¹³ After he arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

¹⁴ She would go in the evening, and in the morning she would return to a second harem under the supervision of the king’s eunuch Shaashgaz, keeper of the concubines.^(A) She never went to the king again, unless he desired her and summoned her by name.^(B)

Esther Becomes Queen

¹⁵ Esther was the daughter of Abihail,^(C) the uncle of Mordecai who had adopted her as his own daughter. When her turn came to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women, suggested. Esther gained favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.^(D)