Esther 8:6 in 8 translations
8 distinct wordings, grouped by what each translation is trying to do. Differences from the King James text are marked below.
Early modern English
Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.
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?
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
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?
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
For how shall I endure to see the evil that shall befall my people? and how shall I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
for how do I endure when I have looked on the evil that doth find my people? and how do I endure when I have looked on the destruction of my kindred?'
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my people? How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?”
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
For how can I bear to look upon the evil that will come to my people? How can I bear to see their destruction?”
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
For how can I bear to look upon the evil that will come to my people? How can I bear to see their destruction?’
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
For how is it possible for me to see the evil which is to overtake my nation? how may I see the destruction of my people?
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
What changes between the King James and modern wording
The modern rendering is printed below with every word that differs from the King James text marked, so the actual divergence is visible rather than left for you to spot.
For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my people? how can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?”
Word-for-word swaps
- shall→would
- unto→to
- kindred→relatives
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.