¹After these words, when the anger of the king Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.

²The king's young men who were serving him said: Let them seek for the king young women, virgins, good to look at.

³And let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every young woman, a virgin, good to look at, to Susa the citadel, to the house of the women, into the hand of Hegai, the king's eunuch, keeper of the women; and let him give them their bath perfumes.

⁴And the young woman who is good in the eyes of the king shall reign in place of Vashti. And the word was good in the eyes of the king, and he did so.

⁵There was a Jewish man in Susa the citadel, and his name was Mordecai son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite man.

⁶who the ear was uncovered as the exile from Jerusalem with which Jeconiah the king of Judah the ear was uncovered, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon uncovered the ear.

⁷And he was fostering Hadassah — she is Esther — the daughter of his uncle, for she had no father or mother. And the young woman was beautiful of figure and good to look at, and at the death of her father and her mother, Mordecai took her to himself as a daughter.

⁸And it happened, when the word of the king and his decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered to Susa the citadel, into the hand of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king's house, into the hand of Hegai, keeper of the women.

⁹The young woman went well in his eyes, and loyal love lifted up to his face; and he terrified her girls and her portion to set to her, and seven who were seen to set to her from the house of the king; and he moved her and her girls to the good of the house of the women.

¹⁰Esther had not told of her people or her native land, for Mordecai had commanded her that she was not to tell.

¹¹Day after day, Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the house of the women, to learn of the wholeness of Esther and what was being done with her.

¹²When it reached the turn of each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after it had been twelve months for her, according to the law of the women — for this is how the days of their rubbings were filled: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with balsam and with the perfumes of the women —

¹³And in this way the young woman went in to the king: all that she said was given to her to go with her from the house of the women to the house of the king.

¹⁴In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second house of the women, into the hand of Shaashgaz, the eunuch of the king, keeper of the concubines. She would not go in again to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was called by name.

¹⁵When it reached the turn of Esther, daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as a daughter for himself, to go in to the king, she did not request a word except what Hegai, the eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, said. And Esther was bearing favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

¹⁶Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal house, in the tenth month — that is the month of Tebeth — in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she bore favor and loyal love before him more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

¹⁸The king made a great feast for all his officials and his servants — the feast of Esther — and he made rest for the provinces, and gave gifts in keeping with the king's hand.

¹⁹When virgins were gathered together a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the gate of the king.

²⁰Esther was not telling of her native land or her people, just as Mordecai had commanded her; and Esther kept doing the command of Mordecai, just as when she was being brought up with him.

²¹In those days, while Mordecai was sitting at the gate of the king, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the eunuchs of the king, from the keepers of the threshold, were angry and sought to stretch out a hand against the king Ahasuerus.

²²The word became known to Mordecai, and he told Esther the queen, and Esther said to the king in the name of Mordecai.

²³The word was searched and he found it, and the two were hung over wood, and it was written in the record of the words to the face of the king.