They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king!
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.
- BSB saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
- 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!
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 6:6Then these presidents and satraps assembled together to the king, and said thus to him, King Darius, live forever.
- Dan 5:10The queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever; don’t let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed.
- Dan 2:4Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live forever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
- Dan 6:21Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever.
- Rom 13:7Therefore give everyone what you owe: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if customs, then customs; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
- Dan 3:4–5Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.