Esther 2

1After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.

2Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let young virgins beautiful in appearance be sought for the king.”

3Let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every young virgin of beautiful appearance to Susa the citadel, to the house of the women, into the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

4And let the young woman who pleases the king become queen instead of Vashti. The proposal pleased the king, and he did so.

5There was a Jewish man in Susa the citadel, and his name was Mordecai son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite.

6who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the exiles who had been taken into exile with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile.

7He was bringing up Hadassah—that is, Esther—the daughter of his uncle, because she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was beautiful in form and attractive in appearance, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.

8And when the king’s command and his decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered to Susa the citadel into the custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s house, into the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.

9The young woman pleased him and found favor before him, and he quickly provided her with her beauty treatments and her portions, and with seven young women suitable to be given to her from the king’s palace; and he transferred her and her young women to the best place in the women’s house.

10Esther had not disclosed her people or her kindred, because Mordecai had commanded her not to disclose it.

11And every single day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the courtyard of the women’s house, to learn how Esther was doing and what would be done with her.

12When the turn of each young woman came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after she had been under the regulation for the women for twelve months—for in this way the days of their beauty treatments were completed: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with spices and with the cosmetics for women—

13And in this way the young woman went to the king: whatever she said would be given to her to take with her from the house of the women to the king’s house.

14In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second house of the women, into the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the concubines. She would not go in again to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

15When Esther’s turn came—the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter—to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, advised. And Esther was gaining favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

16So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into 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 before him more than all the virgins. So he placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

18Then the king gave a great banquet for all his officials and servants—the banquet of Esther—and he granted relief to the provinces and gave gifts according to the king’s bounty.

19When the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate.

20Esther had not made known her family line or her people, just as Mordecai had commanded her; and Esther kept doing what Mordecai said, as when she was under his care.

21In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs from those who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

22When the matter became known to Mordecai, he told Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in Mordecai's name.

23When the matter was investigated and found to be so, both of them were hanged on a tree, and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.