Ester 2:2-4

2:2 The king’s servants who attended him said, “Let a search be conducted in the king’s behalf for attractive young women. ¹  2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem ²  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ³  2:4 Let the young woman whom the king finds most attractive ⁴  become queen in place of Vashti.” This seemed like a good idea to the king, ⁵  so he acted accordingly.

Ester 2:16-17

2:16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth ⁶  month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh ⁷  year of his reign. 2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval ⁸  more than all the other young women. ⁹  So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen ¹⁰  in place of Vashti.

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “young women, virgins, good of form.” The same phrase also occurs in v. 3.

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

[2:3]  ³ tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “who is good in the eyes of the king.”

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “the matter was good in the eyes of the king.” Cf. TEV “The king thought this was good advice.”

[2:16]  ⁶ tc The Greek MSS Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Vaticanus (B) read “twelfth” here.

[2:16]  ⁷ tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “fourth” here.

[2:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.

[2:17]  ⁹ tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “caused her to rule.”