Esther 2:9

Easy-to-Read Version

He liked Esther. She became his favorite, so he quickly gave Esther beauty treatments and special food. He chose seven slave women from the king's palace and gave them to Esther. Then he moved Esther and her seven women servants into the best place where the king's women lived.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The young woman pleased him and gained his favor so that he accelerated the process of the beauty treatments and the special diet that she received. He assigned seven hand-picked female servants to her from the palace and transferred her and her servants to the harem’s best quarters.

Hebrew Names Version
The maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her things for her purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens who were meet to be given her out of the king's house: and he removed her and her maidens to the best place of the house of the women.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem.

New Century Version
Esther pleased Hegai, and he liked her. So Hegai quickly began giving Esther her beauty treatments and special food. He gave her seven servant girls chosen from the king's palace. Then he moved her and her seven servant girls to the best part of the women's quarters.

New English Translation
This young woman pleased him, and she found favor with him. He quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her rations; he also provided her with the seven specially chosen young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem.

Amplified Bible
Now the young woman pleased Hegai and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with beauty preparations and her [portion of] food, and he gave her seven choice maids from the king's palace; then he transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

New American Standard Bible
Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave her seven choice female attendants from the king's palace, and transferred her and her attendants to the best place in the harem.

World English Bible
The maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her things for her purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens who were meet to be given her out of the king's house: and he removed her and her maidens to the best place of the house of the women.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the mayde pleased him, & she founde fauour in his sight: therefore he caused her things for purification to be giuen her speedily, and her state, and seuen comely maides to be giuer her out of the Kings house, and he gaue change to her and to her maydes of the best in the house of the women.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the young lady was good in his eyes, and she advanced in lovingkindness before him. So he hurried to give her cosmetics and portions of food to her, and to give to her seven choice young women from the king's house. And he transferred her and her young women to the best place in the harem.

Berean Standard Bible
And the young woman pleased him and obtained his favor, so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments and the special diet. He assigned to her seven select maidservants from the palace and transferred her with them to the best place in the harem.

Contemporary English Version
and from the first day, Esther was his favorite. He began her beauty treatments at once. He also gave her plenty of food and seven special maids from the king's palace, and they had the best rooms.

Complete Jewish Bible
The girl pleased him and won his favor, so that he lost no time in giving her her cosmetics, her portions [of special food] and seven girls from the king's palace to attend her; he also promoted her and the girls attending her to the best place in the harem's quarters.

Darby Translation
And the maiden pleased him, and obtained favour before him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, and her portions, and the seven maidens selected to be given her, out of the king's house; and he removed her and her maids to the best [place] of the house of the women.

George Lamsa Translation
And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained favor of him; and he speedily gave her things for purification, such things which were her portion, and seven maidens who were worthy to be given her from the kings house; and he preferred her and her maidens much more than all the other women.

Good News Translation
Hegai liked Esther, and she won his favor. He lost no time in beginning her beauty treatment of massage and special diet. He gave her the best place in the harem and assigned seven young women specially chosen from the royal palace to serve her.

Lexham English Bible
The young woman pleased him and she won favor in his presence, and he quickly provided for her beauty treatment and her portion of food, with seven chosen maids to give to her from the king's palace, and he advanced her and her maids to the best part of the harem.

Literal Translation
And the young woman was good in his eyes, and she rose in favor before him. And he hastened her purifiers, and her portions, to give them to her. And seven young women were seen to be given to her out of the king's house. And he moved her andher maids to the best place in the house of the women.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& the damsell pleased him, & she founde grace in his sighte. And he put her wt hir maydes in ye best place of ye Womes buildige.

American Standard Version
And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens who were meet to be given her out of the king's house: and he removed her and her maidens to the best place of the house of the women.

Bible in Basic English
And he was pleased with the girl and was kind to her; and he quickly gave her what was needed for making her clean, and the things which were hers by right, and seven servant-girls who were to be hers from the king's house: and he had her and her servant-girls moved to the best place in the women's part of the house.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the mayden pleased hym, and she founde fauour in his sight: and he caused ornamentes to be geuen her speedyly, and such thinges as belonged to her, and appoynted her seuen comely maydens out of the kinges house, & fauoured both her and her gentlewomen singularly in the house of the women.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her ointments, with her portions, and the seven maidens, who were meet to be given her out of the king's house; and he advanced her and her maidens to the best place in the house of the women.

King James Version (1611)
And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindnesse of him, and hee speedily gaue her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seuen maidens, which were meet to be giuen her, out of the Kings house, and hee preferred her and her maids, vnto the best place of the house of the women.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the damsel pleased him, and she found favour in his sight; and he hasted to give her the things for purification, and her portion, and the seven maidens appointed her out of the palace: and he treated her and her maidens well in the women’s apartment.

English Revised Version
And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he removed her and her maidens to the best place of the house of the women.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And sche pleside hym, and foond grace in his siyt, that he hastide the ournement of wymmen, and bitook to hir her partis, and seuene the faireste damesels of the kyngis hows; and he ournede and araiede bothe hir and damesels suynge hir feet.

Update Bible Version
And the maiden was good in his eyes, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens who were meet to be given her out of the king's house: and he removed her and her maidens to the best place of the house of the women.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens [who were] meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids to the best [place] of the house of the women.

New King James Version
Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king's palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women.

New Living Translation
Hegai was very impressed with Esther and treated her kindly. He quickly ordered a special menu for her and provided her with beauty treatments. He also assigned her seven maids specially chosen from the king's palace, and he moved her and her maids into the best place in the harem.

New Life Bible
Now the young lady pleased Hegai and she found favor with him. He was quick to give her oils and special food, and gave her seven of the best women servants from the king's special house. He moved her and her women servants to the best place in the house for the king's wives.

New Revised Standard
The girl pleased him and won his favor, and he quickly provided her with her cosmetic treatments and her portion of food, and with seven chosen maids from the king's palace, and advanced her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and the maiden was pleasing in his eyes, and she received lovingkindness before him, and he hastened to give her, the things needed for her purification, and things apportioned her, and to give her, seven select maidens, out of the house of the king, - and he removed her and her maidens to the best place in the house of the women.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And she pleased him, and found favour in his sight. And he commanded the eunuch to hasten the women’s ornaments, and to deliver to her her part, and seven of the most beautiful maidens of the king’s house, and to adorn and deck out both her and her waiting maids.

Revised Standard Version
And the maiden pleased him and won his favor; and he quickly provided her with her ointments and her portion of food, and with seven chosen maids from the king's palace, and advanced her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

Young's Literal Translation
and the young woman is good in his eyes, and she receiveth kindness before him, and he hasteneth her purifications and her portions -- to give to her, and the seven young women who are provided -- to give to her, from the house of the king, and he changeth her and her young women to a good [place in] the house of the women.

THE MESSAGE
Hegai liked Esther and took a special interest in her. Right off he started her beauty treatments, ordered special food, assigned her seven personal maids from the palace, and put her and her maids in the best rooms in the harem. Esther didn't say anything about her family and racial background because Mordecai had told her not to.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now the young lady pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave her seven choice maids from the king's palace and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

Contextual Overview

¹ Later, King Xerxes stopped being angry. Then he remembered Vashti and what she had done. He remembered his commands about her. ² Then the king's personal servants had a suggestion. They said, "Search for beautiful young virgins for the king. ³ Let the king choose leaders in every province of his kingdom. Then let the leaders bring every beautiful young virgin to the capital city of Susa. These young women will be put with the group of the king's women. They will be under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Then give beauty treatments to all of them. ⁴ Then let the one who is pleasing to the king become the new queen in Vashti's place." The king liked this suggestion, so he accepted it. ⁵ Now there was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai. Mordecai was the son of Jair, and Jair was the son of Shimei, and Shimei was the son of Kish. Mordecai was in the capital city, Susa. ⁶ Mordecai had been carried into captivity from Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He was with the group that was taken into captivity with King Jehoiachin of Judah. ⁷ Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah. She didn't have a father or a mother, so Mordecai took care of her. Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter when her father and mother died. Hadassah was also called Esther. She had a very pretty face and a good figure. ⁸ When the king's command had been heard, many young women were brought to the capital city of Susa. They were put under the care of Hegai. Esther was one of these women. She was taken to the king's palace and put into Hegai's care. Hegai was in charge of the king's women. ⁹ He liked Esther. She became his favorite, so he quickly gave Esther beauty treatments and special food. He chose seven slave women from the king's palace and gave them to Esther. Then he moved Esther and her seven women servants into the best place where the king's women lived. ¹⁰ Esther didn't tell anyone she was a Jew. She didn't tell anyone about her family background, because Mordecai had told her not to.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

she obtained: Genesis 39:21, 1 Kings 8:50, Ezra 7:6, Nehemiah 2:8, Psalms 106:46, Proverbs 16:7, Daniel 1:9, Acts 7:10

her her things: Esther 2:3, Esther 2:12

such things: Heb. her portions

preferred her: Heb. changed her.

Reciprocal: Genesis 12:15 - taken

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in a place named Eden. He put the man he made in that garden.

Genesis 2:9
Then the Lord God caused all the beautiful trees that were good for food to grow in the garden. In the middle of the garden, he put the tree of life and the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil.

Genesis 2:17
But you must not eat from the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil. If you eat fruit from that tree, on that day you will certainly die!"

Genesis 3:3
But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.'"

Deuteronomy 6:25
If we carefully obey the whole law, exactly as the Lord our God told us to, he will say that we have done a very good thing.'

Proverbs 3:18
Wisdom is like a life-giving tree to those who hold on to her; she is a blessing to those who keep her close.

Proverbs 11:30
What good people produce is like a life-giving tree. Those who are wise give new life to others.

Isaiah 44:25
False prophets tell lies, but the Lord shows that their lies are false. He makes fools of those who do magic. He confuses even the wise. They think they know a lot, but he makes them look foolish.

Isaiah 47:10
You do bad things but still feel safe. You say to yourself, ‘No one sees the wrong I do.' You thought that your wisdom and knowledge would save you. You tell yourself, ‘I alone am important, and no one else matters.'

Ezekiel 31:16
I made the tree fall—and the nations shook with fear at the sound of the falling tree. I sent the tree down to the place of death to join the other people who had gone down into that deep hole. In the past, all the trees of Eden, the best of Lebanon, drank that water. The trees were comforted in the world below.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the maiden pleased him,.... Not the king, into whose presence she was not yet introduced, but the chamberlain; her beauty and her behaviour recommended her to him, and he concluded within himself that she was the person that of all would be acceptable to the king:

and she obtained kindness of him: had favours shown others had not:

and he speedily gave her things for purification; as oil, spices, c. that she might be the sooner fitted to be had into the king's presence:

with such things as belonged to her food and drink from the king's table; the Targum interprets it gifts, as chains and royal apparel:

and seven maidens, which were given her, out of the king's house; to wait upon her the seven days of the week, as the same Targum:

and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women; removed her and them to it, which was the most splendid, had large, airy, and pleasant rooms.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Esther 2:9. The maiden pleased him — He conceived a partiality for her above the rest, probably because of the propriety of her deportment, and her engaging though unassuming manners.

Seven maidens — These were to attend her to the bath, to anoint and adorn her, and be her servants in general.