Bible Strands
Daniel 6:18
Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative places King Darius in his private quarters immediately after sealing the stone over Daniel’s den, describing his nocturnal state before dawn.
The words — The Hebrew term טְוָת (te.Vat) literally means fasting, marking the king’s deliberate abstinence from food. The phrase וְדַחֲוָן לָא (ve./da.cha.Van la') literally renders "and no thrusting [of women]," indicating that no musical entertainment was presented to him.
The thread — The motif of sleep fleeing a ruler or leader appears in Esther 6:1, Daniel 2:1, and 2 Samuel 12:16. In each instance, sleeplessness accompanies a moment of royal anxiety, divine judgment, or desperate intercession.
Why it lands — The text records the king’s physical and emotional distress without excusing his earlier decree or validating his actions. It demands a reader to observe that political power yields to conscience and that anxiety disrupts even the most comfortable quarters.
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
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
Cross-references
- Esther 6:1 That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.
- Daniel 2:1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
- 2 Samuel 12:16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
- Psalms 77:4 You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak.
- 2 Samuel 19:24 Then Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely.
- 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
- Job 21:12 singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
- Psalms 137:2 There on the willows we hung our harps,
- Ecclesiastes 2:8 and I accumulated for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I gathered to myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men—many concubines.
- Isaiah 24:8 The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.