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The king could choose officers from every region of his kingdom to do this. They will bring all the beautiful young women here to Susa. Hegai will take care of them in the royal harem.[a] He is the eunuch who has that job. The young women will receive special oils and perfumes to make them more beautiful. The king may choose the young woman that pleases him most. She may take the place of Vashti as queen.’

King Xerxes thought that this was a good idea. He did everything that the servants said.

A Jewish man called Mordecai lived in Susa. He was the son of Jair. Jair was the son of Shimei. Shimei was the son of Kish. Kish was a descendant of Benjamin.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:3 (1) Often kings at the time of this story had many wives. The harem was the part of the palace where the king's wives lived. — (2) It was also the name of the wives of a man who has several wives. The men who looked after a harem were eunuchs.

Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.

Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish,(A)

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