Esther 2:13 (LSB)

Passage

then the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she said she desired was given to her to come with her from the harem to the king’s house.

Nearby Context

Esther 2:11 And every day Mordecai walked back and forth in front of the court of the harem to know the well-being of Esther and how she fared.

Esther 2:12 Now when it reached the turn of each young lady to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their cosmetic treatment were fulfilled as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women—

Esther 2:13 then the young lady would go in to the king in this way: anything that she said she desired was given to her to come with her from the harem to the king’s house.

Esther 2:14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem, to the hand of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept charge of the concubines. She would not again go in to the king unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

Esther 2:15 Now when it reached the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she did not seek anything except what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who kept charge of the women, said. And Esther advanced in favor in the eyes of all who saw her.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "young", "lady", "king", "anything", "said", "desired", "given", and "come". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "young" and "lady", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Now when it reached the turn of..." into verse 14's "In the evening she would go in...", so "young" and "lady" belong inside that flow. In Esther context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "young" and "lady" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.