Esther 2:2 (WEB)

Passage

Then the king’s servants who served him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

Nearby Context

Esther 2:1 After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.

Esther 2:2 Then the king’s servants who served him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

Esther 2:3 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 women’s house, to the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women. Let cosmetics be given them;

Esther 2:4 and let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” The thing pleased the king, and he did so.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "king", "servants", "served", "said", "beautiful", "young", "virgins", and "sought". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "king" and "servants", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "After these things when the wrath of..." into verse 3's "Let the king appoint officers in all...", so "king" and "servants" 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 "king" and "servants" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.