1Later 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.

2His advisors suggested to him, ⁴“Why not order a search to find beautiful young virgins for Your Majesty?

3Your Majesty should appoint officers 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 be placed under the supervision of Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the women, and they should be given beauty treatments.

4The 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.

5There was a Jewish man living in the fortress of Susa named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite

6who was among those taken prisoner with King Jehoiachin of Judah and carried into exile from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

7He had brought up Hadassah (or Esther), ⁵his 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.

8When 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.

9Esther 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.

10Esther had not let anyone know her nationality or who her family was, because Mordecai had ordered her not to.

11Each 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.

12Before 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.

13When it was time for the young woman to go to the king, she was given whatever ⁶she asked for to take with her from the harem to the king's palace.

14In 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(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.

16Esther was taken to King Xerxes into his royal palace, in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17The 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.

18The king gave a great feast for all his officials and administrators—Esther's feast. ⁷He also declared it a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed generous gifts.

19Even though there had been a second gathering of virgins, ⁸and Mordecai had been given a position by the king, ⁹

20Esther 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.

21At 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.

22Mordecai found out about the plot and reported it to Queen Esther. Esther in turn told the king on Mordecai's behalf.

23When the plot was investigated and found to be true, both men were impaled on poles. ¹⁰This was recorded in the official Book of Records by order of the king.