e king did as Memucan
advised. Then the king's pages who waited upon him said, "Let beautiful
young girls be sought for the king, and let the king appoint officers to
all the provinces of his kingdom to gather them all to the palace at
Susa. Then give them what is needed to make them beautiful, and let the
girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." The plan pleased
the king and he did so.

There was in the royal palace at Susa, a certain Jew named Mordecai, who
had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives by
Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon. He had adopted Esther, his uncle's
daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The girl was attractive
and beautiful, and after her father and mother died, Mordecai took her
as his own daughter.

So when the king's command was made known, and when many girls were
brought to the royal palace at Susa, Esther also was taken into the
king's palace and placed in the charge of Hegai, who took care of the
women. The girl pleased him and won his favor, so that he quickly gave
her what she needed to make her more beautiful and her allowance of food
and the seven maids chosen from the king's household. He also moved her
and her maids to the best place in the women's quarters. Esther had not
told who were her people or her family, for Mordecai had told her not to
tell. Every day Mordecai used to walk in front of the court of the
women's quarters to ask after Esther's health and what had been done
with her.

When Esther's turn came to go in to the king, he loved her more than all
the other women, and she became his favorite and won his love, so that
he placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of
Vashti. Then the king gave a great feast to all his officials and
servants in honor of Esther.

In those days while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, two of the
king's servants, who guarded the entrance of the palace, became enraged
and tried to kill King Xerxes. But Mordecai learned of the plot and told
it to Queen Esther, and she told the king in Mordecai's name. When the
truth was known, the men who plotted against the king were both hanged
on a tree; and it was written down in the daily record of events that
was kept before the king.

After these events King Xerxes promoted Haman, the Agagite, and gave him
a place above all the officials who were with him. All the king's
servants who were in the king's gate used to bow down before Haman