Daniel 6:24

The king's vengeance on the men who had maliciously accused Daniel.

accused see on Daniel 3:8.

their children, and their wives according to the rough justice or, to our minds, injustice of antiquity: cf. Joshua 7:24-25; 2 Samuel 21:5-9; Esther 9:13-14; Hdt. iii. 119. Cf. Mozley's Ruling Ideas in Early Ages, p. 87 ff., in explanation of the principle involved.

had the mastery of them or fell upon thema sense which the Aram. phrase, properly meaning to rule over, has in the Targums (e.g.Judges 15:12; 2 Samuel 1:15).

in pieces These words should be followed by a comma (as in R.V.), the words or ever&c., having reference to both the preceding clauses (the order in the Aram. is -and they reached not the bottom of the pit, ere the lions" &c.).

or ever i.e. before; the expression being a pleonastic, reduplicated form of ere(A.S. ær, Germ. eher), frequent in Old English. So Proverbs 8:23 (A.V., R.V.), Ps. 53:8 (P.B.V.), Psalms 90:2 (P.B.V., A.V., R.V.), Song of Solomon 6:12 (A.V., R.V.), Acts 23:15 (A.V., R.V.); Isaiah 65:24, in Coverdale's version, - Or everthey call, I shal answere them"; and several times in Shakespeare. Mr Wright (Bible Word-Book, s.v.) quotes from Latimer's Sermons, -The great man was gone forth about such affairs as behoved him, or[= ere I came."