3Let the king appoint officials in all the provinces of his kingdom to bring all the beautiful young virgins into the harem in Susa the capital. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women to give them their beauty treatments.
5In Susa the capital there was a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin, Jair's son Mordecai, who was a descendant of Kish's son Shimei the descendant of Benjamin.
6He had been taken into captivity from Jerusalem along with the exiles who had been deported with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had taken into exile.
7Mordecai had raised his cousin Hadassah, or Esther, because she had no father or mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was very attractive. When her mother and father died Mordecai had taken her as his daughter.
8The king's order and edict was proclaimed, and many young women were brought to Susa the capital under the care of Hegai. Esther was taken to the palace into the care of Hegai, who was in charge of the women.
9The young woman pleased him and gained his favor. He quickly provided her beauty treatments and gave her portions of food to her. He also assigned her seven suitable young women from the palace and transferred her and her young women to the best place in the harem.
12Each young woman's turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus at the end of the twelve month period, at which time she was treated according to the regulations for women. This process completed the period of her beauty treatments—six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and cosmetics for women.
14In the evening she would go into the palace and in the morning she would return to the second harem, into the care of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the mistresses. She would not go again to the king unless the king wanted her and she was called for by name.
15Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who had been Mordecai's uncle. Mordecai had taken Esther in as his own daughter. When her turn came to go in to the king, she did not want anything except what Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the harem, advised. Esther found favor with everyone who saw her.
17The king loved Esther more than any of the other women, so he favored her and was kinder to her than he was to any of the other virgins. He put the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
18The king put on a great banquet for all his officials and ministers to honor Esther. He declared a holiday for the provinces and gave generous gifts.
20Now Esther had not declared her heritage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her, for Esther did what Mordecai told her just as she had done when she was raised by him.
21At that time when Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs among those who guarded the threshold, became angry and conspired to assassinate King Ahasuerus.
23After the matter had been fully investigated, Bigthan and Teresh were hanged on a pole, and this was recorded in the Book of the Chronicles in the presence of the king.
