Esther 8:6 (ASV)

Passage

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?

Nearby Context

Esther 8:4 Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king.

Esther 8:5 And 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:

Esther 8:6 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 8:7 Then 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.

Esther 8:8 Write 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "endure", "evil", "shall", "come", "people", "destruction", and "kindred". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "endure" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "And she said If it please the..." into verse 7's "Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther...", so "endure" and "evil" 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 "endure" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.