saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
Parallel translations
- WEB They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live for ever.
- KJV They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
- NKJV They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!
- NASB They began to speak and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “O king, live forever!
- NLT They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The accusers approach the king with the customary greeting, "O king, live for ever." The flattering address cloaks their hostile intent.
Overview
Court etiquette opens their denunciation, lending it an air of loyal concern for royal honor. Beneath the polite words lies a plot to ruin innocent men. The contrast between smooth speech and murderous purpose warns that flattery can mask malice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Dan 6:6So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!
- Dan 5:10Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.
- Dan 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
- Dan 6:21Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!
- Rom 13:7Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
- Dan 3:4–5Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded:
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Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 3:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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