Esther 8:8

8:8 Now you write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.

Daniel 6:8-15

6:8 Now let the king issue a written interdict ¹  so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed. ²  6:9 So King Darius issued the written interdict.

6:10 When Daniel realized ³  that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows ⁴  in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. ⁵  Three ⁶  times daily he was ⁷  kneeling ⁸  and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously. 6:11 Then those officials who had gone to the king ⁹  came by collusion and found Daniel praying and asking for help before his God. 6:12 So they approached the king and said to him, ¹⁰  “Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions?” The king replied, “That is correct, ¹¹  according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.” 6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ¹²  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ¹³ 

6:14 When the king heard this, ¹⁴  he was very upset and began thinking about ¹⁵  how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon ¹⁶  he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. 6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and ¹⁷  said to him, ¹⁸  “Recall, ¹⁹  O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”

Daniel 6:17

6:17 Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening ²⁰  to the den. The king sealed ²¹  it with his signet ring and with those ²²  of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.

¹ tn Aram “establish a written interdict and inscribe a written decree.”

² tn Or “removed.”

³ tn Aram “knew.”

⁴ sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.

⁵ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁶ sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.

⁷ tc Read with several medieval Hebrew MSS and printed editions הֲוָה (havah) rather than the MT הוּא (hu’).

⁸ tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).

⁹ tn Aram “those men”; the referent (the administrative officials who had earlier approached the king about the edict) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tc The MT also has “about the edict of the king,” but this phrase is absent in the LXX and the Syriac. The present translation deletes the expression.

¹¹ tn Aram “the word is true.”

¹² tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”

¹³ tn Aram “prays his prayer.”

¹⁴ tn Aram “the word.”

¹⁵ tn Aram “placed his mind on.”

¹⁶ tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”

¹⁷ tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”

¹⁸ tn Aram “the king.”

¹⁹ tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”

²⁰ tn Aram “mouth.”

²¹ sn The purpose of the den being sealed was to prevent unauthorized tampering with the opening of the den. Any disturbance of the seal would immediately alert the officials to improper activity of this sort.

²² tn Aram “the signet rings.”