Esther 8:6
in Esther 8For how could I bear to see the disaster that would befall my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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?
KJV
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?
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This verse in Esther 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verseFor how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people?.... 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.
This site's exposition
And once again, Esther addressed
on Esther 8:3-6
At 5:1-2 Esther stood composed before the king. Now "She fell at his feet weeping," because Haman's death removed the man and left his scheme standing. She asks the king "to revoke the letters" Haman wrote, since the gallows of 7:10 answered the plotter and left the plot in force.
This site's exposition
For how could I bear
Esther's own life is safe now, and so is Mordecai's. Adam Clarke notes that the decree still stood against every other Jew, so she pleads for her kindred. Matthew Henry observes that the text records her tears here, for her people, and none when she asked for her own life.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
To see the destruction of my kindred? - She had now informed the king that she was cousin to Mordecai, and consequently a Jewess; and though her own life and that of Mordecai were no longer in danger, Haman being dead, yet the decree that had gone forth was in full force against the Jews; and if not repealed, their destruction would be inevitable.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֠י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵיכָכָ֤ה | ʾeikhakhah | how? | H349 → | |
| אוּכַל֙ | ʾukhal | will I be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| וְֽרָאִ֔יתִי | veraiti | and I will look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בָּרָעָ֖ה | baraah | on the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִמְצָ֣א | yimtza' | it will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמִּ֑י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְאֵֽיכָכָ֤ה | veeikhakhah | and how? | H349 → | |
| אוּכַל֙ | ʾukhal | will I be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| וְֽרָאִ֔יתִי | veraiti | and I will look | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| בְּאָבְדַ֖ן | beavedan | on [the] destruction of | H13 → | |
| מוֹלַדְתִּֽי׃ ס | moladti | kindred my | H4138 → | 22 times |
כִּ֠יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵיכָכָ֤הhow?
ʾeikhakhahH349 →
אוּכַל֙will I be able
ʾukhalH3201 →194 times
וְֽרָאִ֔יתִיand I will look
veraitiH7200 →1300 times
בָּרָעָ֖הon the evil
baraahH7451 →662 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יִמְצָ֣אit will find
yimtza'H4672 →455 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמִּ֑יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
וְאֵֽיכָכָ֤הand how?
veeikhakhahH349 →
אוּכַל֙will I be able
ʾukhalH3201 →194 times
וְֽרָאִ֔יתִיand I will look
veraitiH7200 →1300 times
בְּאָבְדַ֖ןon [the] destruction of
beavedanH13 →
מוֹלַדְתִּֽי׃ סkindred my
moladtiH4138 →22 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 10:1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is for their salvation.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 9:20–22
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win…
- John 5:34
Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved.
- Romans 9:1–3
I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 9:20–22
Through
Nehemiah 2:3and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by…
it leads to
- Nehemiah 1:3
And they told me, “The remnant who survived the exile are there in the province, in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
- 1 Kings 1:31
Bathsheba bowed facedown in homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
- Nehemiah 1:3
Through
Esther 7:4For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would…
it leads to
- Esther 3:9
If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will deposit ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury to pay those who carry it out.”
- Deuteronomy 28:68
The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but…
- Esther 3:13
And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on…
- Esther 3:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Esther
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. F. Adeney, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther (Expositor's Bible).