Esther 2:3-21

3Let the king appoint overseers in 1all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of 2Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and 3let their cosmetics be given them. 4Then let the young lady who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the matter pleased the king, and he did accordingly.

5Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew whose name was 4Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 65who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled. 7He was bringing up Hadassah, that is 6Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and 7face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

8So it came about when the command and decree of the king were heard and 8many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the custody of 9Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s 10palace into the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. 9Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her 11cosmetics and 12food, gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem. 1013Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make them known. 11Every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and how she fared.

12Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women--for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women-- 13the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she 14desired was given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14In the evening she would go in and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the 15custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in 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.

15Now when the turn of Esther, 16the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, came to go in to the king, she did not request anything except what 17Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the women, 18advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal palace in the tenth month which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that 19he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18Then 20the king gave a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his princes and his servants; he also made a holiday for the provinces and gave gifts 21according to the king’s bounty.

1922When the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai 23was sitting at the king’s gate. 2024Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai had commanded her; for Esther did 25what Mordecai told her as she had done 26when under his care. 21In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, 27Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s officials from those who guarded the door, became angry and sought to 28lay hands on King Ahasuerus.