Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him.
- NASB Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
- NLT Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night.
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 king passes the night fasting and sleepless, refusing all entertainment. His anguish shows his genuine concern for Daniel.
Overview
Darius spends a wretched, sleepless night, unable to be comforted by the usual diversions. His distress contrasts with the peace Daniel enjoys in the den under God's protection. The verse quietly underscores that the one trusting God rests while the one who wronged him is troubled.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Esth 6:1That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him.
- Dan 2:1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
- 2 Sam 12:16–17David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground.
- Ps 77:4You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak.
- Job 21:12singing to the tambourine and lyre and making merry at the sound of the flute.
- 1 Kgs 21:27When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.
- Jonah 3:3–9This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey.
- Isa 24:8–9The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent.
- Eccl 2:8and 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.
- Rev 18:22And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.
- 2 Sam 19:24Then 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.
- Ps 137:2There on the willows we hung our harps,
- Amos 6:4–6You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.
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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 6:18 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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