Bible Strands
Daniel 6:8
Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The royal conspirators address King Darius immediately after proposing a thirty-day worship decree, urging him to formalize their scheme.
The words — כְּעַ֣ן (ke.'An) means "now" and תְּקִ֥ים (te.Kim) means "you will establish," both Aramaic terms that frame the urgent command to the monarch.
The thread — The unchangeable nature of this royal law echoes Esther 1:19 and Daniel 6:15, while Isaiah 10:1 contrasts such decrees with unjust statutes enacted by rulers.
Why it lands — The verse records a procedural demand for irrevocable authority, requiring the reader to recognize how legal finality can be weaponized against religious practice.
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
Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
Cross-references
- Esther 1:19 So if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree, and let it be recorded in the laws of Persia and Media so that it cannot be repealed, that Vashti shall never again enter the presence of King Xerxes, and that her royal position shall be given to a woman better than she.
- Daniel 6:15 Then the men approached the king together and said to him, “Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”
- Isaiah 10:1 Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and issue oppressive decrees,
- Daniel 6:12 So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”
- 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.
- Esther 8:10 Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.
- Esther 8:3 And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.
- Esther 8:8 Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”
- Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.