DAN 6:10 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:1–28: God delivered Daniel from the lions’ den

The new Persian king, Darius the Mede, chose Daniel to be one of the three officials who administered the kingdom. Daniel did his work so well that the other officials became jealous of him. One day they asked the king to pass a law that forbade praying to anyone but him for a period of thirty days. The king signed the law. Daniel, however, refused to obey it and continued to pray to the one true God, the God of Israel. When the king heard that Daniel had disobeyed the law, he ordered his soldiers to throw Daniel into the pit where he kept hungry lions. But God protected Daniel. The lions did not hurt him. When the king saw this, he punished Daniel’s enemies and honored Daniel and the God of Israel.

Other possible headings for this section include:

Daniel in the Pit of Lions (GNT)

Daniel and the Lions (NCV)

God protected Daniel from lions

Historical Background: The Persian empire under Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539/538 BC, when Daniel was over seventy years old.Daniel was taken captive and brought to Babylon in approximately 605 B.C. If he was 12 years old when he came, he would have been 78 when this story began. The Persian empire became larger than the Babylonian empire had ever been. It extended west to include both Egypt and Libya. It extended east as far as the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. It was the largest empire in the history of the world up to that time.

Some commentators think that Darius the Mede was another name or title for the Persian King Cyrus or for the governor under him, Gubaru.

Text:

The verse numbers in the NJPS and the NJB are different from the verse numbers in the BSB. For example, 6:1 in the NJPS and the NJB is 5:31 in the BSB. The difference is because the NJPS and NJB follow the numbers in the Hebrew Bible. These Notes follow the verse numbers in the BSB.

Special Problems:

1. Lists: The author liked to include lists. In Daniel 6, he listed the different officials who conspired against Daniel (6:1–2; 7). Some languages may not have so many terms for officials. The Notes will suggest some ways to translate these lists.

2. Repetition: The author liked to repeat words and phrases in order to create suspense and emphasis. The Notes will give some suggestions on how to translate words or phrases that are repeated.

3. Verbs of Speech: The author sometimes used more than one verb of speech to introduce a quotation. In some languages, this may not be natural. The Notes will offer some options on how to translate these verbs.

4. Synonyms: The author liked to use synonyms or near synonyms to refer to the same idea. For example: 6:7–9 (ordinance, law, decree); 6:14 (rescue, delivering); 6:26 (kingdom, dominion); 6:27b (signs, wonders). The Notes will suggest different ways to translate these terms.

Paragraph 6:10–12c

After Daniel heard that the king had signed the law, he went home and prayed to God, as he had always done. The other officials saw this and informed the king.

6:10a–b

There are two ways to understand the connection between 6:10a and 6:10b:

They refer to consecutive events. Daniel heard about the decree and went home, where he continued acting as he had before. For example:
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house (ESV) (BSB, KJV, NASB, NIV, RSV, ESV, REB, NJB, NET, GW, GNT)
They refer to contrasting events. Daniel heard about the decree but he went home and continued acting as he had before. For example:
But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual… (NLT) (NRSV, CEV, NLT, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with the majority of English versions.

6:10a

Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed,

¶ But when Daniel heard that the king had signed the new law,
¶ Daniel heard the news/report about the law

Now when: In this context the common Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as Now when introduces what happened next in the narrative. See the note above on 6:10a–b. Introduce what Daniel did in a way that is natural in your language.

Daniel learned that the document had been signed: The Aramaic text does not say how Daniel learned that the king had signed the law. Someone probably told Daniel the news. Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language. It is usually best not to explain how Daniel learned this information. Other ways to translate this include:

Daniel knew that the document had been signed (ESV)

Daniel realized that a written decree had been issued (NET)

Daniel heard about the law (CEV)

the document had been signed: See the Notes at 6:8a and 6:9, where the same Aramaic phrase is used. However in some languages it may be natural to vary the wording and use a more general expression as some English versions do. The king signed the decree in order to show that he authorized and approved it, and by so doing he issued and published it. The decree was not published in the modern sense of being printed. It was written by hand and read aloud to the population. Some other ways to translate this are:

the decree had been published (NIV)

a written decree had been issued (NET)

The BSB translates this as a passive clause. In some languages it may be more natural to translate it as an active clause. For example:

the king had issued/signed the document

document: See the Notes at 6:8a.

6:10b

he went into his house,

he went back to his house. In an upper room
and went home. There on the flat roof there was a room

he went into his house: Daniel entered his own house. It is implied that at the time he heard the news he was somewhere else, but we do not know where.

General Comment on 6:10a–b

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the information in 6:10a, b. For example:

^10bDaniel went home ^10awhen he heard that the king had issued the new law.

6:10c

where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem,

there were windows that opened towards Jerusalem.
with windows that faced in the direction of the city of Jerusalem.

his upper room: Daniel’s house had a flat roof. On one corner of his roof there was a room. It had windows and a door. There were stairs that allowed a person to walk up to the room on the roof. In some cultures, people may not be familiar with this type of house and do not build rooms above other rooms, or on roofs. Refer to such a room in a way that is clear and natural in your language. For example:

the roof-chamber (REB)

his upper chamber (ESV)

room on top of a house (TH)

opened toward Jerusalem: This phrase describes Daniel’s house. It is background information. It indicates that customarily the windows were open in the direction of the holy city of Daniel’s God. Jewish people normally prayed facing Jerusalem. And, it is implied, since the windows were open, Daniel’s enemies would be able to see him praying.

In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence. For example:

An upper room in his house had windows that opened in the direction of Jerusalem (GW)

In an upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced toward Jerusalem (GNT)

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit who opened the windows. For example:

he opened the windows that faced Jerusalem

However, it is best if you can describe the windows as already open and not mention who opened them. See also the note below on opened toward Jerusalem.

toward Jerusalem: The windows were on the side of the building that faced west. This was in the direction facing the city of Jerusalem, which was west of Babylon.

General Comment on 6:10a–c

The BSB follows the Aramaic text and leaves as implicit the information that Daniel entered this upper room:

^10aAnd when Daniel knew that the writing was signed ^10bhe went into his house. ^10cAnd windows in his upper room were facing toward Jerusalem.

Some English versions, including the BSB, follow the Aramaic order and leave the same information implicit:

^10a-cWhen Daniel learned that the order had been signed, he went home. In an upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced toward Jerusalem. (GNT)

^10a-cWhen Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. An upper room in his house had windows that opened in the direction of Jerusalem. (GW)

You may leave the information that Daniel entered the upper room implicit if that is clear and natural in your language. However, if you do this, make sure that it is clear in the next verse part that Daniel was praying in front of the open windows. The NIV, rather than leave it as implicit, supplies the information in 6:10b and indicates that Daniel went to his upstairs room:

^10aNow when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, ^10bhe went home to his upstairs room ^10cwhere the windows opened toward Jerusalem. (NIV)

6:10d-e

and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God: This describes a regular, habitual action. This happened each day for some time.

prayed, and gave thanks to his God: The Aramaic clause that the BSB translates as prayed, and gave thanks to his God, is more literally “and was praying and was praising.” The author used two verbs to describe what Daniel did. Daniel prayed to God and praised/thanked him. In this context, these are not two different actions but two verbs referring to the same action.

6:10d

and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed,

There three times each day he knelt down to pray,
In front of those windows Daniel knelt and prayed every morning, noon, and evening.

and three times a day he got down on his knees: This clause leaves implicit the idea that Daniel got down on his knees in front of the windows, or where he could look toward Jerusalem. Make sure that this is clear in your translation. For example:

Three times a day he knelt there

Three times a day he knelt down before those windows

Three times a day he knelt down and looked toward Jerusalem

and three times a day: Each day, Daniel knelt to pray at three different times, probably morning, noon, and night. Translate this idea in the way that is natural in your language. For example:

Three times each/every day

he got down on his knees: The Aramaic clause is literally “kneeling on his knees.” When Daniel prayed, he knelt down on his knees. This was the way he showed that he honored and respected God. In some cultures people may pray in a different position, such as prostrate on the floor. However, if Daniel had been lying on the floor, his enemies would not have been able to see him. So if kneeling is an unnatural position for prayer in your culture, you may wish to say something like:

he got ready to pray according to the Jewish custom

he positioned himself to pray

he knelt down as all the Jews did

6:10e

and gave thanks to his God,

praising his God
He thanked God for all his blessings/kindness,

to his God: The phrase that the BSB translates as to his God is literally “in front of his God” or “in the presence of his God.” The phrase implies meekness before someone who was in authority.

In some languages it may not be natural to use a possessive pronoun with God (his God). If that is true in your language you may be able to say:

to God (GNT)

to the God whom he worshiped

6:10f

just as he had done before.

as was his regular custom.
in the same way as he had done before the king passed the law.

just as he had done before: This is a comparison. Daniel acted in the same way as he had before. He had been in the custom of praying three times a day before his open window. Translate this in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

just as he had always done (GNT)

as was his custom (REB)

He had always praised God this way. (GW)

The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as he had done describes a habitual action in the past. Use the verb tense that is appropriate in your language. For example:

just as he always used to do

in the same way that he always did

General Comment on 6:10

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses, giving the background information first. For example:

^10cDaniel had an upstairs room in his house which had windows that faced Jerusalem. ^10dThree times a day he would kneel down in front of those windows and pray and praise God. ^10aWhen Daniel knew that the king had signed the new law, ^10bhe went to his house and prayed there, ^10ejust as he had always done before.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear DAN 6:10

Hebrew word order