'Silent' in the Bible

Then they said {to one another}, "We [are] not doing right. This day is a day of good news! If we [are] silent and wait until the light of morning, they will find us and {we will be punished}. So then, come, let us go and tell the house of the king."

The people were silent, and they did not answer him a word, for the command of that king was saying, "You shall not answer him."