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go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the
Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king
give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.
20
And when the king’s decree which he
shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to
their husbands honour, both to great and small.
21
And the saying pleased the king and the princes;
and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
22
For he sent letters into all the king’s
provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their
language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that
it
should be published according
to the language of every people.
CHAPTER 2
After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and
what she had done, and what was decreed against her.
2
Then said the king’s servants that ministered
unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:
3
And let the king appoint officers in
all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto
Shushan the palace, to the house of the women unto the custody of Hege the king’s chamberlain,
keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given
them:
4
And let the maiden
which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.
5
Now
in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name
was
Mordecai, the son of
Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
6
Who had been carried away from Jerusalem
with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whomNebuchadnezzar
the king of Babylon had carried away.
7
And he brought up Hadassah, that
is,
Esther, his uncle’s
daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid
was
fair and beautiful; whomMordecai,
when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
8
So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many
maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was
brought also unto the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
9
And the maiden
pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification,
with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens,
which were
meet to be given her, out of
the king’s house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best
place
of the house of the women.
10
Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should
not shew
it.
11
And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know
how Esther did, and what should become of her.
12
Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been
twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications
accomplished,
to wit,
six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with
other
things for the purifying of the women;)
13
Then thus came
every
maiden unto the king;
604
KJV Bible