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ES T H ER 2
proclaiming that every man should be the ruler
of his own home and should say whatever he
pleases.*
Esther Becomes Queen
But after Xerxes’ anger had subsided, he
began thinking about Vashti and what she
had done and the decree he had made. 2 So his
personal attendants suggested, “Let us search
the empire to find beautiful young virgins for
the king. 3 Let 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 After 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 At 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 His
family* had been among those who, with King
Jehoiachin* of Judah, had been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.
7 This 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 As 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 Hegai was
2
• Faithfulness
E ST H E R 2 :2 1 -2 3
Does it pay to be faithful? Queen Esther’s
older cousin Mordecai served as a palace
official. One day he discovered a plot to
assassinate the king. What should he
do? Would it be worth it to get involved?
Mordecai did what he thought was right,
but perhaps he wondered later, especially
when he received no expression of
gratitude from the king. As the story would
unfold, however, Mordecai’s faithfulness
to his king later helped to save his own life
and the lives of all the Jewish people in
the empire. This huge turning point in the
history of God’s people depended in part
on Mordecai’s simple, courageous, yet
almost unnoticed act of loyalty. Faithfulness is a daily discipline. Yet who knows
when a moment of loyalty will lead to
generations of blessing?
page 444
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 Esther had not told anyone of her nationality and family background, because Mordecai
had directed her not to do so. 11 Every day Mordecai would take a walk near the courtyard of
the harem to find out about Esther and what
was happening to her.
12 Before 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 When 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 That 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 Esther 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 Esther was taken to King Xerxes at the royal
palace in early winter* of the seventh year of his
reign. 17 And 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 To
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 Even after all the young women had been
transferred to the second harem* and Mordecai
had become a palace official,* 20 Esther 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.
1:22 Or and should speak in the language of his own people.
2:6a Hebrew He. 2:6b Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant spelling
of Jehoiachin. 2:14 Or to another part of the harem.
2:16 Hebrew in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth. A number
of dates in the book of Esther can be cross-checked with dates
in surviving Persian records and related accurately to our
modern calendar. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar
calendar occurred within the months of December 479 b.c.
and January 478 b.c. 2:19a The meaning of the Hebrew is
uncertain. 2:19b Hebrew and Mordecai was sitting in the
gate of the king.