DAN 6:4 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 6:3–5

The other government officials became jealous of Daniel and began to plot against him.

6:4a

Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel

After that, the overseers and governors tried to find a reason to accuse Daniel
Then the other officials looked for a way to find fault with Daniel

Thus: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as Thus here introduces what happened when the administrators and satraps heard what the king was planning. Other ways to translate this include:

So (NRSV)

because of this (NCV)

when they heard this

the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel: The other officials did not want Daniel to be in charge of the whole government. They tried to avoid this by looking for a way to make him look bad in the king’s eyes. They wanted to discredit Daniel, so they looked for evidence that he was corrupt or incompetent. Here are some other ways to translate this:

The other men tried to find something wrong with the way Daniel did his work for the king. (CEV)

the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs (NLT)

There is some implied information here. It is implied that the other officials were not happy about the king’s plan. They were angry and became jealous of Daniel. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate some of this implied information. For example:

the administrators and satraps became angry/jealous and tried to find a reason to charge Daniel with wrongdoing.

the administrators and satraps: The text is referring to the officials mentioned in 6:1, 6:2a. But Daniel himself is not included. So in some languages it may be natural to include a word meaning “other.” For example:

the other supervisors and governors (NCV)

the two other supervisors and all the governors

sought: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as sought is literally “were seeking to find.” The officials searched for a reason to accuse Daniel of something bad. Other ways to say this in English are:

began searching for (NLT)

looked for (NJPS)

Translate this in a way that is natural in your language.

a charge against Daniel: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as a charge is a general word meaning “matter, affair, occasion.”ʾellaʿ “matter, affair, occasion,” BDB, 1106; “reason for making a complaint, pretext” HALOT, 1947. The men wanted to find something, anything, that they could use as a reason for making a complaint. In this context the word refers to an inadequate reason, that is, a pretext. Other ways English versions translate this are:

something to accuse Daniel of (GW)

reasons to accuse Daniel (NCV)

something wrong (GNT)

6:4b

concerning the kingdom,

in the way that he administrated the kingdom.
in his management of the government,

concerning the kingdom: The officials wanted to show the king that Daniel was failing in the way he conducted his government duties. Here are some other ways to translate this:

with regard to the kingdom (RSV)

in his duties for the kingdom (GW)

with the way Daniel administered the empire (GNT)

General Comment on 6:4a–b

In some languages it may be natural to reorder and combine the information in 6:4a–b. For example:

^4a-bWhen the other administrators and governors heard about this, they began to examine the way Daniel did his work in order to accuse him of something wrong.

6:4c

but they could find no charge or corruption,

but they could not discover anything to criticize him for.
but they could not find any fault to accuse him of.

but: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as but here introduces a contrast. In spite of their efforts, the officials could not discover anything about Daniel that they could complain about to the king.

they could find no charge or corruption: See the Notes at 6:4a. Some English versions, such as the RSV and BSB, follow the Aramaic and repeat this idea. For example:

but they could find no ground for complaint (RSV)

But in many languages such a repetition may be unnatural. It may be more natural to translate this phrase in another way. For example:

they couldn’t find anything to criticize (NLT)

they could not find anything wrong (GW)

but they couldn’t (GNT)

The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as they could find no charge or corruption here indicates that it was clear to the officials that Daniel was not corrupt. He never took bribes or placed his own interests above his duties. Here are some other ways to translate this:

But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence (NET)

They could find nothing to his discredit. (NJB)

but they failed to find any malpractice on his part (REB)

It is important to avoid implying that the officials could not find corruption but that it was secretly present. The author was not saying that Daniel was able to hide his corrupt dealings. If a literal translation would give this wrong meaning, it may be necessary to say:

they found he had never acted corruptly

they found him to be incorruptible/honest

corruption: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as corruption is also used in 2:9c, where the BSB translates it as “fraudulent.” It literally refers to something that is spoiled or bad. In this context it refers to accepting bribes and using public office for personal gain.

6:4d

because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him.

They saw/realized that he was not corrupt. He was reliable and honest and did/fulfilled all his duties/responsibilities.
He did not use his office for personal gain and was dependable. He did not neglect to do anything he was supposed to do, and he did not act dishonestly.

because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as because introduces the reason why the official could not find any fault with Daniel. It was because there were no faults in his behavior, public or private.

he was trustworthy: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as trustworthy is also used in 2:45f.In Daniel 2:45f it is used as an adjective to describe Daniel’s interpretation. The RSV translates it “sure.” The GNT has “true.” The NJB has “exact.” In this context, it describes Daniel as honest and dependable. Here are some other ways to translate this idea:

he was faithful (RSV)

Daniel was reliable (GNT)

and no negligence or corruption was found in him: This is a passive clause. There are at least two ways to translate it:

Using a passive verb. For example:
and no error or fault was found in him (RSV)
Using an active verb. For example:
and did not do anything wrong or dishonest (GNT)
No one could accuse him of laziness or dishonesty.
He was not guilty of any negligence or corruption.Similarly, the NET.

no negligence or corruption: The Aramaic text says “any negligence and corruption.” Use the order and grammatical form that is most natural in your language. For example:

neither corrupt nor negligent (NIV)

corruption: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as corruption refers to self-serving behavior, acting for personal gain rather than the common good. See the Notes at 6:4c-d. Other ways to translate this are:

corrupt (NIV)

dishonest (GNT)

negligence: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as negligence refers to a habit of working in a careless and lazy way. A negligent person is one who does not fulfill their duties and responsibilities. Other ways to translate this include:

lazy (NCV)

irresponsible

General Comment on 6:4d

In some languages it is more natural to translate all of 6:4d in a positive way. For example:

He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. (NLT)

because he was honest and faithful and did everything he was supposed to do (CEV)

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 6:4

Hebrew word order