Daniel 6:1-9

Common English Bible

Plot against Daniel

6 Darius decided to appoint one hundred twenty chief administrators throughout the kingdom, ² and to set over them three main officers to whom they would report so that the king wouldn’t have to be bothered with too much.^[a] One of these main officers was Daniel. ³ Because of his extraordinary spirit, Daniel soon surpassed the other officers and the chief administrators—so much so that the king had plans to set him over the entire kingdom. ⁴ As a result, the other officers and the chief administrators tried to find some problem with Daniel’s work for the kingdom. But they couldn’t find any problem or corruption at all because Daniel was trustworthy. He wasn’t guilty of any negligence or corruption.

⁵ So these men said, “We won’t find any fault in Daniel, unless we can find something to use against him from his religious practice.”^[b]

⁶ So these officers and chief administrators ganged together and went to the king. They said to him, “Long live King Darius! ⁷ All the officers of the kingdom, the ministers, the chief administrators, the royal associates, and the governors advise the king to issue an edict and enforce a law, that for thirty days anyone who says prayers to any god or human being except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a pit of lions. ⁸ Now, Your Majesty, issue the law and sign the document so that it cannot be changed, as per the law of Media and Persia, which cannot be annulled.” ⁹ Because of this, King Darius signed the document containing the law.