Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Dan C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12
Dan 6 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28
OET (OET-LV) [fn] and_ a_stone _it_was_brought one and_it_was_set over the_mouth_of the_den and_he_sealed_it Oh/the_king with_signet-ring_of_his and_with_the_signet-rings_of his_nobles that not it_will_change anything with_Dāniyyʼēl.
6:18 Note: KJB: Dān.6.17
OET (OET-RV) Then the king went to his palace and spent the night without eating. He refused all entertainment, and he couldn’t sleep.
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.
Then the king went to his palace
Then the king returned to his royal house.
After that, the king went back to his great home.
Then: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates Then here introduces the next event in the narrative. Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language.
the king went to his palace: Refer to King Darius in the way that is most natural in your language. Some versions use a pronoun. For example:
He returned to his palace (NLT)
palace: See also the Notes at 4:4b, 4:29; 5:5c. This was the special house where the king lived. It was probably very luxurious. If you have a word for this type of house, you can use it here. Other ways to say this in English are:
the king’s big house
the king’s beautiful rich house
his official residence.
and spent the night fasting.
All night long he did not eat any food.
He refused to eat any food the rest of the night.
spent the night fasting: This king usually ate when he came home in the evening. However, that night the king was worried about Daniel and he refused to eat anything. Here is another way to translate this:
without food (GNT)
In some languages it may be natural to start a new sentence here. For example:
He did not eat that night (NCV)
All night long he did not eat anything (CEV)
That night he refused to eat anything.
No entertainment was brought before him,
He also refused to have anyone entertain him,
He did not allow anyone to bring him any amusements,
No entertainment was brought before him: This is a passive clause. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this as an active clause. The Aramaic form of the verb indicates that the king himself refused entertainment. Here are some ways to translate this using an active verb:
the king refused his usual entertainment (NLT)
he would not let anyone come in to entertain him (CEV)
entertainment: The meaning of the Aramaic word that the BSB translates as entertainment is uncertain. English versions translate it in different ways. For example:
it refers to any kind of entertainment. For example:
diversions (RSV) (BSB, NIV, RSV, NASB, ESV, NET, GNT, NLT, NCV)
it refers to food or drink. For example:
foodTheodotion, Vulgate, and Syriac. (NRSV) (NRSV)
it refers to other people, entertainers or female companions. For example:
concubines (NJB) (REB, NJB, GW, CEV)
it refers to music. For example:
instruments of music (KJV) (KJV)
It is likely that the king’s entertainment normally included women who made music and danced for him. However it is not certain that this is what the author was referring to here. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is more general than the other options.See the footnote in the NET. Try to use an expression that refers to entertainment in general, including that provided by drinking companions, women, and musicians. For example:
He spent the night alone.
and sleep fled from him.
and he was not able to sleep.
and he did not get any sleep.
and sleep fled from him: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces another thing the king did not do that night. Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
that night the king did not eat, receive entertainment, or sleep
sleep fled from him: The Aramaic clause that the BSB literally translates as sleep fled from him is a figure of speech. The author described sleep as if it were a person who ran away. Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language. You may have a different idiom that expresses the same idea.
In some languages it may be natural to reorder the information in 6:18a–d. For example:
18aThen the king returned to the palace 18dand spent a sleepless night, 18bwithout food 18cor any form of entertainment. (GNT)
Note 1 topic: translate-symaction
וּבָ֣ת טְוָ֔ת
(Some words not found in UHB: and,it_was_brought stone one and,it_was_set on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in mouth_of of,the_den and,he,sealed_it Oh/the=king with,signet-ring_of,his and,with,the_signet-rings_of of,his_nobles that/who not changed situation with,Daniel )
This symbolic act showed that the king was worried about Daniel.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
וְדַחֲוָ֖ן לָא־הַנְעֵ֣ל קָֽדָמ֑וֹהִי
(Some words not found in UHB: and,it_was_brought stone one and,it_was_set on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in mouth_of of,the_den and,he,sealed_it Oh/the=king with,signet-ring_of,his and,with,the_signet-rings_of of,his_nobles that/who not changed situation with,Daniel )
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “He did not have anyone entertain him”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
וְשִׁנְתֵּ֖הּ נַדַּ֥ת עֲלֽוֹהִי
(Some words not found in UHB: and,it_was_brought stone one and,it_was_set on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in mouth_of of,the_den and,he,sealed_it Oh/the=king with,signet-ring_of,his and,with,the_signet-rings_of of,his_nobles that/who not changed situation with,Daniel )
Here sleep is spoken of as if it could run away from the king. Alternate translation: “and he did not sleep at all that night”
6:18 The king spent the night fasting because he mourned over what he had done and hoped that Daniel’s God would rescue him. The king couldn’t sleep at all because he knew that Daniel was an innocent and noble man.
OET (OET-LV) [fn] and_ a_stone _it_was_brought one and_it_was_set over the_mouth_of the_den and_he_sealed_it Oh/the_king with_signet-ring_of_his and_with_the_signet-rings_of his_nobles that not it_will_change anything with_Dāniyyʼēl.
6:18 Note: KJB: Dān.6.17
OET (OET-RV) Then the king went to his palace and spent the night without eating. He refused all entertainment, and he couldn’t sleep.
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.