Daniel 6:4

Daniel 6:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
• New International Version (NIV)At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him.

Context of Daniel 6:4

2He also chose three other men to be his officers. He gave them authority over the 120 rulers. The king wanted to be sure that they were working well. Daniel was one of the three officers. 3Daniel did his work much better than the other officers and rulers. He was very good at his job. Daniel was so good that the king wanted to make him ruler over the whole kingdom. The other officers and rulers were jealous. They wanted to find something bad about Daniel so that they could tell the king. They watched how Daniel worked to serve the king. But they could not find that he did any wrong thing. That was because Daniel was good and honest. He always did everything properly. 5Then these men said to each other, ‘We cannot find anything that Daniel does wrong in his work. We must find something that he does to obey the laws of his God.’ 6So the officers and rulers agreed together what they would do. They went to the king and they said, ‘King Darius, live for ever!

Daniel 6:4 word by word

אֱדַ֨יִן סָֽרְכַיָּ֜א וַאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנַיָּ֗א הֲו֨וֹ בָעַ֧יִן עִלָּ֛ה לְהַשְׁכָּחָ֥ה לְדָנִיֵּ֖אל מִצַּ֣ד מַלְכוּתָ֑א וְכָל־עִלָּ֨ה וּשְׁחִיתָ֜ה לָא־יָכְלִ֣ין לְהַשְׁכָּחָ֗ה כָּל־קֳבֵל֙ דִּֽי־מְהֵימַ֣ן ה֔וּא וְכָל־שָׁלוּ֙ וּשְׁחִיתָ֔ה לָ֥א הִשְׁתְּכַ֖חַת עֲלֽוֹהִי׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thenאֱדַ֫יִן'ĕdayin · thenH116
• the presidentsסָרֵךְsârêk · chiefH5632
• and princesאֲחַשְׁדַּרְפְּנִין'ăchashdarpan · satrapH324
• soughtבְּעָאbe‛â' be‛âh · to askH1156
• soughtהֲוָאhâvâ' hâvâh · to beH1934
• to findשְׁכַחshekach · to findH7912
• occasionעִלָּה‛illâh · pretextH5931
• against Danielדָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵלdânîyê'l · DanielH1841
• concerningצַדtsad · sideH6655
• the kingdomמַלְכוּmalkû · kingdomH4437
• butכֹּלkôl · allH3606
• they couldיְכִלyekêl yekîyl · be ableH3202
• noneלָאlâ' lâh · notH3809
• faultשְׁחַתshechath · to corruptH7844
• forasmuchקֳבֵלqebêl qŏbêl · beforeH6903
• faithfulאֲמַן'ăman · to trustH540
• errorשָׁלוּshâlû shâlûth · neglectH7960
• in himעַל‛al · uponH5922

Cross-references for Daniel 6:4

• Daniel 3:8Then some wise men went to the king. They told him bad things against the Jews.
• Genesis 43:18The brothers were frightened when the servant took them to Joseph's house. They thought, ‘He has brought us here because of the money that we found in our bags last time. Someone put it there before we returned home. Now he wants to punish us. He will take us to be his slaves. He will take our donkeys too.’
• Judges 14:4Samson's parents did not realize that the Lord was causing this to happen. The Lord wanted to prepare a way for the Israelites to attack the Philistines, because the Philistines were ruling over Israel at that time.
• Psalms 37:12Wicked people think about how to hurt righteous people. They show their teeth to frighten good people.
• Proverbs 29:27Righteous people hate wicked people. Wicked people also hate people who live in a good way.
• Ecclesiastes 4:4I also thought about the clever work that people do. I saw that people work hard because they are jealous of each other. They want to do better than other people. I realized that this has no purpose. It is like somebody who tries to catch the wind.
• Jeremiah 18:18Then some people said, ‘We must find a way to stop Jeremiah. We do not need him. The priests will still be here to teach us. Wise men will still be here to give us advice. The prophets will still be here to give us God's messages. We should speak bad things against Jeremiah. Then we will not have to listen to him any more.’
• Jeremiah 20:10I hear what people are saying against me. They say, ‘Terror is all around him! We should tell the officers what he is saying.’ All my friends want me to make a mistake so that they can accuse me. They say, ‘Perhaps we can cause him to say something wrong. Then we will have power over him. We will pay him back for the trouble he has given us.’
• Matthew 26:4They wanted to kill Jesus. But they wanted to take hold of him secretly. So they tried to decide how they could do that.
• Matthew 27:18Pilate knew why the Jewish leaders had brought Jesus to him. They were jealous because people liked Jesus so much.
• Luke 20:20So this is what they did to catch Jesus. They sent people to ask him difficult questions. These people pretended to be honest, but they wanted to deceive Jesus. They wanted to make him say something wrong. Then they would take him to the ruler of the city to punish him.
• Luke 22:2The leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law wanted to kill Jesus. They were talking together about how they could do this. It was difficult because they were afraid of the people.
• 1 Samuel 18:14David won all his fights because the Lord was with him.
• 1 Samuel 19:4Jonathan spoke to his father Saul. He said good things about David. He said to Saul, ‘The king should not do anything bad against David. David is your servant. He has not done anything that is bad against you. Everything that he does really helps you.
• 1 Samuel 22:14Ahimelech answered the king, ‘David is the most faithful servant that you have. He is your daughter's husband. He is the captain of the soldiers who keep you safe. Everyone in your house respects him.
• Luke 23:14He said to them, ‘You brought this man to me. You said that he was causing the people to fight against their rulers. Listen! I have asked him some questions in front of you. But I have not found that he has done anything wrong.

Commentaries on Daniel 6:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Sought to find occasion against Daniel - But they found no blemish in his administration, for he was faithful to his king: this was a virtue. But he was also faithful to his God: this they hoped to construe into a crime, and make it the cause of his ruin.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel - The word rendered “occasion” (עלה ‛illâh ) means a pretext or pretence. “The Arabs use the word of any business or affair which serves as a cause or pretext for neglecting another business.” - Gesenius, Lexicon The meaning is, that they sought to find some plausible pretext or reason in respect to Daniel, by which the contemplated appointment might be prevented, and by which he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5Daniel's integrity was beyond question, and his abilities were unmatched. The envious administrators targeted his strongest point, his faithful worship of God. Daniel was about 80 to 85 years old at this time. He had lived an exemplary life in Babylon.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. occasion ... concerning the kingdom--pretext for accusation in his administration (Ec 4:4).Read the comment

Topics related to Daniel 6:4

• Civil Service
• Conspiracy
• Diplomacy
• Envy
• Faith
• Indictments
• Integrity
• Malice
• Persia
• Politics
• Religion
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Daniel
• Arise
• Lay
• Media
• Presidents
• Prince
• Temptation
• Aramaic; Aramaic Language
• Bible, the
• Daniel, Book of

Commentaries on Daniel 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings