Esther 2:16-18

The Message

¹⁶ She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of the king’s reign.

^17-18 The king fell in love with Esther far more than with any of his other women or any of the other virgins—he was totally smitten by her. He placed a royal crown on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. Then the king gave a great banquet for all his nobles and officials—“Esther’s Banquet.” He proclaimed a holiday for all the provinces and handed out gifts with royal generosity.

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