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Esther 8:6

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Esther 8:6 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
Esther 8:6 — American Standard Version

Context — Esther 8

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
3And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
4Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.
5And she said, If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king`s provinces:
6for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
7Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews.
8Write ye also to the Jews, as it pleaseth you, in the king`s name, and seal it with the king`s ring; for the writing which is written in the king`s name, and sealed with the king`s ring, may no man reverse.
9Then were the king`s scribes called at that time, in the third month Sivan, on the three and twentieth [day] thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? etc.] I cannot bear it; it will break my heart; I shall die to see all my people massacred throughout the realm; the thought of it is shocking and shuddering; to see it, intolerable: or “how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” the same thing in different words, and somewhat more express and explanative. She explains the evil coming upon her people of the utter destruction of them, not barely an oppression, but an extermination of them; and she makes use of a word expressive of their relation to her, as more endearing, being her kindred; she and they being, as it were, of the same family, and with whom she…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“For how: Gen 44:34; Jer 4:19, Jer 9:1; Luk 19:41, Luk 19:42; Rom 9:2, Rom 9:3, Rom 10:1 endure to see: Heb. be able that I may see the evil: Est 7:4; Neh 2:3 Esther 8:7”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification