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Friday, September 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Wycliffe Bible

Daniel 6:9

Forsothe Darius, the kyng, settide forth, and confermyde the decree.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Civil Service;   Conspiracy;   Diplomacy;   Faith;   Indictments;   King;   Malice;   Persia;   Politics;   Religion;   Rulers;   Seal;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bible Stories for Children;   Children;   Home;   Pleasant Sunday Afternoons;   Religion;   Stories for Children;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Hatred;   Malice;   Persecution;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Darius;   Lion;   Punishments;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Decrees;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Media;   Signet;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Darius;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Daniel, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Decree;   Prayer;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Dari'us;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Medes, Me'dia;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Babylonish Captivity, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Medes;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Esther, Apocryphal Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So King Darius signed the written edict.
Hebrew Names Version
Therefore king Daryavesh signed the writing and the interdict.
King James Version
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
English Standard Version
Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.
New American Standard Bible
Thereupon, King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.
New Century Version
So King Darius signed the law.
Amplified Bible
So King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Wherefore King Darius sealed the writing and the decree.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Therefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.
Berean Standard Bible
Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
Contemporary English Version
So King Darius made the law and had it written down.
Complete Jewish Bible
Now, your majesty, issue this decree over your signature, so that it cannot be revoked, as required by the law of the Medes and Persians, which is itself irrevocable."
Darby Translation
Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Easy-to-Read Version
So King Darius made the law and signed it.
George Lamsa Translation
Then King Darius signed the writing and issued the decree.
Good News Translation
And so King Darius signed the order.
Lexham English Bible
So the king, Darius, signed the writing and the interdict.
Literal Translation
All on account of this, King Darius signed the document and the decree.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
So Darius made the wrytynge, and confirmed it.
American Standard Version
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.
Bible in Basic English
For this reason King Darius put his name on the writing and the order.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.'
King James Version (1611)
Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wherefore king Darius sealed the writing and decree.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Then king Darius commanded the decree to be written.
English Revised Version
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.
World English Bible
Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.
Update Bible Version
Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.
Webster's Bible Translation
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
New English Translation
So King Darius issued the written interdict.
New King James Version
Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.
New Living Translation
So King Darius signed the law.
New Life Bible
So King Darius made the law and wrote his name on it.
New Revised Standard
Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Wherefore, King Darius, signed the writing and the interdict.
Douay-Rheims Bible
So king Darius set forth the decree, and established it.
Revised Standard Version
Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.
Young's Literal Translation
Therefore king Darius hath signed the writing and interdict.
THE MESSAGE
King Darius signed the decree.

Contextual Overview

6 Thanne the princes and duykis maden fals suggestioun to the kyng, and spaken thus to hym, Kyng Darius, lyue thou with onten ende. 7 Alle the princes of thi rewme, and magistratis, and duykis, senatours, and iugis, han maad a counsel, that a decree and comaundement of the emperour go out, that ech man that axith ony axyng of what euer god and man, til to thretti daies, no but of thee, thou kyng, he be sent in to the lake of liouns. 8 Now therfor, kyng, conferme thou the sentence, and write thou the decree, that this that is ordeyned of Medeis and Perseis be not chaungid, nethir be it leueful to ony man to breke. 9 Forsothe Darius, the kyng, settide forth, and confermyde the decree. 10 And whanne Danyel hadde founde this thing, that is, the lawe ordeyned, he entride in to his hous; and the while the wyndows weren open in his soler ayens Jerusalem, in thre tymes in the dai he bowide hise knees, and worschipide, and knoulechide bifore his God, as he was wont to do bifore.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

signed: Psalms 62:9, Psalms 62:10, Psalms 118:9, Psalms 146:3, Proverbs 6:2, Isaiah 2:22

Reciprocal: Proverbs 18:13 - that Isaiah 10:1 - them Daniel 2:13 - the decree

Cross-References

Genesis 2:4
These ben the generaciouns of heuene and of erthe, in the day wherynne the Lord God made heuene and erthe,
Genesis 5:1
This is the book of generacioun of Adam, in the dai wher ynne God made man of nouyt. God made man to the ymage and licnesse of God;
Genesis 5:22
And Enoth yede with God; and Enoth lyuede after that he gendride Matusalem thre hundrid yeer, and gendride sones and douytris.
Genesis 5:24
And Enoth yeed with God, and apperide not afterward, for God took hym awei.
Genesis 6:9
These ben the generaciouns of Noe. Noe was a iust man and perfit in hise generaciouns; Noe yede with God,
Genesis 6:15
And so thou schalt make it. The lengthe of the schip schal be of thre hundrid cubitis, the brede schal be of fifti cubitis, and the hiynesse therof schal be of thretti cubitis.
Genesis 7:1
Also the Lord seide to Noe, Entre thou and al thin hous in to the schip, for Y seiy thee iust bifore me in this generacioun.
Genesis 10:1
These ben the generaciouns of the sones of Noe, Sem, Cham, and Jafeth. And sones weren borun to hem aftir the greet flood.
Genesis 17:1
Forsothe aftir that Abram bigan to be of nynti yeer and nyne, the Lord apperide to hym, and seide to him, Y am Almyyti God; go thou bifore me, and be thou perfit;
Genesis 48:15
and blesside his sone Joseph, and seide, God, in whos siyt my fadris Abraham and Isaac yeden; God, that fedith me fro my yong wexynge age til in to present day;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. Moved to it by the number and importunity of his principal men; and chiefly through affectation of deity, which this law gave him; and that he might have an opportunity of ingratiating himself into his new subjects by his munificence and liberality, not being aware of the snare laid for his favourite, Daniel.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now, O king, establish the decree - Ordain, enact, confirm it.

And sign the writing - An act necessary to make it the law of the realm.

That it be not changed - That, having the sign-manual of the sovereign, it might be so confirmed that it could not be changed. With that sign it became so established, it seems, that even the sovereign himself could not change it.

According to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not - Margin, Passeth. Which does not pass away; which is not abrogated. A similar fact in regard to a law of the Medes and Persians is mentioned in Esther viii., in which the king was unable to recall an order which had been given for the massacre of the Jews, and in which he attempted only to counteract it as far as possible by putting the Jews on their guard, and allowing them to defend themselves. Diodorus Siculus (lib. iv.) refers to this custom where he says that Darius, the last king of Persia, would have pardoned Charidemus after he was condemned to death, but could not reverse what the law had passed against him. - Lowth. “When the king of Persia,” says Montesquieu (Spirit of Laws, as quoted by Rosenmuller, Morgenland, in loc.), “has condemned any one to death, no one dares speak to him to make intercession for him. Were he even drunk when the crime was committed, or were he insane, the command must nevertheless be executed, for the law cannot be countermanded, and the laws cannot contradict themselves. This sentiment prevails throughout Persia.” It may seem singular that such a custom prevailed, and that the king, who was the fountain of law, and whose will was law, could not change a statute at his pleasure.

But this custom grew out of the opinions which prevailed in the East in regard to the monarch. His will was absolute, and it was a part of the system which prevailed then to exalt the monarch, and leave the impression on the mind of the people that he was more than a man - that he was infallible, and could not err. Nothing was better adapted to keep up that impression than an established principle of this kind - that a law once ordained could not be repealed or changed. To do this would be a practical acknowledgment that there was a defect in the law; that there was a want of wisdom in ordaining it; that all the circumstances were not foreseen; and that the king was liable to be deceived and to err. With all the disadvantages attending such a custom, it was judged better to maintain it than to allow that the monarch could err, and hence, when a law was ordained it became fixed and unchanging.

Even the king himself could not alter it, and, whatever might be the consequences, it was to be executed. It is evident, however, that such a custom might have some advantages. It would serve to prevent hasty legislation, and to give stability to the government by its being known what the laws were, thus avoiding the evils which result when they are frequently changed. It is often preferable to have permanent laws, though not the best that could be framed, than those which would be better, if there were no stability. There is only one Being, however, whose laws can be safely unchanging - and that is God, for his laws are formed with a full knowledge of all the relations of things, and of their bearing on all future circumstances and times. It serves to confirm the statement here made respecting the ancient custom in Media and Persia, that the same idea of the inviolability of the royal word has remained, in a mitigated form, to modern times.

A remarkable example of this is related by Sir John Malcolm, of Aga Mohammed Khan, the last but one of the Persian kings. After alluding to the present case, and that in Esther, he observes, “The character of the power of the king of Persia has undergone no change. The late king, Aga Mohammed Khan, when encamped near Shiraz, said that he would not move until the snow was off the mountains in the vicinity of his camp. The season proved severe, and the snow remained longer than was expected; the army began to suffer distress and sickness, but the king said while the snow remained upon the mountain, he would not move; and his word was as law, and could not be broken. A multitude of laborers were collected and sent to remove the snow; their efforts, and a few fine days, cleared the mountains, and Aga Mohammed Khan marched.” - History of Persia, i. 268, quoted in the Pict. Bible, in loc.


 
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