Daniel 2:15

2:15 He inquired of Arioch the king’s deputy, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” ¹  Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.

Daniel 3:22

3:22 But since the king’s command was so urgent, and the furnace was so excessively hot, the men who escorted ²  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed ³  by the leaping flames. ⁴ 

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¹ tn The Aramaic word מְהַחְצְפָה (mÿhakhtsÿfah) may refer to the severity of the king’s decree (i.e., “harsh”; so HALOT 1879 s.v. חצף; BDB 1093 s.v. חֲצַף), although it would seem that in a delicate situation such as this Daniel would avoid this kind of criticism of the king’s actions. The translation above understands the word to refer to the immediacy, not harshness, of the decree. See further, F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 50, §116; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 67.

² tn Aram “caused to go up.”

³ tn The Aramaic verb is active.

⁴ tn Aram “the flame of the fire” (so KJV, ASV, NASB); NRSV “the raging flames.”