Esther 2:6-8

The Voice

⁶ It was at the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon that Jeconiah (king of Judah) and Mordecai’s ancestors had been forced out of the city of Jerusalem to live as exiles in Babylon. ⁷ Mordecai had a cousin who was a young and beautiful girl named Hadassah, and she was also called Esther. After her mother and father died, Mordecai adopted her into his family as his daughter.

⁸ As the result of the king’s decree, Esther, along with many other young women, was brought to the royal palace in the citadel of Susa, and she was put in the care of Hegai (who was in charge of the harem).