¹³ After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives^(A) in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

¹⁴ In the evening she would go there and in the morning return to another part of the harem to the care of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines.^(A) She would not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and summoned her by name.^(B)

¹⁵ When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail^(C)) to go to the king,^(D) she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor^(E) of everyone who saw her.