Estĕr (Esther) 2

¹After these events, when the wrath of Sovereign Aḥashwĕrosh had ceased, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.

²Then the sovereign’s servants who attended him said, “Let lovely young maidens be sought for the sovereign,

³and let the sovereign appoint officers in all the provinces of his reign, and let them gather all the lovely young maidens to the citadel of Shushan, into the women’s quarters, under the hand of Hĕḡai the sovereign’s eunuch, guardian of the women, to give their preparations.

⁴“And let the young woman who pleases the sovereign be sovereigness instead of Vashti.” And the word pleased the sovereign, and he did so.

⁵In the citadel of Shushan there was a certain man, a Yehuḏi whose name was Mordeḵai son of Ya’ir, son of Shim‛i, son of Qish, a Binyamite,

⁶who had been exiled from Yerushalayim with the captives who had been exiled with Yeḵonyah sovereign of Yehuḏah, whom Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar the sovereign of Baḇel had exiled.

⁷And it came to be that he was raising Haḏassah, that is Estĕr, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was beautiful and of good appearance. And when her father and mother died, Mordeḵai took her as his own daughter.

⁸And it came to be, when the sovereign’s command and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at the citadel of Shushan, into the hand of Hĕḡai, that Estĕr, too, was taken to the sovereign’s palace, into the hand of Hĕḡai, guardian of the women.

⁹And the young woman pleased him, and she received loving-commitment from him. So he hastened to give her preparations and her portions, and gave her seven choice female servants from the sovereign’s palace. And he moved her and her female servants to the best place in the house of the women.

¹⁰Estĕr had not made known her people or her relatives, for Mordeḵai had commanded her not to make it known.

¹¹And every day Mordeḵai walked about in front of the courtyard of the women’s quarters, to learn of Estĕr’s welfare and what is done to her.

¹²Now when the turn of each young woman came to go in to Sovereign Aḥashwĕrosh after she had completed twelve new moons according to the regulations for the women – for the days of their preparation were completed as follows: six new moons with oil of myrrh, and six new moons with perfumes and with the preparations of women –

¹³thus prepared, the young woman went to the sovereign, and whatever she asked for was given to take with her from the house of the women to the sovereign’s palace.

¹⁴In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, into the hand of Sha‛ashgaz, the sovereign’s eunuch, guardian of the concubines. She would not come in to the sovereign again unless the sovereign delighted in her and called for her by name.

¹⁵And when the turn came for Estĕr, the daughter of Aḇihayil the uncle of Mordeḵai, who had taken her as his daughter, to come in to the sovereign, she sought no matter but what Hĕḡai the sovereign’s eunuch, guardian of the women, advised. And Estĕr found favour in the eyes of all who saw her.

¹⁶And Estĕr was taken to Sovereign Aḥashwĕrosh, into his royal palace, in the tenth new moon , which is the new moon of Tĕḇĕth, in the seventh year of his reign.

¹⁷And the sovereign loved Estĕr more than all the women, and she found favour and loving-commitment in his eyes more than all the maidens. And he set the royal crown upon her head and made her sovereigness instead of Vashti.

¹⁸And the sovereign made a great feast, the Feast of Estĕr, for all his officials and servants. And he proclaimed a release in the provinces and gave gifts according to the means of a sovereign.

¹⁹And when maidens were assembled a second time, Mordeḵai sat within the sovereign’s gate.

²⁰Estĕr had not made known her relatives and her people yet , as Mordeḵai commanded her, for Estĕr obeyed the command of Mordeḵai as when she was being raised by him.

²¹In those days, while Mordeḵai sat within the sovereign’s gate, two of the sovereign’s eunuchs, Biḡthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, were wroth and sought to lay hands on Sovereign Aḥashwĕrosh.

²²And the matter became known to Mordeḵai, who informed Sovereigness Estĕr, and Estĕr spoke to the sovereign in Mordeḵai’s name.

²³And when the matter was searched into, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a wooden structure. And it was written in the book of the annals in the presence of the sovereign.