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Dan 6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28
OET (OET-LV) [fn] in_then they_replied and_they_said before Oh/the_king that Dāniyyʼēl who is_one_of the_sons_of the_exile of Yəhūdāh/(Judah) not he_has_set to_you[fn] Oh/the_king discretion and_to the_prohibition which you_signed and_times three in_the_day he_is_asking petition_of_his.
OET (OET-RV) When the king heard that, was very upset and for that entire day, he actively tried to think of a way to get Daniel out of it.
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.
The king wanted to save Daniel from the lions’ den. However, his accusers continued to demand that the king follow the law.
As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed
On hearing this, the king became very distressed
When the king heard what the officials said, he was distraught.
The king was extremely upset/disturbed when he heard the charge that the officials made.
As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed: The Aramaic text is more literally “Then the king when he heard the word was greatly distressed.” The king was made unhappy by what the officials told him about Daniel. Here are some other ways to translate this:
The king became greatly distressed when he heard this.
On hearing this, the king was distraught.
This news disturbed the king profoundly/deeply.
Translate in a way that is most natural in your language. Give emphasis to the way the king reacted.
he was deeply distressed: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as he was deeply distressed is literally “it was very evil to him.” This is a broad statement that can include a number of different ideas and emotions. Here are some other ways to translate it:
he was upset (GNT)
the king was very disturbed
was very displeased (GW)
In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of the clauses in this verse part. For example:
The king was very displeased when he heard this (GW)
The king became very upset when he heard this (NCV)
and set his mind on delivering Daniel,
He thought hard about how he could rescue Daniel,
He tried to think of a way to save Daniel from the lions,
He began to think how he could spare Daniel’s life.
set his mind on delivering Daniel: The Aramaic phrase set his mind is an idiom, a figure of speech. It indicates that the king gave his full attention to this matter. Here are some other ways to translate this:
He tried every way he could think of to save Daniel. (GW)
He tried to find a way to protect Daniel
He concentrated on looking for a way to save Daniel
Translate this idea in a way that is most natural in your language.
on delivering Daniel: The same verb that the BSB translates as delivering occurs in 3:15c, 17a, 28b. In this context, it means that the king tried to find a way to avoid punishing Daniel. Here are some other ways to translate this:
to save Daniel (NRSV)
to spare Daniel’s life
to protect/keep Daniel from being punished
Translate in a way that is natural in your language.
and he labored until sundown to rescue him.
and he did all he could to spare Daniel, until finally night came.
and the rest of the day he did everything he could to rescue him.
All day long he kept trying to find a way.
and: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces the next event in the narrative sequence.
he labored: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as labored means “worked/tried hard.”HALOT, 1991. Other ways to say this in English are:
He kept trying (GNT)
he struggled to find a way
he gave his full concentration
until sundown: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as until sundown is literally “going in of the sun.”See meʿal “sunset.” HALOT, 1921. The noun derives from ʿll. This is a figure of speech. It refers to the time in the evening when the sun goes below the horizon. The clause means “until it became dark.” Other ways to say this in English are:
the rest of the day (NLT)
the whole day
until evening/night
until sunset
to rescue him: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as rescue is a synonym to the verb “delivering” above, in 6:14b. There are at least two ways to translate this:
If you have a synonym to “deliver” you may use it here. For example:
to save him (NIV)
to keep him from punishment
In some languages this idea is implied from the previous clause and you do not need to repeat it again. If that is true in your language, you may not need to translate this phrase. For example:
did his best to find some way to rescue Daniel. He kept trying until sunset. (GNT)
he tried to think of a way to save Daniel, and continued his efforts until sunset (REB)
Translate in the way that is most natural in your language.
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses and combine information that is repeated. For example:
14aThe king was really upset to hear about this, 14b-cand for the rest of the day he tried to think how he could save Daniel.
14aThe king was very displeased when he heard what the officials said. 14b-cAll that day he did everything he could to rescue Daniel.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
וְעַ֧ל דָּנִיֵּ֛אל שָׂ֥ם בָּ֖ל לְשֵׁיזָבוּתֵ֑הּ
(Some words not found in UHB: in=then they_replied and=they_said before Oh/the=king that/who Dāniyyʼēl that/who from/more_than sons_of of,the_exile that/who Yehud not paying_any_attention to,you Oh/the=king attention and,to the,prohibition that/who signed and,times three in,the,day saying petition_of,his )
Here mind refers to his thinking. Alternate translation: “and he thought very hard about how to rescue Daniel”
6:14 The king had not thought through all the consequences of signing the law.
• deeply troubled: Or very angry for being tricked. He did not want to execute his best servant.
OET (OET-LV) [fn] in_then they_replied and_they_said before Oh/the_king that Dāniyyʼēl who is_one_of the_sons_of the_exile of Yəhūdāh/(Judah) not he_has_set to_you[fn] Oh/the_king discretion and_to the_prohibition which you_signed and_times three in_the_day he_is_asking petition_of_his.
OET (OET-RV) When the king heard that, was very upset and for that entire day, he actively tried to think of a way to get Daniel out of it.
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.
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