English · ASV

Daniel 6

Listen to this chapter
0:00 0:00

Daniel's High Position Under Darius 1–3

1
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be throughout the whole kingdom; ​
2
and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account unto them, and that the king should have no damage.
3
Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. ​

The Conspiracy Against Daniel 4–9

4
Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. ​
5
Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. ​
6
Then these presidents and satraps assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
7
All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counsellors and the governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong interdict, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. ​
8
Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. ​
9
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.

Daniel Defies the Decree 10–15

10
And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem); and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. ​
11
Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.
12
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s interdict: Hast thou not signed an interdict, that every man that shall make petition unto any god or man within thirty days, save unto thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
13
Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the interdict that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. ​
14
Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to rescue him. ​
15
Then these men assembled together unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no interdict nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.

Daniel in the Den of Lions 16–24

16
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. ​
17
And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. ​
18
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.
19
Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
20
And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
21
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
22
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. ​
23
Then was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God. ​
24
And the king commanded, and they brought those men that had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den. ​

Darius Praises God 25–28

25
Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you. ​
26
I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed; and his dominion shall be even unto the end. ​
27
He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
28
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Daniel 6

Verse 1

an hundred and twenty princes — Achashdarpan, the Persian title of a provincial governor, is the word rendered 'princes' here. Darius the Median 'took the kingdom' of Babylon (5:31), and the Persian court was later reckoned at 'an hundred and seven and twenty provinces' (Esth 1:1). The appointment sets the stage for the rivalry in vv.2–4.

Verse 3

an excellent spirit — Yattir, 'surpassing', is the word the queen used of him before Belshazzar: 'an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding' (5:12). Daniel is 'preferred' (netsach, to excel) above the other officers, and the king means to set him 'over the whole realm', as Pharaoh set Joseph over Egypt, having said of him 'a man in whom the Spirit of God is' (Gen 41:38, 41).

Verse 4

he was faithful — Aman, to be firm and trustworthy; the same verb is 'believed' in v.23, so the man found faithful before the king is the one who 'believed in his God'. 'Occasion' (illah) is a ground for a charge, and the officers can find none in his service of the king.

Verse 5

the law of his God — Dath, the word for the unalterable 'law of the Medes and Persians' (vv.8, 12, 15), is also used of 'the law of the God of heaven' (Ezra 7:12). The plot rests on setting the two laws against each other, and the king's decree in vv.7–9 is the means.

Verse 7

ask a petition of any God or man — Bea, to ask or seek, with its noun bauw, a petition. The ban lasts 'thirty days' and carries the penalty of the 'den of lions'. The same two words describe Daniel in v.13: he 'maketh his petition three times a day', so his ordinary prayer breaks the decree.

Verse 8

which altereth not — Ada, to pass away. The saying returns in vv.12 and 15, and Esther has its counterpart: a command 'written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered' (Esth 1:19). 'Changed' (shena) is the verb used of the seal in v.17; Darius is reminded of the rule in v.15.

Verse 10

toward Jerusalem — Solomon asked that captives might 'pray unto thee toward their land… the city which thou hast chosen' (1 Kgs 8:48). Berak is to kneel, and tsela the Aramaic verb 'prayed'. The three times a day match David's 'Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray' (Ps 55:17); 'as he did aforetime' shows the habit was not new.

Verse 13

of the children of the captivity of Judah — The title Belshazzar used when he first questioned him: 'Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah' (5:13). The accusers reuse it here, and they report the charge in the decree's own words: 'maketh his petition three times a day'.

Verse 14

laboured — Shedar, to strive, occurs only here in Scripture. The king 'set his heart' on Daniel 'to deliver him', using shezab, the verb of Shadrach's words 'he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king' (3:17). Darius labours until sunset and cannot, because the decree cannot be changed (v.15).

Verse 16

Thy God whom thou servest continually — Tedira, 'continually', occurs only here and in v.20. Pelach, 'serve', is the verb of 3:17: 'our God whom we serve is able to deliver us'. Darius speaks of deliverance in the same terms the three Hebrews used before Nebuchadnezzar, with shezab again for 'deliver'.

Verse 17

sealed it with his own signet — The stone and the two signets fix the matter for the den as the signature fixed the law, and the same verb stands in 'that the purpose might not be changed' (shena, vv.8, 15). A stone sealed over an opening appears again in 'sealing the stone' at the sepulchre of Christ (Matt 27:66).

Verse 22

hath sent his angel — Nebuchadnezzar said nearly the same of the furnace: 'who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants' (3:28). Zakhu, 'innocency', occurs only here. Daniel is cleared before God and before the king alike. Among the deeds of faith, Hebrews lists that men 'stopped the mouths of lions' (Heb 11:33).

Verse 23

because he believed in his God — Aman, the verb of 'faithful' in v.4, and the Aramaic form of the verb used in Gen 15:6, 'he believed in the LORD'. The cause of deliverance is stated by the text itself. 'Exceeding glad' joins saggi, very much, to teeb, a verb found only here.

Verse 24

brake all their bones in pieces — 'Accused' is akal qerats, literally to eat the pieces of someone, the same phrase as in 3:8 where the Chaldeans 'accused the Jews'. They fall into the pit they dug: 'Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein' (Prov 26:27); compare Haman and his gallows (Esth 7:10).

Verse 25

Peace be multiplied unto you — The greeting and its address, 'all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth', are word for word those of Nebuchadnezzar's letter in 4:1. Shelam is peace. The same wish opens New Testament letters: 'Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied' (1 Pet 1:2).

Verse 26

the living God — Chay, the title Darius gave Daniel's God in v.20, 'servant of the living God'. 'Stedfast' (qayyam) occurs only here and in 4:26, where it is 'sure'. A kingdom 'which shall not be destroyed' repeats Dan 2:44, 'a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed', and its 'no end' is promised in Luke 1:33.

Verse 28

prospered — Tselach, to advance or prosper, the verb for the building of the temple under the decrees of Cyrus and Darius: 'the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered' (Ezra 6:14). Daniel had 'continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus' (1:21), and a vision is still given him 'in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia' (10:1).