Daniel 6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 6
1 And Darius the Mede[a] succeeded to the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.
The Lions’ Den. 2 Darius decided to appoint over his entire kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps. 3 These were accountable to three ministers, one of whom was Daniel; the satraps reported to them, so that the king should suffer no loss. 4 Daniel outshone all the ministers and satraps because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king considered setting him over the entire kingdom. 5 Then the ministers and satraps tried to find grounds for accusation against Daniel regarding the kingdom. But they could not accuse him of any corruption. Because he was trustworthy, no fault or corruption was to be found in him. 6 Then these men said to themselves, “We shall find no grounds for accusation against this Daniel except in connection with the law of his God.” 7 So these ministers and satraps stormed in to the king and said to him, “King Darius, live forever! 8 [b](A)All the ministers of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors agree that the following prohibition ought to be put in force by royal decree: for thirty days, whoever makes a petition to anyone, divine or human, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. 9 Now, O king, let the prohibition be issued over your signature, immutable and irrevocable[c] according to the law of the Medes and Persians.” 10 So King Darius signed the prohibition into law.
11 Even after Daniel heard that this law had been signed, he continued his custom of going home to kneel in prayer and give thanks to his God in the upper chamber three times a day, with the windows open toward Jerusalem. 12 So these men stormed in and found Daniel praying and pleading before his God. 13 Then they went to remind the king about the prohibition: “Did you not sign a decree, O king, that for thirty days, whoever makes a petition to anyone, divine or human, except to you, O king, shall be cast into a den of lions?” The king answered them, “The decree is absolute, irrevocable under the law of the Medes and Persians.” 14 To this they replied, “Daniel, one of the Jewish exiles, has paid no attention to you, O king, or to the prohibition you signed; three times a day he offers his prayer.” 15 The king was deeply grieved at this news and he made up his mind to save Daniel; he worked till sunset to rescue him. 16 But these men pressed the king. “Keep in mind, O king,” they said, “that under the law of the Medes and Persians every royal prohibition or decree is irrevocable.” 17 So the king ordered Daniel to be brought and cast into the lions’ den.[d] To Daniel he said, “Your God, whom you serve so constantly, must save you.” 18 To forestall any tampering, the king sealed with his own ring and the rings of the lords the stone that had been brought to block the opening of the den.
19 Then the king returned to his palace for the night; he refused to eat and he dismissed the entertainers. Since sleep was impossible for him, 20 the king rose very early the next morning and hastened to the lions’ den. 21 As he drew near, he cried out to Daniel sorrowfully, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you serve so constantly been able to save you from the lions?” 22 Daniel answered the king: “O king, live forever! 23 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not hurt me.(B) For I have been found innocent before him; neither have I done you any harm, O king!” 24 This gave the king great joy. At his order Daniel was brought up from the den; he was found to be unharmed because he trusted in his God. 25 The king then ordered the men who had accused Daniel, along with their children and their wives, to be cast into the lions’ den. Before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
26 Then King Darius wrote to the nations and peoples of every language, wherever they dwell on the earth: “May your peace abound! 27 I decree that throughout my royal domain the God of Daniel is to be reverenced and feared:
“For he is the living God, enduring forever,
whose kingdom shall not be destroyed,
whose dominion shall be without end,
28 A savior and deliverer,
working signs and wonders in heaven and on earth,
who saved Daniel from the lions’ power.”
29 So Daniel fared well during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.(C)
Footnotes
- 6:1 Darius the Mede: unknown outside of the Book of Daniel. The Median kingdom did not exist at this time because it had already been conquered by Cyrus the Persian. Apparently the author of Daniel is following an apocalyptic view of history, linked to prophecy (cf. Is 13:17–19; Jer 51:11, 28–30), according to which the Medes formed the second of four world kingdoms preceding the messianic times; see note on Dn 2:36–45. The character of Darius the Mede has probably been modeled on that of the Persian king Darius the Great (522–486 B.C.), the second successor of Cyrus. The Persian Darius did appoint satraps over his empire.
- 6:8–11 The Jews of the second century B.C. could relate the king’s attempt to force upon them, under pain of death, the worship of a foreign deity to the decrees of Antiochus IV; cf. 1 Mc 1:41–50.
- 6:9 Immutable and irrevocable: Est 1:19 and 8:8 also refer to the immutability of Medo-Persian laws. The same idea is found in the historian Diodorus Siculus with reference to the time of Darius III (335–331 B.C.), the last of the Persian kings. Cf. Dn 6:13, 16.
- 6:17 The lions’ den: a pit too deep to be easily scaled; its opening was blocked with a stone (v. 18).
Daniel 6
Complete Jewish Bible
6 (5:31) The kingdom passed to Daryavesh the Mede when he was about sixty-two years old. 2 (1) Daryavesh decided to set over the kingdom 120 viceroys to rule throughout the entire kingdom, 3 (2) with three chiefs over them, of whom Dani’el was one, so that these viceroys could be responsible to them and so that the king’s interests would be safeguarded. 4 (3) But because an extraordinary spirit was in this Dani’el, he so distinguished himself above the other chiefs and the viceroys that the king considered putting him in charge of the whole kingdom. 5 (4) The other chiefs and the viceroys tried to find a cause for complaint against Dani’el in regard to how he performed his governing duties, but they could find nothing to complain about, no fault; on the contrary, because he was so faithful, not a single instance of negligence or faulty administration could be found.
6 (5) Then these men said, “We’re not going to find any cause for complaint against this Dani’el unless we can find something against him in regard to the law of his god.” 7 (6) So these chiefs and viceroys descended on the king and said to him, “King Daryavesh, live forever! 8 (7) All the chiefs of the kingdom, along with the prefects, viceroys, advisers and governors, have met and agreed that the king should issue a decree putting in force the following law: ‘Whoever makes a request of any god or man during the next thirty days, except of you, your majesty, is to be thrown into the lion pit.’ 9 (8) Now, your majesty, issue this decree over your signature, so that it cannot be revoked, as required by the law of the Medes and Persians, which is itself irrevocable.” 10 (9) So King Daryavesh signed the document, and the decree became law.
11 (10) On learning that the document had been signed, Dani’el went home. The windows of his upstairs room were open in the direction of Yerushalayim; and there he kneeled down three times a day and prayed, giving thanks before his God, just as he had been doing before. 12 (11) Then these men descended on Dani’el and found him making requests and pleading before his God. 13 (12) So they went to remind the king of his royal decree: “Didn’t you sign a law prohibiting anyone from making requests of any god or man within thirty days, except yourself, your majesty, on pain of being thrown into the lion pit?” The king answered, “Yes, that is true, as required by the law of the Medes and Persians, which is itself irrevocable.” 14 (13) They replied to the king, “That Dani’el, one of the exiles from Y’hudah, respects neither you, your majesty, nor the decree you signed; instead, he continues praying three times a day.” 15 (14) When the king heard this report, he was very upset. He determined to save Dani’el and worked until sunset to find a way to rescue him. 16 (15) But these men descended on the king and said to him, “Remember, your majesty, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or edict, once issued by the king, can be revoked.”
17 (16) So the king gave the order, and they brought Dani’el and threw him into the lion pit. The king said to Dani’el, “Your God, whom you are always serving, will save you.” 18 (17) A stone was brought to block the opening of the pit, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing concerning Dani’el could be changed.
19 (18) Then the king returned to his palace. He spent the night fasting and refusing to be entertained, as sleep eluded him. 20 (19) Early in the morning, the king got up and hurried to the lion pit. 21 (20) On approaching the pit where Dani’el was, the king cried in a pained voice to Dani’el, “Dani’el, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you are always serving, been able to save you from the lions?” 22 (21) Then Dani’el answered the king, “May the king live forever! 23 (22) My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths, so they haven’t hurt me. This is because before him I was found innocent; and also I have done no harm to you, your majesty.” 24 (23) The king was overjoyed and ordered Dani’el taken up from the pit. So Dani’el was taken up from the pit, and he was found to be completely unharmed, because he had trusted in his God.
25 (24) Then the king gave an order, and they brought those men who had accused Dani’el, and they threw them into the lion pit — them, their children and their wives — and before they even reached the bottom of the pit, the lions had them in their control and broke all their bones to pieces.
26 (25) King Daryavesh wrote all the peoples, nations and languages living anywhere on earth:
“Shalom rav! [Abundant peace!]
27 (26) “I herewith issue a decree that everywhere in my kingdom, people are to tremble and be in awe of the God of Dani’el.
“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed;
his rulership will last till the end.
28 (27) He saves, rescues, does signs and wonders
both in heaven and on earth.
He delivered Dani’el
from the power of the lions.”
29 (28) So this Dani’el prospered during the reign of Daryavesh, and also during the reign of Koresh the Persian.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.