Daniel 6:9-15

6:9 So King Darius issued the written interdict.

6:10 When Daniel realized ¹  that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows ²  in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. ³  Three ⁴  times daily he was ⁵  kneeling ⁶  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 ⁷  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, ⁸  “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, ⁹  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 ¹⁰  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ¹¹ 

6:14 When the king heard this, ¹²  he was very upset and began thinking about ¹³  how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon ¹⁴  he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. 6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and ¹⁵  said to him, ¹⁶  “Recall, ¹⁷  O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”

Esther 3:12-15

3:12 So the royal scribes ¹⁸  were summoned in the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month. Everything Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps ¹⁹  and governors who were in every province and to the officials of every people, province by province according to its script and people by people according to its language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written and sealed with the king’s signet ring. 3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ²⁰  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ²¹  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ²²  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions. 3:14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ²³  so that they would be prepared for this day. 3:15 The messengers ²⁴  scurried forth ²⁵  with the king’s order. ²⁶  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ²⁷ 

Psalms 94:20

94:20 Cruel rulers ²⁸  are not your allies,

those who make oppressive laws. ²⁹ 

Proverbs 28:15-17

28:15 Like ³⁰  a roaring lion or a roving bear, ³¹ 

so is a wicked ruler over a poor people. ³² 

28:16 The prince who is a great oppressor lacks wisdom, ³³ 

but the one who hates ³⁴  unjust gain will prolong his days.

28:17 The one who is tormented ³⁵  by the murder ³⁶  of another will flee to the pit; ³⁷ 

let no one support him.

Isaiah 10:1

10:1 Those who enact unjust policies are as good as dead, ³⁸ 

those who are always instituting unfair regulations, ³⁹ 

[6:10]  ¹ tn Aram “knew.”

[6:10]  ² 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.

[6:10]  ³ 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.

[6:10]  ⁴ 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.

[6:10]  ⁵ tc Read with several medieval Hebrew MSS and printed editions הֲוָה (havah) rather than the MT הוּא (hu’).

[6:10]  ⁶ tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).

[6:11]  ⁷ 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.

[6:12]  ⁸ 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.

[6:12]  ⁹ tn Aram “the word is true.”

[6:13]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”

[6:13]  ¹¹ tn Aram “prays his prayer.”

[6:14]  ¹² tn Aram “the word.”

[6:14]  ¹³ tn Aram “placed his mind on.”

[6:14]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”

[6:15]  ¹⁵ tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”

[6:15]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “the king.”

[6:15]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”

[3:12]  ¹⁸ tn Or “secretaries” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[3:12]  ¹⁹ tn Or “princes” (so NLT); CEV “highest officials.”

[3:13]  ²⁰ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

[3:13]  ²² tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

[3:14]  ²³ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).

[3:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”

[3:15]  ²⁵ tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).

[3:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “with the word of the king.”

[3:15]  ²⁷ sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.

[94:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “a throne of destruction.” “Throne” stands here by metonymy for rulers who occupy thrones.

[94:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “Is a throne of destruction united to you, one that forms trouble upon a statute?” The rhetorical question anticipates the answer, “Of course not!” The translation, while not preserving the interrogative form of the statement, reflects its rhetorical force.

[28:15]  ³⁰ tn The term “like” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[28:15]  ³¹ sn The comparison uses animals that are powerful, terrifying, insensitive, and in search of prey. Because political tyrants are like this, animal imagery of this sort is also used in Dan 7:1-8 for the series of ruthless world powers.

[28:15]  ³² sn A poor nation under the control of political tyrants who are dangerous and destructive is helpless. The people of that nation will crumble under them because they cannot meet their demands and are of no use to them.

[28:16]  ³³ tn Heb “A prince lacking of understanding [is] also a great oppressor” (both KJV, ASV similar) The last clause, “and a great oppressor,” appears to modify “the prince.” There is little difference in meaning, only in emphasis. The LXX has “lacks income” (reading תְּבוּאוֹת [tÿvu’ot] instead of תְּבוּנוֹת [tÿvunot]). C. H. Toy (Proverbs [ICC], 501) suggests deleting the word for “prince” altogether, but this emendation is gratuitous.

[28:16]  ³⁴ tc This follows the Qere reading of the participle which is singular (as opposed to the plural). The implication is that this one is also a ruler, paralleling the first half. But since he “hates” (= rejects) unjust gain he will extend [his] days, meaning he will enjoy a long and happy life (cf. NIV, NRSV, CEV).

[28:17]  ³⁵ tn The form is the Qal passive participle. The verb means “to oppress; to wrong; to extort”; here the idea of being “oppressed” would refer to the burden of a guilty conscience (hence “tormented”; cf. NAB, NRSV “burdened”). Some commentators have wanted to emend the text to read “suspected,” or “charged with,” or “given to,” etc., but if the motive is religious and not legal, then “oppressed” or “tormented” is preferred.

[28:17]  ³⁶ sn The text has “the blood of a life”; blood will be the metonymy of effect for the murder, the shedding of blood.

[28:17]  ³⁷ tn The verse is cryptic; it simply says that he will “flee to the pit.” Some have taken the “pit” to refer to the place of detention for prisoners, but why would he flee to that place? It seems rather to refer to death. This could mean that (1) since there is no place for him to go outside of the grave, he should flee to the pit (cf. TEV, NLT), or (2) he will be a fugitive until he goes to the grave (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV). Neither one of these options is easily derived from the text. The verse seems to be saying that the one who is guilty of murder will flee, and no one should assist him. The meaning of “the pit” is unresolved.

[10:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who decree evil decrees.” On הוֹי (hoy, “woe, ah”) see the note on the first phrase of 1:4.

[10:1]  ³⁹ tn Heb “[to] the writers who write out harm.” The participle and verb are in the Piel, suggesting repetitive action.