Esther 2:3

Contemporary English Version

You can select officers in every province to bring them to the place where you keep your wives in the capital city of Susa. Put your servant Hegai in charge of them since that is his job. He can see to it that they are given the proper beauty treatments.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom, so that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem at the fortress of Susa. Put them under the supervision of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, and give them the required beauty treatments.

Hebrew Names Version
and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them;

King James Version
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 the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:

English Standard Version
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.

New Century Version
Let the king choose supervisors in every state of his kingdom to bring every beautiful young girl to the palace at Susa. They should be taken to the women's quarters and put under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the women. And let beauty treatments be given to them.

New English Translation
And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem under the authority of Hegai, the king's eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire.

Amplified Bible
"Let the king appoint administrators in all the provinces of his kingdom, and have them gather all the beautiful young virgins to the citadel in Susa, into the harem, under the custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their beauty preparations be given to them.

New American Standard Bible
"And may the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and have them bring every beautiful young virgin to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

World English Bible
and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them;

Geneva Bible (1587)
And let the King appoynt officers through all the prouinces of his kingdome, and let them gather all the beautiful yong virgins vnto the palace of Shushan, into the house of the women, vnder the hand of Hege the Kings eunuche, keeper of the women, to giue them their things for purification.

Legacy Standard Bible
And let the king appoint overseers in all the provinces of his kingdom that they may gather every young virgin, beautiful in appearance, to the citadel of Susa, to the harem, into the hand of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who keeps charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given to them.

Berean Standard Bible
and let the king appoint commissioners in each province of his kingdom to assemble all the beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the women, and let them be given beauty treatments.

Complete Jewish Bible
The king should appoint officials in all the provinces of the kingdom to gather all the young, good-looking virgins to the house for the harem, in Shushan the capital. They should be put under the care of Hegai the king's officer in charge of the women, and he should give them the cosmetics they require.

Darby Translation
and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the young virgins of beautiful countenance to Shushan the fortress, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given.

Easy-to-Read Version
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.

George Lamsa Translation
And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to the house of the women, to the custody of Hegai the eunuch, keeper of women; and let their things for purification be given them;

Good News Translation
You can appoint officials in every province of the empire and have them bring all these beautiful young women to your harem here in Susa, the capital city. Put them in the care of Hegai, the eunuch who is in charge of your women, and let them be given a beauty treatment.

Lexham English Bible
Let the king appoint chief officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather every attractive young virgin to the harem in the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let him give them their beauty treatment.

Literal Translation
And let the king choose officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, so that they may gather together every beautiful young virgin to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the hand of Hegai the king's eunuch, keeper of the women, to give their purifications.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and let the kynge appoynte ouerseers in all ye londes of his empyre, that they maye brynge together all fayre yonge virgins vnto the castel of Susan to the Wemens buyldinge, vnder the hande of Hegai the kynges clamberlayne, that kepeth the wemen, and let him geue them their apparell.

American Standard Version
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 Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them;

Bible in Basic English
Let the king give authority to certain men in all the divisions of his kingdom, to get together all the fair young virgins and send them to Shushan, the king's town, to the women's house, under the care of Hegai, the king's servant, the keeper of the women: and let the things needed for making them clean be given to them;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And let the king appoynt officers in all the prouinces of his empire, that they should bring together al the faire young virgins vnto Susan the head citie to the womens buylding, vnder the hande of Hegai the kinges chamberlayne that kept the women, to geue them their apparell:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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 castle, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their ointments be given them;

King James Version (1611)
And let the king appoint officers in all the prouinces of his kingdome, that they may gather together all the faire yong virgins vnto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women vnto the custodie of Hege the kings chamberlaine, keeper of the women, and let their things for purification bee giuen them:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And let the king appoint local governors in all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them select fair and chaste young damsels and bring them to the city Susa, into the women’s apartment, and let them be consigned to the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women; and let things for purification and other attendance be given to them.

English Revised Version
and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that young virgins unto Shushan the palace, they may gather together all the fair to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
that schulen biholde bi alle prouinces damesels faire and virgyns; and brynge thei hem to the citee Susa, and bitake thei in to the hows of wymmen, vndur the hond of Egei, the onest seruaunt and chast, which is the souereyn and kepere of the kyngis wymmen; and take the damesels ournement of wymmen, and other thingis nedeful to vsis.

Update Bible Version
and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them;

Webster's Bible Translation
And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may collect all the fair young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, into the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given [them]:

New King James Version
and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women's quarters, under the custody of Hegai [fn] the king's eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them.

New Living Translation
Let the king appoint agents in each province to bring these beautiful young women into the royal harem at the fortress of Susa. Hegai, the king's eunuch in charge of the harem, will see that they are all given beauty treatments.

New Life Bible
Let the king choose men to watch over all the parts of his nation, that they may gather every beautiful young woman who has never had a man to the city of Susa. Have them brought to the house for the king's wives, under the care of Hegai, the king's servant, who takes care of the women. And let their things for making them beautiful be given to them.

New Revised Standard
And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in the citadel of Susa under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; let their cosmetic treatments be given them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom, and let them gather together every young virgin of pleasing appearance unto Shusan the palace, unto the house of the women, into the custody of Hegai eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, and let there be given the things needed for their purification;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And let some persons be sent through all the provinces to look for beautiful maidens and virgins: and let them bring them to the city of Susan, and put them into the house of the women under the hand of Egeus the eunuch, who is the overseer and keeper of the king’s women: and let them receive women’s ornaments, and other things necessary for their use.

Revised Standard Version
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 capital, under custody of Hegai the king's eunuch who is in charge of the women; let their ointments be given them.

Young's Literal Translation
and the king doth appoint inspectors in all provinces of his kingdom, and they gather every young woman -- virgin, of good appearance -- unto Shushan the palace, unto the house of the women, unto the hand of Hege eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, and to give their purifications,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Let the king appoint overseers in 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 Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let their cosmetics be given them.

Contextual Overview

¹ After a while, King Xerxes got over being angry. But he kept thinking about what Vashti had done and the law that he had written because of her. ² Then the king's personal servants said: Your Majesty, a search must be made to find you some beautiful young women. ³ You can select officers in every province to bring them to the place where you keep your wives in the capital city of Susa. Put your servant Hegai in charge of them since that is his job. He can see to it that they are given the proper beauty treatments. ⁴ Then let the young woman who pleases you most take Vashti's place as queen. King Xerxes liked these suggestions, and he followed them. ⁵ At this time a Jew named Mordecai was living in Susa. His father was Jair, and his grandfather Shimei was the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. ⁶ Kish was one of the people that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem, when he took King Jeconiah of Judah to Babylonia. ⁷ Mordecai had a very beautiful cousin named Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah. He had raised her as his own daughter, after her father and mother died. ⁸ When the king ordered the search for beautiful women, many were taken to the king's palace in Susa, and Esther was one of them. Hegai was put in charge of all the women, ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ Mordecai had warned Esther not to tell anyone that she was a Jew, and she obeyed him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in all the provinces: Esther 1:1, Esther 1:2

that they may gather: This was the usual way in which the harem, or seraglio, was furnished; the finest women in the land, whether of high or low birth, were sought out and brought to the harem. They all became the king's concubines; but one was raised as chief wife, or sultana, to the throne; and her issue was especially entitled to inherit.

the custody: Heb. the hand

Hege: Esther 2:8, Hegai

the king's chamberlain: Saris hammelech, "the king's eunuch:" so the LXX, Vulgate, Targum, and Syriac.

their things: Esther 2:12-14, Isaiah 3:18-23

Reciprocal: Ezra 4:9 - Susanchites Esther 2:5 - Shushan Esther 2:9 - her her things Esther 2:16 - the seventh Esther 2:19 - the virgins Esther 8:14 - Shushan

Cross-References

Genesis 2:2

The Seventh Day

By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested.

Genesis 2:3
God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.

Genesis 2:4
That's how God created the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth,

Genesis 2:7
The Lord God took a handful of soil and made a man. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.

Genesis 2:8
The Lord made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there.

Genesis 2:10
From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers.

Genesis 2:11
The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah,

Genesis 2:12
where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found.

Genesis 2:13
The second is the Gihon River that winds through Ethiopia.

Genesis 2:14
The Tigris River that flows east of Assyria is the third, and the fourth is the Euphrates River.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom,.... Who best knew where beautiful virgins might be found in their respective provinces, in which they dwelt:

that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace; the metropolis of the kingdom, where was the royal palace:

to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women; in which house it seems were two apartments, one for the virgins before they were introduced to the king, the other for them when they were become his concubines, which had a keeper also; but this Hege seems to have been over the whole house, Esther 2:14. It was not only usual with the eastern people, as with the Turks now, for great personages to have keepers of their wives and concubines, but with the Romans also d:

and let their things for purification be given them; such as oil of myrrh, spices, &c. to remove all impurity and ill scent from them, and make them look smooth and beautiful.

d "Pone seram, cohibe", &c. Juvenal. Satyr. 6. ver. 346, 347.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The house of the women - i. e. the “gynaeceon,” or “haram” - always an essential part of an Oriental palace (Compare 1 Kings 7:8). In the Persian palaces it was very extensive, since the monarchs maintained, besides their legitimate wives, as many as 300 or 400 concubines (compare Esther 2:14).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Esther 2:3. Hege the king's chamberlain — הגא סריס המלך Hege seris hammelech, "Hege, the king's eunuch;" so the Septuagint, Vulgate, Targum, and Syriac. In the Eastern countries the women are intrusted to the care of the eunuchs only.

Let their things for purification be given them — תמרקיהן tamrukeyhen, their cosmetics. What these were we are told in Esther 2:12; oil of myrrh, and sweet odours. The myrrh was employed for six months, and the odours for six months more, after which the person was brought to the king. This space was sufficient to show whether the young woman had been chaste; whether she were with child or not, that the king might not be imposed on, and be obliged to father a spurious offspring, which might have been the case had not this precaution been used.

Instead of the oil or myrrh, the Targum says it was the oil of unripe olives which caused the hair to fall off, and rendered the skin delicate.