Bible Strands
Daniel 2:13
So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports the immediate aftermath of Nebuchadnezzar’s command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. Royal guards act on the king's order to locate and execute Daniel alongside his companions.
The words — The noun דָּתָ֣א (da.Ta) refers to the formal royal decree that legally mandated the killings. The verb נֶפְקַ֔ת (nef.Kat) describes the decree's official issuance, marking the transition from the king's anger to state action.
The thread — The mechanism of state persecution through written orders appears in Esther 3:12 and aligns with the warning in Psalms 94:20 regarding corrupt thrones devising mischief by law. Daniel's prior court recognition in Daniel 1:19 explains why his specific group became the executioners' target.
Why it lands — The text establishes that political authority enforces its will through documented commands rather than fleeting emotion. Readers must confront how divine deliverance operates within the concrete constraints of state-sanctioned violence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
Cross-references
- Daniel 1:19 And the king spoke with them, and among all the young men he found no one equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the king’s service.
- Esther 3:12 On the thirteenth day of the first month, the royal scribes were summoned and the order was written exactly as Haman commanded the royal satraps, the governors of each province, and the officials of each people, in the script of each province and the language of every people. It was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the royal signet ring.
- Psalms 94:20 Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—one devising mischief by decree?
- Proverbs 28:15 Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
- Isaiah 10:1 Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
- Daniel 6:9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.