Hey everyone, this is Mary DeMuth and this is Pray Every Day where I pray you through the Bible verse by verse.

Grateful to have you here on the 12th day of September and humbled that you are spending time listening to this crazy woman and my voice every single day.

Today we're in the book of Esther chapter two verses one through 13 in the world

English Bible. Some of you might wonder what in the world is that translation. It is a free

translation for me to use so that I don't violate any copyright laws and I'm so grateful to

have this version. And honestly, it's really helpful for me because it helps me

to see things a little differently. If you're like me, you've read the Bible in one or two different

versions, and so hearing another version is kind of helpful. All right, this is what it says.

After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasaurus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.

Then the king's servants who served him said, let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

Let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to the citadel of Susa, to the woman's house,

to the custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, keeper of the women. Let cosmetics be given them,

and let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. This thing pleased the king, and he did so.

There was a certain Jew in the citadel of Susa, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shemay, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives, who had been carried away with Jechaniah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has carried away.

He brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had neither father nor mother.

The maiden was fair and beautiful, and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.

So, when the king's commandment in his decree was heard and when many maidens were gathered together

to the citadel of Susa to the custody of Hague, Esther was taken into the king's house

to the custody of Hagi, keeper of the women. The maiden pleased him and she obtained kindness from him. He quickly gave her cosmetics

and her portions of food and the seven choice maidens who were to be given to her out of the

king's house. He moved her and her maidens to the best place in the women's house. Esther had not

made known her people nor her relatives

...