Esther 2
1 After a while, King Xerxes quit being so angry. He thought about Vashti, and he thought about the law he had made because of what she [had done, and he wanted another wife].
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.
2 So his personal servants said to him, “[Your majesty, ] you should send some men to search throughout the empire for some beautiful young women/virgins for you.
His advisors suggested to him, “Why not order a search to find beautiful young virgins for Your Majesty?
3 [After they find some, ] you can appoint some officials in each province to bring them to the place where you keep (your wives/the women you sleep with) here in Susa. Then Hegai, the man who is in charge of these women, can arrange for ointments to be put [on their bodies] to make them [more] beautiful.
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.
4 Then the woman who pleases you most can become queen instead of Vashti.” The king liked what they suggested, so he did it.
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.
5 At that time there was a Jew [living] in Susa, the capital, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair. Jair was a descendant of Shimei. Shimei was a descendant of [King Saul’s father] Kish. [They were all] from the tribe descended from Benjamin.
There was a Jewish man living in the fortress of Susa named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite
6 [Many years before that, ] King Nebuchadnezzar had taken (Mordecai/Mordecai’s family) [and brought them from Jerusalem] to Babylon, at the same time he brought King Jehoiachin of Judah and many other people to Babylon.
who was among those taken prisoner with King Jehoiachin of Judah and carried into exile from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
7 Mordecai had a cousin whose [Hebrew] name was Hadassah. She had a beautiful face and beautiful body/figure. Her [Persian] name was Esther. After her father and mother died, Mordecai took care of Esther as though she were his own daughter.
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.
8 After the king commanded [that they search for some beautiful women], they brought Esther and many other young women to the king’s palace [in Susa], and (the king put Hegai/Hegai was put) in charge of them.
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.
9 Hegai was very pleased with Esther, and he treated her well. He immediately arranged for her to be given ointments to make her [even more] beautiful, and [he ordered that] special food [would be given to her]. [He arranged that] seven maids from the king’s palace [would take care of her], and arranged that she/they would stay in the best rooms.
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.
10 Esther did not tell anyone that she was a Jew, because Mordecai had told her not to tell anyone.
Esther had not let anyone know her nationality or who her family was, because Mordecai had ordered her not to.
11 Every day Mordecai walked near the courtyard of the place where those women stayed. He asked [people who entered the courtyard] to find out [and tell him] what was happening to Esther.
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.
12 Before these women were taken to the king, they put ointments on [the bodies of] these women for one year to make them more beautiful. For six months they [rubbed olive] oil mixed with myrrh [on their bodies each day]. For [the next] six months they rubbed ointments and perfumes on their bodies.
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.
13 Then, when one of these women [was summoned to] go to the king, she was allowed to wear whatever clothes and jewelry she chose.
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.
14 In the evening, they would take her [to the king’s own room]. The next morning, they would take her to another place where the women [who had slept with the king] stayed. There another official whose name was Shaashgaz was in charge [of those women]. [Those women would live there for the rest of their lives, and] one of those women would go back to the king again only if the king very much wanted her to come again, and only if he told Shaashgaz the name of the woman.
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.
15 Everyone who saw Esther liked her. After King Xerxes had been ruling for seven years, it was Esther’s turn to go to him. When they took her to the king, it was during the middle part of the winter. She wore only the things that Hegai suggested.
(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.
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.
17 The king liked Esther more than he liked any of the other women [that they brought to him]. He liked her so much that he put on her head the queen’s crown, and he declared that Esther would be the queen instead of Vashti.
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.
18 To celebrate her [becoming the queen], he had a big banquet/feast prepared for all his administrators and [other] officials. He generously gave [expensive] gifts to everyone, and he declared that in all the provinces there would be a holiday, [a time when people did not have to pay taxes].
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.
19 Later all those women who had spent a night with the king were gathered together again. By that time Mordecai had become an official at the palace.
Even though there had been a second gathering of virgins, and Mordecai had been given a position by the king,
20 But Esther still did not tell anyone that she was a Jew. She continued to do what Mordecai had told her to do.
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.
21 One day when Mordecai was doing his work in the palace, two of the king’s officials were there. Their names were Bigthana and Teresh. They were the guards who stood outside the king’s own rooms. They became angry [with the king], and they were planning how they could assassinate/kill him.
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.
22 But Mordecai heard about what they were planning, and he told that to Queen Esther. Then she told the king what Mordecai had found out.
Mordecai found out about the plot and reported it to Queen Esther. Esther in turn told the king on Mordecai's behalf.
23 The king investigated and found out that Mordecai’s report was true. So the king ordered that those two men be hanged. When that was done, (an official wrote a report/a report was written) about it in a book called ‘The book that records what happened while Xerxes was king’.
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.
