DAN 6:2 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Over them were three higher officials (Daniel was one of them) that those governors were accountable to so that the king wouldn’t be ripped off,

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Over them were three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.

UST He also appointed me and two other men to be administrators, to supervise the governors and to be sure that they did the king’s work properly, in order that the king would not have to worry.

BSB and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one, that these local governors might give account to them, and that the king should suffer no loss.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(1-3)Darius reorganized his kingdom. He appointed one hundred twenty governors to administer all the parts of his realm. Over them were three vice-regents, one of whom was Daniel. The governors reported to the vice-regents, who made sure that everything was in order for the king. But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.

NET Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage.

LSV and three presidents higher than they, of whom Daniel [is] first, that these satraps may give to them an account, and the king have no loss.

FBV Three chief ministers were placed over them to look after the king's interests. Daniel was one of the three.

T4T He also appointed me and two other men to be administrators, to supervise the governors and to be sure that they did the king’s work properly, in order that the king would not have to worry about anything.

LEB and over them were three administrators, of whom Daniel was one, so that these satraps were giving account to them, and the king would not be suffering loss.

BBE And over them were three chief rulers, of whom Daniel was one; and the captains were to be responsible to the chief rulers, so that the king might undergo no loss.

Moff under three presidents, one of whom was Daniel; the satraps were to report to them, and so the king was to suffer no loss.

JPS (6-3) and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account unto them, and that the king should have no damage.

ASV and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account unto them, and that the king should have no damage.

DRA And three princes over them, of whom Daniel was one: that the governors might give an account to them, and the king might have no trouble.

YLT and higher than they three presidents, of whom Daniel [is] first, that these satraps may give to them an account, and the king have no loss.

Drby and over these, three presidents — of whom Daniel was one — to whom these satraps should render account, and that the king should suffer no loss.

RV and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account unto them, and that the king should have no damage.

SLT And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was one: that to them the satraps giving to them account, and the king not for him detriment.

Wbstr And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts to them, and the king should have no damage.

KJB-1769 And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.

KJB-1611 And ouer these, three Presidents, (of whom Daniel was first) that the Princes might giue accompts vnto them, and the King should haue no damage.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps Aboue these he set three princes, of whom Daniel was one, that the gouernours might geue accomptes vnto them, and the king shoulde haue no damage.
(Above these he set three princes, of whom Daniel was one, that the governors might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.)

Gnva And ouer these, three rulers (of whome Daniel was one) that the gouernours might giue accompts vnto them, and the King should haue no domage.
(And over these, three rulers (of whom Daniel was one) that the governors might give accounts unto them, and the King should have no domage. )

Cvdl Aboue these he set thre prynces (off whom Daniel was one) that the lordes might geue accomptes vnto them, and the kynge to be vndiseased.
(Above these he set three princes (off whom Daniel was one) that the lords might give accounts unto them, and the king to be undiseased.)

Wycl And ouer hem he ordeynede thre princes, of whiche Danyel was oon; that the duykis schulden yelde resoun to hem, and that the kyng schulde not suffre ony disese.
(And over hem he ordained three princes, of which Daniel was one; that the dukes should yield reason to hem, and that the king should not suffer any disease.)

Luth Und Darius sah es für gut an, daß er über das ganze Königreich setzte hundertundzwanzig Landvögte.
(And Darius saw it for/in_favour_of good an, that he above the whole/all kingdom sat one_hundred_and_twenty bailiffs.)

ClVg Et super eos principes tres, ex quibus Daniel unus erat: ut satrapæ illis redderent rationem, et rex non sustineret molestiam.
(And over them leaders tres, from to_whom Daniel one was: as satrapæ to_them to_returnnt reason, and king not/no to_enduret molestiam. )

SOTN 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 6:1–2

This paragraph explains the background to the main narrative. It tells how Darius structured the government of his kingdom.

6:2a

and over them three administrators, including Daniel,

He also appointed three overseers to supervise the governors. One of these three men was Daniel.
He chose three men as supervisors over the one hundred and twenty officials. One of these supervisors was Daniel.

and over them three administrators: The king also appointed three officials to supervise the 120 satraps. In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence here. For example:

The king also chose…three administrators to supervise the princes (NLT)

He chose three men as supervisors over those governors.

Darius put three other officials in charge of the governors. (CEV)

over them: The pronoun them refers to the 120 satraps.

administrators: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as administrators means “high officials.” English versions translate this term in different ways:

chief ministers (REB)

presidents (RSV)

supervisors (GNT)

commissioners (NASB)

Translate this term in a way that is natural for referring to high-level government officials.

including Daniel: Daniel was one of the three administrators placed over the provincial governors.

General Comment on 6:2a

In some languages it may be more natural to refer to Daniel earlier in the sentence, as he is the chief character of the book. For example:

The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers. (NLT)

6:2b

to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.

The governors had to report to the administrators so that no one would cause the king loss/trouble of any kind.
The three supervisors oversaw/checked the work of the officials. They had to make sure that no one cheated the king.

to whom these satraps were accountable: The Aramaic pronoun that the BSB translates as to whom here refers to the three administrators or high officials. The 120 satraps had to report to the three administrators.

In some languages it may be natural to indicate that the administrators were over the satraps. For example:

administrators to supervise the high officers (NLT)

Darius put three other officials in charge of the governors (CEV)

were accountable: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as were accountable means “were reporting to, were responsible to.” The satraps had to give a report of what they did and were responsible for the results. Here are some other ways to translate this:

to report to (GW)

gave account (NRSV)

were to be responsible to (NJB)

so that the king would not suffer loss: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as so that here introduces the purpose of the previous clause. The king’s purpose in appointing the three administrators was to protect his interests. He wanted to make sure that the satraps were honest and gave him all the taxes they collected. Here are some other ways to translate this purpose clause:

so that the king’s interests might not suffer (REB)

so that the king wouldn’t be cheated (GW)

The supervisors were to ensure that the governors did not try to cheat the king. (NCV)

the king would not suffer loss: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as suffer loss refers to suffering any kind of injury, difficulty, or failure.”HALOT, 1929 has: “to come to grief.” The ancient versions have “to be bothered.” These officials were responsible to ensure that the king would not lose any territory because of rebellion. They also made sure that everyone paid their taxes and that no one cheated the king. See also the last clause in Ezra 4:13. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

so that no one might cause the king trouble/loss

so that no one might cause difficulty for the king

so that no one would cheat the king

Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language. In some languages it may be natural to use a positive expression. For example:

to…protect the king’s interests (NLT)

to look after the king’s interests (GNT)

the king: Make sure that it is clear that the phrase the king refers to the same person as Darius, the subject of the verb in 6:1. In some languages it may be more natural to use a pronoun here. For example:

King Darius appointed them so that no one could cheat/defraud him.

General Comment on 6:2

In some languages it may be more natural to refer to Daniel at the end of the verse part, mentioning his position in a separate sentence. For example:

In order to make sure that his government was run properly, Darius put three other officials in charge of the governors. One of these officials was Daniel. (CEV)