Daniel 6:15
in Daniel 6Then the men approached the king together and said to him, “Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then these men assembled together unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no interdict nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
KJV
Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
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This verse in Daniel 6
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then these men assembled unto the king - The Chaldee here is the same as in Dan 6:6, “they came tumultuously.” They were earnest that the law should be executed, and they probably apprehended that if the king were allowed to dwell upon it, the firmness of his own mind would give way, and that he would release Daniel. Perhaps they dreaded the effect of the compunctious visitings which he might have during the silence of the night, and they, therefore, came tumultuously to hasten his decision.
This site's exposition
laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him
on Daniel 6:14-15
Darius is sore displeased with himself, not with Daniel, and labors till the going down of the sun trying to find a way out of his own law, a detail the bench reads as the king's belated recognition that he has been used. His labor fails against the very formula he was flattered into signing, and the conspirators return to press the point again, that no decree which the king establisheth may be changed, closing every door the king searches for. Henry contrasts Darius's genuine distress with Pilate's later and far less honest hand-washing, a king trapped by his own law rather than one merely indifferent to justice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
But it was so that he may not be rescued by man, and his deliverance not be considered to be by the favor of the king, but rather that the work of God may be shown to be accomplished in him. And so it was already evening and the king was conversing on his behalf with the satraps when they spoke saying, "Know, O king, that for the Medes and Persians, the decree of every edict and statute which the king has set, may not be changed," [Daniel 6:15] in this word they wanted to shame the king, lest the decree which had been marked out by him, may not be certain and the rest of the things which were set out by him may be considered to be invalid.
You do not have the authority to overturn what you have prescribed, the laws of Medes and Persians ordering that the laws passed by the previous king be fulfilled. Under pressure both from the compelling logic of the words and from the number of the …
Verse 15. "But those men, understanding the king's intent, said to him: 'Be it known to thee, O king, that no law of the Medes and Persians, nor any decree which the king has enacted, is capable of alteration.'" Just as the king understood that the princes were making their accusation out of motives of envy, so also they for their part understood what the king's purpose was, namely that he wished to rescue Daniel from imminent death. And so they allege that according to the law of the Medes and Persians, the commands of a king cannot be nullified.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We are not told what Daniel said; the king himself is his advocate, he needs not plead his own cause, but silently commits himself and it to him that judges righteously.
Then these men assembled to the king,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Then these men assembled - Having got favorable answers, as we may presume, from many individuals, he called a parliament; but they now collectively joined to urge the execution of the law, not its repeal.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
when..heard the thing [as translated,] when he heard the thing.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
did not pay heed to you, O king He did not pay heed or counsel to care about your decrees.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֵּאדַ֙יִן֙ | bedayin | <in> then | H116 → | 57 times |
| גֻּבְרַיָּ֣א | guvraiya' | men the | H1400 → | 21 times |
| אִלֵּ֔ךְ | ʾilekh | these | H479 → | 14 times |
| הַרְגִּ֖שׁוּ | hargishu | they came as a crowd | H7284 → | 3 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5922 → | 104 times |
| מַלְכָּ֑א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| וְאָמְרִ֣ין | veamerin | and [were] saying | H560 → | 71 times |
| לְמַלְכָּ֗א | lemalka' | to king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| דַּ֤ע | da' | know | H3046 → | 47 times |
| מַלְכָּא֙ | malka' | king O | H4430 → | 180 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| דָת֙ | dat | [the] law | H1882 → | 14 times |
| לְמָדַ֣י | lemadai | of [the] Medes | H4076 → | 5 times |
| וּפָרַ֔ס | ufaras | and [the] Persians | H6540 → | 6 times |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | any | H3606 → | 82 times |
| אֱסָ֥ר | ʾesar | prohibition | H633 → | 7 times |
| וּקְיָ֛ם | ukeyam | and statute | H7010 → | |
| דִּֽי־ | di- | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| מַלְכָּ֥א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| יְהָקֵ֖ים | yehakeim | he will establish | H6966 → | 35 times |
| לָ֥א | la' | not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| לְהַשְׁנָיָֽה׃ | lehashnayah | to change | H8133 → | 21 times |
בֵּאדַ֙יִן֙<in> then
bedayinH116 →57 times
גֻּבְרַיָּ֣אmen the
guvraiya'H1400 →21 times
אִלֵּ֔ךְthese
ʾilekhH479 →14 times
הַרְגִּ֖שׁוּthey came as a crowd
hargishuH7284 →3 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5922 →104 times
מַלְכָּ֑אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
וְאָמְרִ֣יןand [were] saying
veamerinH560 →71 times
לְמַלְכָּ֗אto king the
lemalka'H4430 →180 times
דַּ֤עknow
da'H3046 →47 times
מַלְכָּא֙king O
malka'H4430 →180 times
דִּֽי־that
di-H1768 →345 times
דָת֙[the] law
datH1882 →14 times
לְמָדַ֣יof [the] Medes
lemadaiH4076 →5 times
וּפָרַ֔סand [the] Persians
ufarasH6540 →6 times
דִּֽי־that
di-H1768 →345 times
כָל־any
khol-H3606 →82 times
אֱסָ֥רprohibition
ʾesarH633 →7 times
וּקְיָ֛םand statute
ukeyamH7010 →
דִּֽי־which
di-H1768 →345 times
מַלְכָּ֥אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
יְהָקֵ֖יםhe will establish
yehakeimH6966 →35 times
לָ֥אnot
la'H3809 →82 times
לְהַשְׁנָיָֽה׃to change
lehashnayahH8133 →21 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Esther 8:8Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king…
it leads to
- Esther 1:19
So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Esther 3:12
On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Esther 8:5
“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order…
- Hebrews 6:17–18
So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.
- Daniel 6:12–15
So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will…
- Esther 1:19
Through
Daniel 6:12So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will…
it leads to
- Daniel 6:8
Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
- Daniel 3:8–12
At this time some astrologers came forward and maliciously accused the Jews,
- Daniel 6:8
Through
Daniel 6:8Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:1
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
- Isaiah 10:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 3.25.5; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER SIX; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 6:15.