhance her beauty and her allowance of food and the seven maids selected from the king’s household. He also transferred her and her maids to the best place 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 revealed her people nor her family background 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 Every day Mordecai would to walk in front of the courtyard of the harem and ask after Esther’s health 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 The girls were prepared for meeting King Ahasuerus for twelve months: six months being treated with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and cosmetics. After the twelve months,

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 each girl went in to the king. She was allowed to take with her whatever she wished from the women’s quarters,

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 and would enter the palace in the evening and return the next morning to another part of the harem under the care of the king’s eunuch Shaashgaz who was in charge of concubines. She would not go to the king again unless he desired her and summoned 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 When it was the turn of Esther (the girl adopted by Mordecai, daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go in to the king, she only took with her those things that Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the women, had advised her to take. Esther was liked by all who saw her.

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 Ahasuerus in the 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 And the king loved her more than all the other women, and she became his favourite and won his affection. He placed the royal diadem 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 Then the king gave a great feast to all his officials and courtiers in honour of Esther, and he remitted the taxes of the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.

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 All the time the virgins were assembled again, Mordecai was sitting as an offical at the king’s gate.

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 had not revealed her people or family background because she still obeyed him as she had when he was bringing 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 In those days while Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, two of the royal court attendants, Bigthan and Teresh, who guarded the entrance of the palace, became enraged and attempted to kill King Ahasuerus.

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 But Mordecai learned of the conspiracy and disclosed it to Queen Esther, and she 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 affair was investigated and the facts discovered, the conspirators were both hanged on the gallows. The incident was recorded in the presence of the king in the daily record of events.

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.