Daniel 6 · Verse 8

Daniel 6:8

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.

Daniel 6:8, King James Version

Daniel 6:8 in other translations

BSB	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sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
WEB	Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, that it not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn’t alter.”
ASV	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.
YLT	Now, O king, thou dost establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it is not to be changed, as a law of Media and Persia, that doth not pass away.'
DARBY	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 may not be revoked.
BBE	Now, O King, put the order in force, signing the writing so that it may not be changed, like the law of the Medes and Persians which may not come to an end.
Webster	Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.

What does Daniel 6:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

8. 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 Darius' death, the order is "the Persians and Medes" (Es 1:14, 19, &c.).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8 According 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 thirty days. The laws were such among this people, that, when once passed with the usual formalities, the king could not change them at his own will. This is the utmost that can be meant by the law of the Medes and Persians that could not be changed.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Daniel 6:6-10

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…

Read the full comment on Daniel 6:6-10 →

Daniel 6:8 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כְּעַ֣ןke.'AnnowH3705

מַלְכָּ֔אmal.Ka'king OH4430

תְּקִ֥יםte.Kimyou will establishH6966

אֱסָרָ֖א'e.sa.Ra'prohibition theH633

וְתִרְשֻׁ֣םve.tir.Shumso you may signH7560

כְּתָבָ֑אke.ta.Va'writing theH3792

דִּ֣יdiwhichH1768

לָ֧אla'notH3809

לְהַשְׁנָיָ֛הle.hash.na.Yahto changeH8133

כְּדָת\־ke.dot-according to [the] law ofH1882

מָדַ֥יma.Dai[the] MedesH4076

וּפָרַ֖סu.fa.Rasand [the] PersiansH6540

דִּי\־di-whichH1768

לָ֥אla'notH3809

תֶעְדֵּֽא\׃te'.De'it will pass awayH5709

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Daniel 6:8

Daniel 6:15
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.
Esther 1:19
If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.
Isaiah 10:1
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
Daniel 6:12
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, 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 altereth not.
Esther 3:12
Then were the king’s scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king’s lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king’s ring.
Esther 8:10
And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus’ name, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:
Esther 8:8
Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse.
Esther 8:3
And Esther spake yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

establish.
Es 3:12; 8:10; Isa 10:1
according.
12,15; Es 1:19; 8:3
altereth not. Chal. passeth not.
Mt 24:35

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Daniel 6:7
All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Daniel 6:8
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.
Daniel 6:9
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

Read all of Daniel 6

Daniel 6:8 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Ahora, oh rey, confirma el edicto, y firma la escritura, para que no se pueda mudar, conforme á la ley de Media y de Persia, la cual no se revoca.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Tous les présidents du royaume, les préfets et les satrapes, les conseillers et les gouverneurs, ont tenu conseil ensemble pour établir un statut royal et mettre en vigueur une défense, portant que quiconque fera une demande à quelque dieu ou à quelque homme que ce soit, durant 30 jours, excepté à toi, ô roi, sera jeté dans la fosse aux lions.
German Elberfelder 1871	Alle Vorsteher des Königreichs, die Statthalter und Satrapen, die Räte und Landpfleger, sind Rats geworden, daß der König eine Verordnung aufstelle und ein Verbot erlasse daß ein jeder, der binnen dreißig Tagen von irgend einem Gott oder Menschen etwas erbittet außer von dir, o König, in die Löwengrube geworfen werden soll.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Nunc itaque rex, confirma sententiam, et scribe decretum: ut non immutetur quod statutum est a Medis et Persis, nec prævaricari cuiquam liceat.