Esther 2

1 Some time [after these things, later on] later, when the anger [rage, wrath] of King Xerxes [Ahasuerus, the king of Persia] had subsided [pacified, appeased], he remembered [recalled, thought about] Vashti [the beautiful queen] and what she had done [her actions, her deeds], and what had been decreed [cut, decided] against her [upon her, concerning her]. word study 2 Then the king’s [royal] attendants [servants, ministers] proposed [suggested, advised], “Let a search [seeking, investigation] be made for beautiful [fair, pleasant] young [youthful] virgins [maidens, unmarried women] for the king [the monarch, ruler], word study 3 and let the king [ruler, sovereign] appoint commissioners [officers, inspectors] in each province [district, region] of his kingdom [royal power, dominion] to assemble [gather, collect] all the beautiful [pleasant, lovely] young women [maidens, virgins] into the harem [women’s house, palace] at the citadel [fortress, palace] of Susa [Shushan, the royal city]. Let them be placed under the care [custody, supervision] of Hegai [Hege, the eunuch], the king’s [royal] eunuch [high-ranking official] in charge [keeper, overseer] of the women [female attendants, wives], and let them be given [receive, have] beauty treatments [cosmetics, purifications, things for purification]. word study 4 Then let the young woman [maiden, a servant or attendant] who pleases [is good in the eyes of] the king [the royal person, King Xerxes] become queen [to reign] in place of [instead of, underneath] Vashti [the beautiful queen of Xerxes].” This suggestion [the thing, the word] pleased [was good in the eyes of] the king, and he acted [did so, made it happen] accordingly. word study 5 Now there was at the citadel [palace, fortress] of Susa [Shushan, a place in Persia] a Jewish [from the tribe of Judah, a Hebrew] man [a male person, an individual] from the tribe of Benjamin [a Benjaminite, a descendant of Benjamin] named Mordecai [a brave Israelite, a leader] son of Jair [he enlightens, a judge], the son of Shimei [a common name among Israelites, a brother], the son of Kish [the father of king Saul, an ancestor of Mordecai]. word study 6 He had been carried into [forced] exile [captivity, removal from homeland] from Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Judah] by Nebuchadnezzar [a powerful king of Babylon] king of Babylon [a city and empire of confusion] among those taken captive [as prisoners of war] with Jeconiah [a king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim] king of Judah [the tribe and region descended from Judah]. word study 7 And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah [Esther, myrtle] (that is, Esther), the daughter [a female child, a young woman] of his uncle [his beloved relative], because she did not have a father [a male parent, a protector] or mother [a female parent, a nurturer]. The young woman [a maiden, a servant] was lovely [beautiful, pleasant] in form [her shape, her appearance] and appearance [her comely, attractive looks], and when her father [her male parent] and mother [her female parent] had died [passed away, departed], Mordecai had taken her in [adopted her, received her as his own] as his own daughter [his child, his loved one]. word study 8 When the king’s [royal, sovereign] command [decree, law] and edict [official proclamation] had been proclaimed, many [a multitude of, numerous] young women [maidens, virgins] gathered [assembled, collected] at the citadel [fortress, stronghold] of Susa [Shushan, the palace] under the care [custody, supervision] of Hegai [the eunuch, keeper]. Esther [the brave Jewish woman, Hadassah] was also taken [brought, led] to the palace [king’s house, royal residence] and placed [given, entrusted] under the care [custody, charge] of Hegai [guardian], the custodian of the women [the harem, female attendants]. word study 9 And the young woman [maiden, a young unmarried woman] pleased him and obtained his favor [kindness, mercy], so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments [cosmetics, purification] and the special diet [portions, food]. He assigned to her seven select maidservants [seven maidens, comely young women] from the palace [the king’s house] and transferred her with them to the best place [a pleasant location] in the harem [the house of the women]. word study 10 Esther [a brave Jewish woman, the queen of Persia] did not [as instructed, for her own protection] reveal [make known, disclose] her people [nation, family background] or her lineage [relatives, kin], because Mordecai [her cousin and guardian] had instructed [commanded, charged] her not to do so [to keep it secret, for her safety]. word study 11 And every [all, each] day Mordecai would walk [go, stroll] back and forth in front of the court [square, courtyard] of the harem [women’s house, palace] to learn [know, discover] about Esther’s [the queen’s] welfare [peace, well-being, shalom] and what [how, in what way] was happening [done, becoming] to her. word study 12 In the twelve months [a full year, a complete cycle] before her turn [appointed time, scheduled occasion] to go to King Xerxes [Ahasuerus, the Persian monarch], the harem regulation [law of the women, custom of the palace] required each young woman [maiden, virgin] to receive beauty treatments [purifications, preparations] with oil of myrrh [a bitter resin, a precious perfume] for six months [a period of refinement, a season of purification], and then with perfumes [sweet fragrances, aromatic spices] and cosmetics [cleansing agents, beautifying ointments] for another six months [a time of adornment, a season of readiness]. word study 13 When the young woman [maiden, a young unmarried woman] would go [come, approach] to the king [the royal person, King’s palace], she was given [granted, allowed] whatever [all, everything] she requested [desired, asked for] to take with her [to go with her, accompany her] from the harem [house of the women, women’s quarters] to the king’s palace [the king’s house, royal residence]. word study 14 She would go there in the [late] evening, and in the [break of day, morning] morning she would return to a second [another] harem under the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s [high-ranking official, eunuch] eunuch in charge of the [women given to the king, concubines] concubines. She would not return to the king unless he [was pleased with, delighted in] delighted in her and summoned her [by her given name, personally] by name. word study 15 Now Esther [a brave Jewish woman, the daughter of Abihail] was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle [beloved, close relative] from whom Mordecai [a brave Israelite] had adopted her as his own daughter [to care for and protect]. And when it was her turn [in the order, succession] to go to the king [the royal person, ruler], she did not ask for anything except what Hegai [the king’s eunuch, high-ranking official], the king’s trusted official [keeper of the women] in charge of the harem, had advised [counseled, guided]. And Esther found favor [graciousness, kindness] in the eyes [sight, gaze] of everyone who saw her [looked upon, gazed at]. word study 16 She [Esther, the brave Jewish queen] was taken [brought, led] to King [Ahasuerus, also known as Xerxes] Xerxes in the royal [king’s, royal house] palace [house, dwelling place] in the tenth month, the month [new moon, lunar cycle] of Tebeth [goodness, the tenth month], in the seventh year of his reign [royal power, dominion, authority]. word study 17 And the king [the ruler, monarch] loved Esther [the brave Jewish queen] more than all the other women, and she found [obtained, received] grace [favor, kindness] and favor [loving-kindness, mercy] in his sight [presence, before him] more than all of the other virgins [young, unmarried women]. So he placed [set, put] the royal [kingly, sovereign] crown upon her head [the topmost part of the body] and made her queen [ruler, monarch] in place of [instead of, replacing] Vashti [the former queen]. word study 18 Then the king [ruler, monarch] held a great [large, magnificent] banquet [feast, celebration], Esther’s [the queen’s] banquet, for all [every, the entirety of] his officials [princes, leaders] and servants [attendants, slaves]. He proclaimed a tax holiday [release, time of rest] in the provinces [regions, districts] and gave gifts [presents, tributes] worthy of the king’s [royal, majestic] bounty [generosity, abundance]. word study 19 When the virgins [brides, young women] were assembled [gathered together, collected] a second [again, another] time, Mordecai [a brave Israelite] was sitting [dwelling, remaining] at the king’s [royal, sovereign] gate [entrance, doorway]. word study 20 Esther still had not revealed [disclosed or made known] her lineage [family background or heritage] or her people [nation or ethnic group], just as Mordecai [her cousin and guardian] had instructed [given orders or commanded]. She obeyed [followed or carried out] Mordecai’s command [instruction or decree], as she had done [practiced or followed] under his care [protection or guidance]. word study 21 In those days [a period of time, a season], while Mordecai [a brave Israelite, a faithful Jew] was sitting [dwelling, residing] at the king’s [royal, sovereign] gate [entrance, doorway], Bigthan [a eunuch, a high-ranking official] and Teresh [a co-conspirator, a fellow plotter], two [a pair, a duo] of the king’s eunuchs [attendants, servants] who guarded [protected, watched over] the entrance [threshold, doorway], grew angry [furious, enraged] and conspired [plotted, schemed] to assassinate [kill, murder] King Xerxes [Ahasuerus, the ruler of Persia]. word study 22 When Mordecai [a brave Israelite] learned [to know, perceive, or ascertain] of the plot [a secret plan], he reported [to tell, declare openly] it to Queen [a female ruler] Esther [a brave Jewish woman], and she informed [to say, speak, or tell] the king [a royal person] on Mordecai’s behalf. word study 23 After the report [investigation, inquiry] had been investigated [sought out, searched] and verified [found to be true, confirmed], both officials [two men, they] were hanged [impaled, put to death] on the gallows [a tree, a pole]. And all this [the matter, the event] was recorded [written, inscribed] in the Book of the Chronicles [the book of the history, the royal records] in the presence [before the face, in front of] of the king [the ruler, the monarch]. word study