New English Translation
Esther 8:6
6For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?”
Esther 8:6 in other versions
- King James Version (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?
- New International Version (NIV)For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)For how can I endure to see the evil that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my countrymen?”
Context of Esther 8:6
4When the king extended to Esther the gold scepter, she arose and stood before the king. 5She said, “If the king is so inclined and if I have met with his approval and if the matter is agreeable to the king and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces. For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?” 7King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action against the Jews. 8Now you write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.
Read all of Esther 8Esther 8:6 word by word
כִּ֠י אֵיכָכָ֤ה אוּכַל֙ וְֽרָאִ֔יתִי בָּרָעָ֖ה אֲשֶׁר־יִמְצָ֣א אֶת־עַמִּ֑י וְאֵֽיכָכָ֤ה אוּכַל֙ וְֽרָאִ֔יתִי בְּאָבְדַ֖ן מוֹלַדְתִּֽי׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For howאֵיכָ֫כָה'êyk 'êykâh 'êykâkâh · how?H349
- can I endureיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- to seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
- that shall comeמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- unto my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- the destructionאׇבְדַן'obdân · destructionH13
- of my kindredמוֹלֶ֫דֶתmôledeth · relativesH4138
Cross-references for Esther 8:6
- Genesis 44:34For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see my father’s pain.”
- Jeremiah 4:19I said, “Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!
- Jeremiah 9:1(8:23) I wish that my head were a well full of water and my eyes were a fountain full of tears! If they were, I could cry day and night for those of my dear people who have been killed.
- Luke 19:41Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it,
- Romans 9:2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
- Romans 10:1Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation.
- Esther 7:4For we have been sold – both I and my people – to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation! If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king.”
- Nehemiah 2:3I replied to the king, “O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors lies desolate and its gates destroyed by fire?”
Commentaries on Esther 8:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6To 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.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-14Verses 3-14 It was time to be earnest, when the church of God was at stake. Esther, though safe herself, fell down and begged for the deliverance of her people. We read of no tears when she begged for her own life, but although she was sure of that, she wept for her people. Tears of pity and tenderness are the most Christ-like. According to the constitution of the Persian government, no law or decree could be repealed or recalled. This is so far from…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-65-6. reverse the letters devised by Haman ... to destroy the Jews--The whole conduct of Esther in this matter is characterized by great tact, and the variety of expressions by which she describes her willing submission to her royal husband, the address with which she rolls the whole infamy of the meditated massacre on Haman, and the argument she draws from the king's sanction being surreptitiously obtained, that the decree should be immediately…Read the comment
Topics related to Esther 8:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Esther 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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