Esther 2:13-16

Contemporary English Version

¹³When a young woman went to the king, she could wear whatever clothes or jewelry she chose from the women's living quarters. ¹⁴In the evening she would go to the king, and the following morning she would go to the place where his wives stayed after being with him. There a man named Shaashgaz was in charge of the king's wives.^[a] Only the ones the king wanted and asked for by name could go back to the king.

^15-16Xerxes had been king for seven years when Esther's turn came to go to him during Tebeth,^[b] the tenth month of the year. Everyone liked Esther. The king's personal servant Hegai was in charge of the women, and Esther trusted Hegai and asked him what she ought to take with her.^[c]

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Footnotes

2.14 wives: This translates a Hebrew word for women who were legally bound to a man, but without the full privileges of a wife.
2.15,16 Tebeth: The tenth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-December to mid-January.
2.15,16 her: The Hebrew text adds, “Esther was the daughter of Abihail and was the cousin of Mordecai, who had adopted her after her parents died” (see verse 7).