Esther 2

akhar haddevarim ha'elleh keshokh khamat hammelekh akhashverosh zakhar et-vasheti ve'et asher-asatah ve'et asher-nigzar aleha

Some time afterward, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he thought of Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her.

vayyomeru na'are-hammelekh mesharetayw yevaqshu lammelekh ne'arot betulot tovot mareh

The king’s servants who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for Your Majesty.

veyafqed hammelekh peqidim bekhol-medinot malkhuto veyiqbetsu et-kol-na'arah-vetulah tovat mareh el-shushan habbirah el-bet hannashim el-yad hege seris hammelekh shomer hannashim venaton tamruqehen

Let Your Majesty appoint officers in every province of your realm to assemble all the beautiful young virgins at the fortress Shushan, in the harem under the supervision of Hege, the king’s eunuch, guardian of the women. Let them be provided with their cosmetics.

vehanna'arah asher titav be'ene hammelekh timlokh takhat vasheti vayyitav haddavar be'ene hammelekh vayya'as ken

And let the maiden who pleases Your Majesty be queen instead of Vashti.” The proposal pleased the king, and he acted upon it.

ish yehudi hayah beshushan habbirah ushemo mordokhay ben ya'ir ben-shimi ben-qish ish yemini

In the fortress Shushan lived a Jew by the name of Mordecai, son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite.

asher hoglah mirushalayim im-haggolah asher hogletah im yekhonyah melekh-yehudah asher heglah nevukhadnetsar melekh bavel

[Kish] had been exiled from Jerusalem in the group that was carried into exile along with King Jeconiah of Judah, who had been driven into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

vayehi omen et-hadassah hi ester bat-dodo ki en lah av va'em vehanna'arah yefat-to'ar vetovat mareh uvemot aviha ve'immah leqakhah mordokhay lo levat

He was foster father to Hadassah—that is, Esther—his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The maiden was shapely and beautiful; and when her father and mother died, Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter.

vayehi behishama devar-hammelekh vedato uvehiqqavets ne'arot rabbot el-shushan habbirah el-yad hegay vattillaqakh ester el-bet hammelekh el-yad hegay shomer hannashim

When the king’s order and edict was proclaimed, and when many maidens were assembled in the fortress Shushan under the supervision of Hegai, Esther too was taken into the king’s palace under the supervision of Hegai, guardian of the women.

vattitav hanna'arah ve'enayw vattissa khesed lefanayw vayevahel et-tamruqeha ve'et-manoteha latet lah ve'et sheva hanne'arot hare'uyot latet-lah mibbet hammelekh vayeshanneha ve'et-na'aroteha letov bet hannashim

The maiden pleased him and won his favor, and he hastened to furnish her with her cosmetics and her rations, as well as with the seven maids who were her due from the king’s palace; and he treated her and her maids with special kindness in the harem.

lo-higgidah ester et-ammah ve'et-moladtah ki mordokhay tsivvah aleha asher lo-taggid

Esther did not reveal her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had told her not to reveal it.

uvekhol-yom vayom mordokhay mithallekh lifne khatsar bet-hannashim lada'at et-shelom ester umah-yye'aseh bah

Every single day Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was faring and what was happening to her.

uvehaggia tor na'arah vena'arah lavo el-hammelekh akhashverosh miqqets heyot lah kedat hannashim shenem asar khodesh ki ken yimle'u yeme meruqehen shisha khodashim beshemen hammor veshisha khodashim babbesamim uvetamruqe hannashim

When each maiden’s turn came to go to King Ahasuerus at the end of the twelve months’ treatment prescribed for women (for that was the period spent on beautifying them: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with perfumes and women’s cosmetics,

uvazeh hanna'arah ba'ah el-hammelekh et kol-asher tomar yinnaten lah lavo immah mibbet hannashim ad-bet hammelekh

and it was after that that the maiden would go to the king), whatever she asked for would be given her to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace.

ba'erev hi va'ah uvabboqer hi shavah el-bet hannashim sheni el-yad sha'ashgaz seris hammelekh shomer happilagshim lo-tavo od el-hammelekh ki im-khafets bah hammelekh veniqre'ah veshem

She would go in the evening and leave in the morning for a second harem in charge of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, guardian of the concubines. She would not go again to the king unless the king wanted her, whereupon she would be summoned by name.

uvehaggia tor-ester bat-avikhayil dod mordokhay asher laqakh-lo levat lavo el-hammelekh lo viqshah davar ki im et-asher yomar hegay seris-hammelekh shomer hannashim vattehi ester noset khen be'ene kol-ro'eha

When the turn came for Esther daughter of Abihail—the uncle of Mordecai, who had adopted her as his own daughter—to go to the king, she did not ask for anything but what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, guardian of the women, advised. Yet Esther won the admiration of all who saw her.

vattillaqakh ester el-hammelekh akhashverosh el-bet malkhuto bakhodesh ha'asiri hu-khodesh tevet bishnat-sheva lemalkhuto

Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, in his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

vayye'ehav hammelekh et-ester mikkol-hannashim vattissa-khen vakhesed lefanayw mikkol-habbetulot vayyasem keter-malkhut beroshah vayyamlikheha takhat vasheti

The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she won his grace and favor more than all the virgins. So he set a royal diadem on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

vayya'as hammelekh mishteh gadol lekhol-sarayw va'avadayw et mishteh ester vahanakhah lammedinot asah vayyitten maset keyad hammelekh

The king gave a great banquet for all his officials and courtiers, “the banquet of Esther.” He proclaimed a remission of taxes for the provinces and distributed gifts as befits a king.

uvehiqqavets betulot shenit umordokhay yoshev besha'ar-hammelekh

When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai sat in the palace gate.

en ester maggedet moladtah ve'et-ammah ka'asher tsivvah aleha mordokhay ve'et-ma'amar mordokhay ester osah ka'asher hayetah ve'omnah itto

But Esther still did not reveal her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther obeyed Mordecai’s bidding, as she had done when she was under his tutelage.

bayyamim hahem umordokhay yoshev besha'ar-hammelekh qatsaf bigtan vateresh shene-sarise hammelekh mishomere hassaf vayevaqshu lishloakh yad bammelekh akhashverosh

At that time, when Mordecai was sitting in the palace gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the threshold, became angry, and plotted to do away with King Ahasuerus.

vayyivvada haddavar lemordokhay vayyagged le'ester hammalkah vattomer ester lammelekh beshem mordokhay

Mordecai learned of it and told it to Queen Esther, and Esther reported it to the king in Mordecai’s name.

vayevuqqash haddavar vayyimmatse vayyittalu shenehem al-ets vayyikkatev besefer divre hayyamim lifne hammelekh

The matter was investigated and found to be so, and the two were impaled on stakes. This was recorded in the book of annals at the king’s behest.