Esther 2:17-19

Living Bible

¹⁷ Well, the king loved Esther more than any of the other girls. He was so delighted with her that he set the royal crown on her head and declared her queen instead of Vashti. ¹⁸ To celebrate the occasion, he threw another big party for all his officials and servants, giving generous gifts to everyone and making grants to the provinces in the form of remission of taxes.

¹⁹ Later the king demanded a second bevy of beautiful girls.^[a] By that time Mordecai had become a government official.