August 23

Luke 20:1-8

[1] One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up [2] and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” [3] He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, [4] was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” [5] And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ [6] But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” [7] So they answered that they did not know where it came from. [8] And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Titus 3:9-15

[9] But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. [10] As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, [11] knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

[12] When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. [13] Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. [14] And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.

[15] All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. 

Grace be with you all. 

Proverbs 16:17-33

    [17] 

    The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;

        whoever guards his way preserves his life. 

    [18] 

    Pride goes before destruction,

        and a haughty spirit before a fall. 

    [19] 

    It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor

        than to divide the spoil with the proud. 

    [20] 

    Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,

        and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. 

    [21] 

    The wise of heart is called discerning,

        and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. 

    [22] 

    Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,

        but the instruction of fools is folly. 

    [23] 

    The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious

        and adds persuasiveness to his lips. 

    [24] 

    Gracious words are like a honeycomb,

        sweetness to the soul and health to the body. 

    [25] 

    There is a way that seems right to a man,

        but its end is the way to death. 

    [26] 

    A worker’s appetite works for him;

        his mouth urges him on. 

    [27] 

    A worthless man plots evil,

        and his speech is like a scorching fire. 

    [28] 

    A dishonest man spreads strife,

        and a whisperer separates close friends. 

    [29] 

    A man of violence entices his neighbor

        and leads him in a way that is not good. 

    [30] 

    Whoever winks his eyes plans dishonest things;

        he who purses his lips brings evil to pass. 

    [31] 

    Gray hair is a crown of glory;

        it is gained in a righteous life. 

    [32] 

    Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

        and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. 

    [33] 

    The lot is cast into the lap,

        but its every decision is from the LORD.

Esther 5

[1] On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king’s palace, in front of the king’s quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. [2] And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. [3] And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” [4] And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” [5] Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. [6] And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” [7] Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: [8] If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.”

[9] And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. [10] Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. [11] And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. [12] Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. [13] Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.” [14] Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows fifty cubits high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made.

Esther 6

[1] On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. [2] And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. [3] And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” [4] And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. [5] And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” [6] So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” [7] And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, [8] let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. [9] And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” [10] Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” [11] So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”

[12] Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. [13] And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

[14] While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared.

Long and Live for Jesus’ Return

PRAY OVER THIS

“And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

1 John 3:3

 

PONDER THIS

We should long for Jesus’ return, and we should live for His return. In 1 John 2:28, John wrote: “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” Are you ready for Jesus to come today? Is your heart pure? Or is your heart headquarters for hate? Are you nursing a grudge? Is there in your heart some vile habit? Think about it. If you absolutely knew that Jesus Christ was coming back this afternoon, would you make some changes? Then make them, because you don’t know when He’s coming. As we long for Jesus’ return, we live in light of His return. Second Corinthians 7:1 says, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” It is wonderful to be able to know there is nothing between your soul and the Savior.

What would you change now if you knew for sure Jesus was returning today?

What keeps you from making those changes without knowing for certain when Jesus will return?

PRACTICE THIS

Think through your day; imagine you knew for sure that Jesus was returning today. Make your plans and decisions in light of this.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Pleased to Praise

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! (Psalm 67:3, 5)

Why does God demand we must praise God?

C.S. Lewis:

Just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?”

The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

There is the answer — the solution to the apparent egomania of God in demanding us to praise him! It is a demand for our greatest happiness. We praise what we enjoy because the delight is incomplete until it is expressed in praise. If we were not allowed to speak of what we value and celebrate what we love and praise what we admire, our joy would not be full.

So, if God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not only give us himself; he must also win from us the praise of our hearts — not because he needs to shore up some weakness in himself or compensate for some deficiency, but because he loves us and seeks the fullness of our joy that can be found only in knowing and praising him, the most magnificent of all beings.

If he is truly for us, he must be for himself! God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking his own praise is the ultimately loving act. For him, self-exaltation is the highest virtue. When he does all things “to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12, 14), he preserves for us and offers to us the only thing in all the world that can satisfy our longings.

God is for us! And the foundation of this love is that God has been, is now, and always will be for himself.

John Piper 

August 22

Luke 19:39-48

[39] And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” [40] He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

[41] And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, [42] saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. [43] For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side [44] and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

[45] And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, [46] saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

[47] And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, [48] but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

Titus 3:1-8

[1] Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, [2] to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. [3] For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. [4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. [8] The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

Proverbs 16:1-16

    [1] The plans of the heart belong to man,

        but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. 

    [2] 

    All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

        but the LORD weighs the spirit. 

    [3] 

    Commit your work to the LORD,

        and your plans will be established. 

    [4] 

    The LORD has made everything for its purpose,

        even the wicked for the day of trouble. 

    [5] 

    Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD;

        be assured, he will not go unpunished. 

    [6] 

    By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,

        and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil. 

    [7] 

    When a man’s ways please the LORD,

        he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 

    [8] 

    Better is a little with righteousness

        than great revenues with injustice. 

    [9] 

    The heart of man plans his way,

        but the LORD establishes his steps. 

    [10] 

    An oracle is on the lips of a king;

        his mouth does not sin in judgment. 

    [11] 

    A just balance and scales are the LORD’s;

        all the weights in the bag are his work. 

    [12] 

    It is an abomination to kings to do evil,

        for the throne is established by righteousness. 

    [13] 

    Righteous lips are the delight of a king,

        and he loves him who speaks what is right. 

    [14] 

    A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,

        and a wise man will appease it. 

    [15] 

    In the light of a king’s face there is life,

        and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain. 

    [16] 

    How much better to get wisdom than gold!

        To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Esther 3

[1] After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. [2] And all the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. [3] Then the king’s servants who were at the king’s gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king’s command?” [4] And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. [5] And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. [6] But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.

[7] In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. [8] Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them. [9] If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king’s business, that they may put it into the king’s treasuries.” [10] So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. [11] And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.”

[12] Then the king’s scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s signet ring. [13] Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. [14] A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. [15] The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.

Esther 4

[1] When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. [2] He went up to the entrance of the king’s gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth. [3] And in every province, wherever the king’s command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

[4] When Esther’s young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. [5] Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. [6] Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate, [7] and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. [8] Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction, that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him on behalf of her people. [9] And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. [10] Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, [11] “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.”

[12] And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. [13] Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. [14] For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” [15] Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, [16] “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.” [17] Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Share What You DO Know!

PRAY OVER THIS

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall Him as He is.”

1 John 3:2

 

PONDER THIS

One way to give a good witness for the Lord Jesus Christ is to tell what you know, not what you don’t know. So many of us are afraid to witness because we’re afraid somebody’s going to ask us a question we don’t know the answer to. Don’t worry about it! Let me give you the perfect answer. Just say, “I don’t know.” Isn’t that a good answer? If you tell people that you don’t know, maybe they’ll believe you when you tell them what you do know.

There are a lot of things about the future that we don’t know. But these things have been kept from us on purpose. When the apostle Paul was caught up into the third Heaven, he saw things not lawful for a man to utter. (See 2 Corinthians 12:4.) Jesus said: “I have many things to tell you, but you’re not able to bear them” (John 16:12). Daniel was told to seal up the prophecy; it’s for the time at the end. (See Daniel 12:4.) There are a lot of things we don’t know! What are we going to be like when we get to Heaven? What are we going to look like? What age will we be? What will we eat? We don’t have to know these things; we can trust God as the One who does know and we can be faithful to share what we do know through Him.

What are some questions about God or the world that you don’t know and are prone to get hung up on?

What are some things about God you can say you know with certainty?

PRACTICE THIS

Write out some questions you don’t know and are afraid of being asked about. Make a separate list of the things you do know about God for sure and are able to share confidently with others. 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

An Unshakably Happy God

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

God is absolutely sovereign.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

Therefore, he is not frustrated. He rejoices in all his works when he contemplates them as colors of the magnificent mosaic of redemptive history. He is an unshakably happy God.

His happiness is foundationally the delight he has in himself. Before creation, he rejoiced in the image of his glory in the person of his Son — his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased (Matthew 3:17). Then the joy of God “went public” in the works of creation and redemption.

These works delight the heart of God because they reflect his glory. The heavens are telling the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works” (Psalm 104:31) He does everything he does to preserve and display that glory, for in this his soul rejoices.

All the works of God culminate in the praises of his redeemed people. “Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2). The climax of his happiness is the delight he takes in the echoes of his excellence in the praises of the saints. “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:10–11).

But our praise is not only God’s delight, as an echo of his excellence; it is also the apex of our joy. Praise is the consummation of the joy we have in seeing and savoring the greatness of God.

Therefore, God’s pursuit of praise from us and our pursuit of pleasure in him are the same pursuit. This is the great outcome of the gospel of the glory of the grace of God in Christ!

John Piper 

August 21

Luke 19:28-38

[28] And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. [29] When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, [30] saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. [31] If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” [32] So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. [33] And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” [34] And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” [35] And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. [36] And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. [37] As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, [38] saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Titus 2:11-15

[11] For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, [12] training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, [13] waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

[15] Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Proverbs 15:18-33

    [18] 

    A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

        but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. 

    [19] 

    The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

        but the path of the upright is a level highway. 

    [20] 

    A wise son makes a glad father,

        but a foolish man despises his mother. 

    [21] 

    Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

        but a man of understanding walks straight ahead. 

    [22] 

    Without counsel plans fail,

        but with many advisers they succeed. 

    [23] 

    To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,

        and a word in season, how good it is! 

    [24] 

    The path of life leads upward for the prudent,

        that he may turn away from Sheol beneath. 

    [25] 

    The LORD tears down the house of the proud

        but maintains the widow’s boundaries. 

    [26] 

    The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,

        but gracious words are pure. 

    [27] 

    Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,

        but he who hates bribes will live. 

    [28] 

    The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

        but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. 

    [29] 

    The LORD is far from the wicked,

        but he hears the prayer of the righteous. 

    [30] 

    The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

        and good news refreshes the bones. 

    [31] 

    The ear that listens to life-giving reproof

        will dwell among the wise. 

    [32] 

    Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,

        but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. 

    [33] 

    The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom,

        and humility comes before honor.

Esther 2

[1] After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. [2] Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. [3] And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. [4] And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.

[5] Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, [6] who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. [7] He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. [8] So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. [9] 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. [10] Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. [11] And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

[12] Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women—[13] when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. [14] In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

[15] When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. [16] And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, [17] the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. [18] Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther’s feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.

[19] Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. [20] Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. [21] In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. [22] And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. [23] When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.