| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1But after Xerxes’ anger had subsided, he began thinking about Vashti and what she had done and the decree he had made. |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2So his personal attendants suggested, “Let us search the empire to find beautiful young virgins for the king. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3Let the king appoint agents in each province to bring these beautiful young women into the royal harem at the fortress of Susa. Hegai, the king’s eunuch in charge of the harem, will see that they are all given beauty treatments. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4After that, the young woman who most pleases the king will be made queen instead of Vashti.” This advice was very appealing to the king, so he put the plan into effect. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5At that time there was a Jewish man in the fortress of Susa whose name was Mordecai son of Jair. He was from the tribe of Benjamin and was a descendant of Kish and Shimei. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6His family had been among those who, with King Jehoiachin of Judah, had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7This man had a very beautiful and lovely young cousin, Hadassah, who was also called Esther. When her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her into his family and raised her as his own daughter. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8As a result of the king’s decree, Esther, along with many other young women, was brought to the king’s harem at the fortress of Susa and placed in Hegai’s care. |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9Hegai was very impressed with Esther and treated her kindly. He quickly ordered a special menu for her and provided her with beauty treatments. He also assigned her seven maids specially chosen from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so. |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11Every day Mordecai would take a walk near the courtyard of the harem to find out about Esther and what was happening to her. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12Before each young woman was taken to the king’s bed, she was given the prescribed twelve months of beauty treatments—six months with oil of myrrh, followed by six months with special perfumes and ointments. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13When it was time for her to go to the king’s palace, she was given her choice of whatever clothing or jewelry she wanted to take from the harem. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14That evening she was taken to the king’s private rooms, and the next morning she was brought to the second harem, where the king’s wives lived. There she would be under the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch in charge of the concubines. She would never go to the king again unless he had especially enjoyed her and requested her by name. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. (Mordecai had adopted his younger cousin Esther.) When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17And the king loved Esther more than any of the other young women. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18To celebrate the occasion, he gave a great banquet in Esther’s honor for all his nobles and officials, declaring a public holiday for the provinces and giving generous gifts to everyone. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19Even after all the young women had been transferred to the second harem and Mordecai had become a palace official, |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20Esther continued to keep her family background and nationality a secret. She was still following Mordecai’s directions, just as she did when she lived in his home. Mordecai’s Loyalty to the King |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21One day as Mordecai was on duty at the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthana and Teresh—who were guards at the door of the king’s private quarters—became angry at King Xerxes and plotted to assassinate him. |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22But Mordecai heard about the plot and gave the information to Queen Esther. She then told the king about it and gave Mordecai credit for the report. |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23When an investigation was made and Mordecai’s story was found to be true, the two men were impaled on a sharpened pole. This was all recorded in The Book of the History of King Xerxes’ Reign. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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