Esther 2:18-20

Christian Standard Bible

¹⁸ The king held a great banquet for all his officials and staff.^(A) It was Esther’s banquet. He freed his provinces from tax payments and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.^(B)

Mordecai Saves the King

¹⁹ When the virgins^(C) were gathered a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the King’s Gate.^{(D) 20} Esther still did not reveal her family background or her ethnicity, as Mordecai had directed. She obeyed Mordecai’s orders, as she always had while he raised her.