New King James Version
Daniel 6:8
8Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”
Daniel 6:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
- New International Version (NIV)Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked."
- New Living Translation (NLT)And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.”
Context of Daniel 6:8
6So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 9Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. 10Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
Read all of Daniel 6Daniel 6:8 word by word
כְּעַ֣ן מַלְכָּ֔א תְּקִ֥ים אֱסָרָ֖א וְתִרְשֻׁ֣ם כְּתָבָ֑א דִּ֣י לָ֧א לְהַשְׁנָיָ֛ה כְּדָת־מָדַ֥י וּפָרַ֖ס דִּי־לָ֥א תֶעְדֵּֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Nowכְּעַןke‛an · nowH3705
- O kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
- establishקוּםqûm · to stand: riseH6966
- the decreeאֱסָר'ĕsâr · injunctionH633
- and signרְשַׁםresham · to signH7560
- the writingכְּתָבkethâb · inscriptionH3792
- that it be notלָאlâ' lâh · notH3809
- changedשְׁנָאshenâ' · to changeH8133
- according to the lawדָּתdâth · lawH1882
- of the Medesמָדַיmâday · MedeH4076
- and Persiansפָּרַסpâras · PersiaH6540
- which alterethעֲדָה‛ădâ' ‛ădâh · to pass on/over/awayH5709
Cross-references for Daniel 6:8
- Esther 3:12Then the king’s scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded—to the king’s satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king’s signet ring.
- Esther 8:10And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horseback, riding on royal horses bred from swift steeds.
- Isaiah 10:1“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed
- Daniel 6:12And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.”
- Esther 1:19If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.
- Esther 8:3Now Esther spoke again to the king, fell down at his feet, and implored him with tears to counteract the evil of Haman the Agagite, and the scheme which he had devised against the Jews.
- Matthew 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Commentaries on Daniel 6:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8According to the law of the Medes and Persians - I do not think that this is to be understood so as to imply that whatever laws or ordinances the Medes or Persians once enacted, they never changed them. This would argue extreme folly in legislators in any country. Nothing more appears to be meant than that the decree should be enacted, written, and registered, according to the legal forms among the Medes and Persians; and this one to be made absolute for…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Now, O king, establish the decree - Ordain, enact, confirm it. And sign the writing - An act necessary to make it the law of the realm. That it be not changed - That, having the sign-manual of the sovereign, it might be so confirmed that it could not be changed. With that sign it became so established, it seems, that even the sovereign himself could not change it. According to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not - Margin, Passeth. Which…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-10Verses 6-10 To forbid prayer for thirty days, is, for so long, to rob God of all the tribute he has from man, and to rob man of all the comfort he has in God. Does not every man's heart direct him, when in want or distress, to call upon God? We could not live a day without God; and can men live thirty days without prayer? Yet it is to be feared that those who, without any decree forbidding them, present no hearty, serious petitions to God for more than…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8cannot be changed … cannot be repealed: Compare Esther 1:19. Human laws do not last forever, but God's law does (Psalms 93:5; 119:152). This devotion to established laws was a key feature of the Persian Empire. Over time, the large number of laws made the government so complex that it could no longer work well.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. decree--or, "interdict." that it be not changed--(Es 1:19; 8:8). This immutability of the king's commands was peculiar to the Medes and Persians: it was due to their regarding him infallible as the representative of Ormuzd; it was not so among the Babylonians. Medes and Persians--The order of the names is an undesigned mark of genuineness. Cyrus the Persian reigned subordinate to Darius the Mede as to dignity, though exercising more real power. After…Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 6:8
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries