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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Esther 2 Christian Standard Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var 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frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../esther/1.htm" title="Esther 1">◄</a> Esther 2 <a href="../esther/3.htm" title="Esther 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">Christian Standard Bible</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/csb/esv/esther/2.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Verses"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><section epub:type="chapter" id="csb-Esther.2" /><h3 class="head1">The Search for a New Queen</h3><p class="noind"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.1" /><A name="2"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Some time later,<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.1.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> when King Ahasuerus’s rage<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.1.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a> had cooled down, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what was decided against her.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.1.3"><span class="xrfAlphabet">c</span></a> <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.2" /> <A name="3"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>The king’s personal attendants suggested, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.2.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.3" /> <A name="4"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Let the king appoint commissioners<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.3.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> in each province of his kingdom, so that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem at the fortress of Susa.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.3.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a> Put them under the supervision of Hegai, the king’s eunuch,<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.3.3"><span class="xrfAlphabet">c</span></a> keeper of the women,<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.3.4"><span class="xrfAlphabet">d</span></a> and give them the required beauty treatments. <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.4" /> <A name="5"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Then the young woman who pleases the king<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.4.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> will become queen instead of Vashti.”<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.4.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a> This suggestion pleased the king, and he did accordingly.</p><p class="scripture"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.5" /> <A name="6"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>In the fortress of Susa, there was a Jewish man named Mordecai<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.5.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> son of Jair, son of Shimei,<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.5.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a> son of Kish,<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.5.3"><span class="xrfAlphabet">c</span></a> a Benjaminite. <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.6" /> <A name="7"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>Kish<a epub:type="noteref" href="#fn.Esther.2.6.1"><span class="fnAlphabet">A</span></a> had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the other captives when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took King Jeconiah of Judah into exile.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.6.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.7" /> <A name="8"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Mordecai was the legal guardian of his cousin<a epub:type="noteref" href="#fn.Esther.2.7.1"><span class="fnAlphabet">A</span></a> Hadassah (that is, Esther), because she had no father or mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was extremely good-looking. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.7.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a></p><p class="scripture"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.8" /> <A name="9"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>When the king’s command and edict became public knowledge and when many young women were gathered at the fortress of Susa under Hegai’s supervision, Esther was taken to the palace, into the supervision of Hegai, keeper of the women. <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.9" /> <A name="10"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>The young woman pleased him and gained his favor so that he accelerated the process of the beauty treatments and the special diet that she received. He assigned seven hand-picked female servants to her from the palace and transferred her and her servants to the harem’s best quarters.</p><p class="scripture"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.10" /> <A name="11"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Esther did not reveal her ethnicity or her family background, because Mordecai had ordered her not to make them known. <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.11" /> <A name="12"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Every day Mordecai took a walk in front of the harem’s courtyard to learn how Esther was doing and to see what was happening to her.</p><p class="scripture"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.12" /> <A name="13"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>During the year before each young woman’s turn to go to King Ahasuerus, the harem regulation required her to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months. <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.13" /> <A name="14"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>When the young woman would go to the king, she was given whatever she requested to take with her from the harem to the palace. <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.14" /> <A name="15"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>She would go in the evening, and in the morning she would return to a second harem under the supervision of the king’s eunuch Shaashgaz, keeper of the concubines.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.14.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> She never went to the king again, unless he desired her and summoned her by name.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.14.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a></p><h3 class="head1">Esther Becomes Queen</h3><p class="noind"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.15" /> <A name="16"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Esther was the daughter of Abihail,<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.15.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> the uncle of Mordecai who had adopted her as his own daughter. When her turn came to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, suggested. Esther gained favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.15.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a></p><p class="scripture"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.16" /> <A name="17"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>She was taken to King Ahasuerus in the palace in the tenth month, the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.16.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.17" /> <A name="18"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>The king loved Esther more than all the other women. She won more favor and approval from him than did any of the other virgins. He placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.17.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.18" /> <A name="19"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>The king held a great banquet for all his officials and staff.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.18.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> It was Esther’s banquet. He freed his provinces from tax payments and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.18.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a></p><h3 class="head1">Mordecai Saves the King</h3><p class="noind"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.19" /> <A name="20"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>When the virgins<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.19.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.19.2"><span class="xrfAlphabet">b</span></a> <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.20" /> <A name="21"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Esther still did not reveal her family background or her ethnicity, as Mordecai had directed. She obeyed Mordecai’s orders, as she always had while he raised her.</p><p class="scripture"><span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.21" /> <A name="22"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>During those days while Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.21.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> who guarded the entrance, became infuriated and planned to assassinate<a epub:type="noteref" href="#fn.Esther.2.21.1"><span class="fnAlphabet">A</span></a> King Ahasuerus. <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.22" /> <A name="23"></a><span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she told the king on Mordecai’s behalf.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.22.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> <span epub:type="z3998:verse" id="start-Esther.2.23" /> <span class="reftext"><a href="/esther/2-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>When the report was investigated and verified, both men were hanged on the gallows.<a epub:type="noteref" href="#xrf.Esther.2.23.1"><span class="xrfAlphabet">a</span></a> This event was recorded in the Historical Record in the king’s presence.</p><br /><section id="footnotes-Esther.2" class="fnSection"><aside id="fn.Esther.2.6.1"><span class="footnote-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.6">2:6</a></span> Lit <span class="italic">He</span></aside><aside id="fn.Esther.2.7.1"><span class="footnote-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.7">2:7</a></span> Lit <span class="italic">uncle’s daughter</span></aside><aside id="fn.Esther.2.21.1"><span class="footnote-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.21">2:21</a></span> Lit <span class="italic">and they sought to stretch out a hand against</span></aside><br /><section id="cross-references-Esther.2" class="xrfSection"><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.1.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.1">2:1</a></span> Est 1:3,10</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.1.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.1">2:1</a></span> Est 1:12; 7:10</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.1.3"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.1">2:1</a></span> Est 1:10–12,16–21</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.2.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.2">2:2</a></span> 1Kg 1:2</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.3.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.3">2:3</a></span> Gn 41:34</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.3.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.3">2:3</a></span> Neh 1:1; Est 1:1; Dn 8:2</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.3.3"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.3">2:3</a></span> Est 1:10</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.3.4"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.3">2:3</a></span> Est 2:8–9,12–13</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.4.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.4">2:4</a></span> Est 2:17</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.4.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.4">2:4</a></span> Est 1:19</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.5.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.5">2:5</a></span> Ezr 2:2; Est 2:15; 3:2</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.5.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.5">2:5</a></span> 2Sm 6:5–13</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.5.3"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.5">2:5</a></span> 1Sm 9:1</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.6.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.6">2:6</a></span> 2Kg 24:10–15; 2Ch 36:10; Jr 24:1; 29:1–2</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.7.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.7">2:7</a></span> Est 9:29</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.14.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.14">2:14</a></span> 1Kg 11:3; Dn 5:2</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.14.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.14">2:14</a></span> Est 4:11</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.15.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.15">2:15</a></span> Est 9:29</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.15.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.15">2:15</a></span> Est 5:2,8</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.16.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.16">2:16</a></span> Est 1:2</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.17.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.17">2:17</a></span> Est 1:10–11; 2:4</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.18.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.18">2:18</a></span> Est 1:3</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.18.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.18">2:18</a></span> Est 1:7</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.19.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.19">2:19</a></span> Est 2:12–14</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.19.2"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.19">2:19</a></span> Est 5:13</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.21.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.21">2:21</a></span> Est 1:10,12; 2:3,14</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.22.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.22">2:22</a></span> Est 6:2–3</aside><aside id="xrf.Esther.2.23.1"><span class="cross-reference"><a href="#start-Esther.2.23">2:23</a></span> Gn 40:19,22; Est 5:14; 7:9–10</aside><br /><section id="study-notes-Esther.2" class="snSection"><br /></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Christian Standard Bible. 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