Study Desk

Then the king's attendants, who served him, said, "^(c)Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

Let the king appoint overseers in ^(d)all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of ^(e)Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and ^(f)let their cosmetics be given them.

He was bringing up Hadassah, that is ⁽ⁱ⁾Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and ^[a]face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.