Esther 2:3-11

3And may the king appoint overseers in 1all the provinces of his kingdom, and have them 2bring every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of 3Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and 4let their cosmetics be given to them. 4Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen in place of Vashti.” And the 5suggestion pleased the king, and he did accordingly.

5There was a Jew at the citadel in Susa whose name was 6Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 67who had been taken from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been deported with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had deported. 7He was the guardian to Hadassah, that is 8Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young woman was beautiful of form and 9face, 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 10many young ladies were gathered to the citadel of Susa into the 11custody of 12Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s 13palace 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 14cosmetics and 15food, gave her seven choice female attendants from the king’s palace, and transferred her and her attendants to the best place in the harem. 1016Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, because Mordecai had instructed her that she was not to reveal them. 11And every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the courtyard of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.