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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 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V25 V26 V27 V28
OET (OET-LV) [fn] in_then Oh/the_king exceedingly it_was_good to_him and_DOM_Dāniyyʼēl he_said to_take_up from the_den and_ Dāniyyʼēl _he_was_taken_up from the_den and_all hurt not it_was_found on_him that he_had_trusted in_god_of_his.
6:24 Note: KJB: Dān.6.23
OET (OET-RV) Then the king ordered the arrest of the men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and had them and their wives and children thrown into the lions’ den—they didn’t even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and tore them to pieces.
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 ordered his men to take Daniel out of the lions’ pit. The officials who were his enemies died in his place.
At the command of the king,
The king gave an order to his men ,
Then the king commanded his soldiers
At the command of the king: The Aramaic verb phrase that the BSB translates as At the command of the king is literally “and the king said.” In this context, it refers to an order or command. Here is another way to translate this:
The king gave a command (NRSV)
the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions: The men did as the king had commanded. They arrested the officials and thrust them into the lions’ den. See how you translated this idea in 6:16b.
the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought
and they brought the officials who had wrongly/unfairly accused/charged Daniel
to arrest the officials who had made the complaint about Daniel. They brought them,
the men who had falsely accused Daniel: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as who had falsely accused Daniel is literally “who ate the pieces of Daniel.” See the Notes at 3:8. This is a figure of speech. It means “who had accused/denounced Daniel.” This phrase refers to the officials and administrators who told the king that Daniel was breaking the law by praying to God. See 6:13. Note that their accusation was not literally “false.” Daniel had in fact been praying to his God. The accusation, however, was made out of envy and concerned an unjust law. Here are some other ways to translate this idea:
the men who had maliciously accused Daniel (NET)
those who had denounced Daniel
the men who had brought charges against Daniel (CEV)
were brought: See the Notes at 3:13c; 5:13c. The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as a passive verb, were brought, is literally active, “they brought,” The subject “they” is indefinite. The king’s men, the king’s soldiers, went to the homes of these officials, and forced them to go to the lions’ den. There are at least two ways to translate this:
Using a passive verb. For example:
were brought in (NIV)
were arrested
Using an active verb. For example:
the king’s men brought them
the guards/soldiers arrested them
The king then sent for the men who had accused Daniel (NJB)
Translate the verb in a way that is natural in your language.
and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives.
and threw them into the den of lions. They threw their wives and children into the den too!
their wives and their children, and threw them all into the pit where the lions lived.
and thrown into the den of lions: See the Notes at 3:6; 6:7e. The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as a passive, thrown, is literally active, “they threw.” The king’s men lifted the officials up and dropped or pushed them into the den in a violent way. You may translate this
Using a passive verb. For example:
were…cast into the den of lions (ESV)
were…flung into the lion-pit (REB)
Using an active verb. For example:
they (indefinite) pushed them into the lions’ den
the king’s men shoved them into the pit where the lions lived
Translate this idea in a way that is most natural in your language.
they and their children and wives: This phrase emphasizes the severity of the punishment. Not only did the king punish the officials, he also punished their wives and children. He threw them all into the den where the lions lived.
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the information, mentioning the families with the first verb (“brought”). For example:
The soldiers brought them, their wives and their children, and threw them all into the lions’ den.
In some languages it may be more natural to make the command explicit. For example:
Then the king gave orders to arrest all those who had accused Daniel, and he had them thrown, together with their wives and children, into the pit filled with lions. (GNT)
Then the king commanded that the men who had accused Daniel be brought to the lions’ den. They, their wives, and their children were thrown into the den. (NCV)
And before they had reached the bottom of the den,
Before they got to the bottom/ground,
Before they landed at the bottom of the pit,
And: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as And here introduces the next event in the narrative. Translate this connector in a way that is natural in your language.
before they had reached the bottom of the den: The Aramaic clause is literally, “they did not come to the bottom of the den until…”The connector is ʿaḏ di- This is an emphatic way of saying that the lions immediately attacked the officials. Emphasize this idea in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
Before they even reached the bottom of the pit (NJB)
They had hardly reached the bottom of the den when… (NJPS)
had reached: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as had reached here means “got as far as, touched.” Other ways to translate this include:
hit (NLT)
landed
the bottom of the den: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as bottom can refer to the ground or simply the lowest part of the hole. Some scholars describe the den as an inclined slope that led to a pit. Translate this in a way that is natural in your language.
the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
the lions attacked and killed them, crunching them up, bones and all.
the lions leaped on them and chewed them up.
the lions overpowered them: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as overpowered here indicates that the lions successfully attacked the officials and their families. Other ways to say this in English are:
the lions leaped on them (NLT)
the lions pounced on them (GNT)
the lions had seized them (NJB)
and crushed all their bones: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as crushed all their bones is an emphatic way of stating that the lions tore these people to pieces. See how you translated the same verb in 2:34c, 2:40b, 2:44d, where the same verb is used of the stone shattering the image. The text implies that the lions were very hungry. They not only ate the people but chewed up their bones as well. Here are some other ways to translate this:
and tore them apart (NLT)
ripped them to pieces (CEV)
crunched them up, bones and allNew English Bible.
Translate this in a way that is most natural in your own language.
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses. For example:
24eThe lions leaped on them and tore them apart 24dbefore they even hit the floor of the den. (NLT)
וְלָֽא־מְט֞וֹ לְאַרְעִ֣ית גֻּבָּ֗א עַ֠ד דִּֽי
(Some words not found in UHB: in=then Oh/the=king considerable/exceedingly glad to,him and,DOM,Daniel he/it_said to,take_up from/more_than the,den and,he_was_taken_up Dāniyyʼēl from/more_than the,den and=all wound not found on,him that/who trusted in,God_of,his )
Alternate translation: “and before they reached the floor of the lions’ den”
6:1-28 God rescued and delivered his faithful servant Daniel (5:23; 6:20), whereas Belshazzar’s dead gods could not save him.
OET (OET-LV) [fn] in_then Oh/the_king exceedingly it_was_good to_him and_DOM_Dāniyyʼēl he_said to_take_up from the_den and_ Dāniyyʼēl _he_was_taken_up from the_den and_all hurt not it_was_found on_him that he_had_trusted in_god_of_his.
6:24 Note: KJB: Dān.6.23
OET (OET-RV) Then the king ordered the arrest of the men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and had them and their wives and children thrown into the lions’ den—they didn’t even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and tore them to pieces.
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.