Daniel 6:8
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 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. | 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sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” | Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedJealous officials who could find no fault in Daniel's work urge King Darius to sign a thirty-day ban on praying to anyone but the king. They press him to put it in writing under the law of the Medes and Persians, which could not be changed. It is a trap meant to catch Daniel through his faithfulness to his God. Daniel 6:4Daniel 6:5Daniel 6:7Daniel 6:8Daniel 6:9
SpeakingThe presidents and princes of the kingdom who plotted against Daniel speak to the king. Daniel 6:4Daniel 6:6Daniel 6:7
ToKing Darius, who had set Daniel over the other leaders. Daniel 6:1Daniel 6:3Daniel 6:6
Also involvedDaniel, the real target. The plotters knew the only charge they could bring would concern the law of his God. Daniel 6:5Daniel 6:13
The officials ask the king to make the decree official and sign it, so that it cannot be changed. Darius signs it. Later the same rule ties his hands, and he cannot save Daniel from the lions' den even though he tries until sundown. Daniel 6:8Daniel 6:9Daniel 6:14Daniel 6:15Daniel 6:16
At the royal court of Darius, in the realm ruled by the Medes and Persians. Daniel served in Babylon under Babylonian and then Persian kings. Daniel 6:1Daniel 6:8Daniel overview
The eventsIn the reign of Darius, after Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in one night. Daniel kept serving into the reign of Cyrus. Daniel overviewDaniel 6:28
WrittenTraditional view: Daniel wrote the book in the 500s BC. Scholarly view: many critical scholars date its final form to about 167-164 BC, while others keep the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereThe officials want a law the king cannot undo. That way, once Daniel prays, his punishment is certain. The king himself later admits the decree stands because that law does not change. Daniel 6:8Daniel 6:12Daniel 6:15
In the whole of ScriptureA king's law that cannot be changed sets up the test, but God shuts the lions' mouths. Darius then declares that Daniel's God is the living God, whose kingdom shall not be destroyed. This fits the book's theme that the most High rules over the kingdoms of men. Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:26Daniel overview
For readersDaniel keeps praying as he always had, even though the law forbids it. The book offers this as a model for God's people living under foreign rulers. Scripture also warns those who write unjust decrees. Daniel 6:10Daniel overviewIsaiah 10:1
- decreeאֱסָר
The word means an interdict or a decree of restriction. It is a ban, forbidding prayer to anyone but the king for thirty days. Strong's H0633Daniel 6:7
- writingכְּתָב
The word means a writing or written decree. Signing it in writing is what made it binding. Esther shows the same pattern: a writing sealed in the king's name could not be reversed. Strong's H3792Daniel 6:9Esther 8:8
- alterethעֲדָה
The word means to pass on or pass away. The law was one that would not pass away. Esther 1:19 describes Persian laws the same way, as things that are "not altered." Strong's H5709Esther 1:19
Takeaway
This verse is the trap being set: a signed law that even the king could not undo. When human law and faithfulness to God collide, Daniel keeps praying. God, whose kingdom stands for ever, delivers him. Daniel 6:8Daniel 6:10Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:26
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
Behind this verse
- Laws that could not be changed
- A law sealed by a Persian king could not be revoked, even by the king himself. The same rule appears in Esther. Daniel 6:8Daniel 6:15Esther 1:19Esther 8:8
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Aramaic words
This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.
| English | Aramaic | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| now | כְּעַ֣ן | ke-'AN | H3705 | nowכְּעַן (ke.an) now, at this time, until now Aramaic equivalent: ke.e.net (כְּעֶ֫נֶת "now" H3706) |
| king O | מַלְכָּ֔א | mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| you will establish | תְּקִ֥ים | te-KIM | H6966I | to stand: riseקוּם (qum) : rise/get_going 1) to arise, stand 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to arise from 1a2) to come on the scene (fig) 1a3) to arise (out of inaction) 1a4) to stand 1a5) to endure 1b) (Pael) to set up, establish 1c) (Aphel) 1c1) to set up 1c2) to lift up 1c3) to establish 1c4) to appoint 1d) (Hophal) to be made to stand |
| prohibition the | אֱסָרָ֖א | 'e-sa-RA' | H0633 | injunctionאֱסָר (e.sar) interdict, decree, decree of restriction Aramaic of e.sar (אִסָּר "injunction" H0632) |
| so you may sign | וְתִרְשֻׁ֣ם | ve-tir-SHUM | H7560 | to signרְשַׁם (re.sham) 1) to inscribe, sign 1a) (P'al) to inscribe, sign 1b) (P'al) 1b1) to be inscribed, be written 1b2) to be signed |
| writing the | כְּתָבָ֑א | ke-ta-VA' | H3792 | inscriptionכְּתָב (ke.tav) 1) a writing 1a) writing, inscription 1b) written decree, written requirement |
| which | דִּ֣י | di | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| not | לָ֧א | la' | H3809 | notלָא (la) no, not, nothing Aramaic of lo (לֹא "not" H3808) |
| to change | לְהַשְׁנָיָ֛ה | le-hash-na-YAH | H8133 | to changeשְׁנָא (she.na) 1) to change, be altered, be changed 1a) (P'al) to change, be changed 1b) (Pael) to change, transform, frustrate 1b1) different (participle) 1c) (Ithpael) to be changed 1d) (Aphel) to change, alter |
| according to [the] law of | כְּדָת־ | ke-dot- | H1882 | lawדָּת (dat) 1) decree, law 1a) a decree (of the king) 1b) law 1c) law (of God) |
| [the] Medes | מָדַ֥י | ma-DAI | H4076G | Medeמָדַי (ma.day) also called Mede frequently Aramaic of me.dan (מְדָן "Medan" H4091) § Medes = "middle land" 1) the territory inhabited by the Medes 2a) located northwest of Persia proper, south and southwest of the Caspian Sea, east of Armenia and Assyria, and west and northwest of the great salt desert of Iram |
| and [the] Persians | וּפָרַ֖ס | u-fa-RAS | H6540 | Persiaפָּרַס (pa.ras) Aramaic of pa.ras (פָּרַס "Persia" H6539) § Persia = "pure" or "splendid" the empire Persia; encompassed the territory from India on the east to Egypt and Thrace on the west, and included, besides portions of Europe and Africa, the whole of western Asia between the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Caspian and the Jaxartes on the north, the Arabian desert, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean on the south 1a) Persia proper was bounded on the west by Susiana or Elam, on the north by Media, on the south by the Persian Gulf and on the east by Carmania Persian, of Persia "pure" or "splendid" |
| which | דִּי־ | di- | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| not | לָ֥א | la' | H3809 | notלָא (la) no, not, nothing Aramaic of lo (לֹא "not" H3808) |
| it will pass away | תֶעְדֵּֽא׃ | te'-DE' | H5709 | to pass on/over/awayעֲדָה (a.dah) 1) to pass on, pass away 1a)(P'al) 1a1) to pass on, pass over 1a2) to pass away 1b) (Aphel) to take away, remove, depose |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.