Daniel 6:9

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Daniel 6:9 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.
Daniel 6:9 — American Standard Version

Context — Daniel 6

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
9Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“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.”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Such a despotic decree is quite explicable by remembering that the king, as the incarnation of Ormuzd, might demand such an act of religious obedience as a test of loyalty. Persecuting laws are always made on false pretenses. Instead of bitter complaints against men, Daniel prays to God. Though having vast business as a ruler of the empire, he finds time to pray thrice a day. Daniel's three companions (Dan 3:12), are not alluded to here, nor any other Jew who conscientiously may have disregarded the edict, as the conspirators aimed at Daniel alone (Dan 6:5).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“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…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“signed: Psa 62:9, Psa 62:10, Psa 118:9, Psa 146:3; Pro 6:2; Isa 2:22 Daniel 6:10”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification