1  AFTER these things, [ After the decree that he has put forth of putting away a woman who does not do as her man requires. ] when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, [ His fury had subsided. ] he remembered Vashti, [ Maybe he starts to think about the good times that they had together. Maybe I was too harsh, after all she was my wife. This appears to suggest some kind of remorse on his part. If she was the kind that would stand up to him then she probably was the kind that exemplified power, and he was most likely attracted to a strong willed woman, she would have been a great companion in leadership of the kingdom, and now she has been banished, and he is beginning to miss her. Do decisions that we make in the heat of the moment come to haunt us sometimes? What is the lesson here? ] and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. [ His decree against her. ]

2 Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:

3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege [ Later this will be spelled as Hagi, but it is the same person. ] the king’s chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:

4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. [ Well duh, it is exactly what he would have wanted to have happen. ]

5 ¶ Now in Shushan [ Which is the capital of the Persian empire. ] the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, [ Here we learn that he is a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, which is one of the smallest tribes of Israel. King Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. Mordecai in Hebrew means crushed or oppressed. ] , the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

6 Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.

7 And he brought up Hadassah, [ This is the given name for Ester. Hadassah means murtle or murtle tree. Which is a symbol of peace and rest. ] , that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: [ She was raised by her uncle. Mordecai and Ester are cousins. In Hebrew Ester means to hide or conceal. In Persian Ester is a play on Istar which is the chief Persian goddess of love and war. So the Persian equivalant name of Istar would suggest that she drop her hebrew symbolism of peace and rest, and follow the worshipping of Istar. The Persians would try to get these Jews to forget their Jewish heritage and knowledged of their God of Israel and adopt the Persian deity. Making Jews become Persian in thought, in essence one of them. ] for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.

8 ¶ So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.

9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; [ Preferential treatment. ] 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. [ In a way like Joseph of old. ]

10  Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: [ So no one in the palace knows that she is Jewish. ] for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it. [ She is doing so based on the advice of her cousin. She is young and he is giving her his best council. He may be suggesting that you let them learn to love you to know who you really are before you give them your real name. ]

11 And Mordecai walked every day [ He is concerned and is doing the best thtat he can to protect her. ] before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.

12 ¶ Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, [ The King gives them a year to smell good for him, to make themselves look as good as possible for him. Give some idea as to his exalted status in his own mind. Let them make themselves proper to be in my mighty presence. ] according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)

13 Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her [ She was provided whatever sh wanted or needed in order to prepare her to meet the King. Is there some symbolism there for us. What kind of preparation should we be making to prepare to meet the King or Kings? ] to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.

14 In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.

15 ¶ Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, [ She remained humble, she was not one that required or asked for things that a queen might often ask for. Imagine the lengths to which some women would have gone in order to win the heart of the king. After all this is the marriage lottery, your chance to become a queen. Suggesting that she will go in as something that she already is and not something that she is not. She is being genuine. Come to know the real me and if that is what you want then fine and if not well fine to that aas well. ] the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.

16 so Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

18 Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king.

19 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate. [ He still continues to follow how she is doing as much as he can. ]

20 Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.

21 ¶ In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, [ Waiting there and checking up on Ester. ] two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. [ While Mordecai waits at the Kings gate he hears the discussion of two men to over through the King. ]

22 And the thing [ The plot to kill the King. ] was known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; [ Mordecai tells Ester what is being planned against the King. ] and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai’s name. [ Ester tells the King what Mordecai has heard. ]

23 And when inquisition was made of the matter, [ The King has his PI's follow up on the matter and finds out what Mordecai said appears to be true. ] it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree: [ The two men are put to death and we have to assume that Mordecai is revered by the King to some extent. ] and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.