| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1After this, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed about her. | 1But after Xerxes’ anger had subsided, he began thinking about Vashti and what she had done and the decree he had made. |
| 2Then the young men who attended the king suggested, "Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. | 2So his personal attendants suggested, “Let us search the empire to find beautiful young virgins for the king. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 4Then let the young woman who pleases the king rule in place of Vashti." This advice pleased the king, and he did this. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 6His family had been among those who, with King Jehoiachin of Judah, had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 10Esther did not make known her people or heritage because Mordecai had instructed her not to make it known. | 10Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai had directed her not to do so. |
| 11Every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to find out about Esther's well-being and what was happening to her. | 11Every day Mordecai would take a walk near the courtyard of the harem to find out about Esther and what was happening to her. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 13After that the young woman would go in to the king, and whatever she asked for would be given to her to take with her from the harem to the palace. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 16Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus to his royal palace in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. | 16Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal palace in early winter of the seventh year of his reign. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 19When the virgins were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate. | 19Even after all the young women had been transferred to the second harem and Mordecai had become a palace official, |
| 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. | 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 |
| 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. | 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. |
| 22When Mordecai learned about the plot, he told Queen Esther, and she told the king in Mordecai's name. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | 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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