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
Expanded Bible
Daniel and the Lions
6 ·Darius thought it would be a good idea [L It pleased Darius; 5:30] to ·choose [L set over the kingdom] one hundred twenty ·governors [L satraps] who would ·rule his [L be over the] kingdom. 2 He chose three men as ·supervisors [presidents; heads] over those ·governors [L satraps], and Daniel was one of the ·supervisors [presidents; heads]. The ·supervisors [presidents; heads] were to ensure that the ·governors did not try to cheat the king [L king would not be troubled/disturbed]. 3 Daniel ·showed that he could do the work better than [distinguished himself above] the other ·supervisors [presidents; heads] and ·governors [L satraps] because an ·excellent [extraordinary] spirit was in him, so the king planned to put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom. 4 Because of this, the other ·supervisors [presidents; heads] and ·governors [L satraps] tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel ·about his work in the government [L in regard to the kingdom]. But they could not find anything ·wrong with him or any reason to accuse him [in regard to complaint or corruption], because he was trustworthy and not lazy or ·dishonest [corrupt]. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any reason to accuse Daniel unless it is about the law of his God.”
6 So the ·supervisors [presidents; heads] and ·governors [L satraps] ·went as a group to [or conspired against] the king and said: “King Darius, live forever! 7 The ·supervisors [presidents; heads], ·assistant governors [prefects], ·governors [L satraps], ·the people who advise you [counselors], and the ·captains of the soldiers [governors] have ·all agreed [taken counsel] that you should ·make a new law [issue a decree] ·for everyone to obey [and enforce an edict]: For the next thirty days no one should pray to any god or human except to you, O king. Anyone who doesn’t obey will be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, O king, ·make the law [enforce the edict] and sign ·your name to it [L the document] so that it cannot be changed, because then it will be a law of the Medes and Persians and cannot be canceled.” 9 So King Darius signed the ·law [L document and edict].
10 Even though Daniel knew that the ·new law [document] had been ·written [signed], he went to pray in an upstairs room in his house, which had windows that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times each day Daniel would kneel down to pray and ·thank [praise] God, just as he always had done [1 Kin. 8:35–36; Ps. 55:17].
11 Then those men ·went as a group [conspired] and found Daniel praying and ·asking God for help [seeking mercy from God]. 12 So they ·went to [approached] the king and talked to him about the ·law he had made [edict]. They said, “Didn’t you sign a ·law [edict] that says no one may pray to any god or human except you, O king? Doesn’t it say that anyone who disobeys during the next thirty days will be thrown into the lions’ den?”
The king answered, “Yes, ·that is the law [L the thing is certain], and the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled.”
13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, one of the ·captives [exiles] from Judah, ·is not paying attention to [disregards] you, O king, or to the ·law [edict] you signed. Daniel still prays three times every day.” 14 The king ·became very upset [was displeased] when he heard ·this [L the word]. He ·wanted [L set his mind] to ·save [rescue] Daniel, and he worked hard until sunset trying to think of a way to ·save [rescue] him.
15 Then those men ·went as a group to [or conspired against] the king. They said, “·Remember [Know], O king, the law of the Medes and Persians says that no ·law [edict] or command given by the king can be changed.”
16 So King Darius gave the order, and Daniel was brought in and thrown into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May the God you ·serve [fear; Prov. 1:7] all the time ·save [rescue] you!” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the ·opening [L mouth] of the lions’ den. Then the king used his signet ring and the rings of his ·royal [noble; important] officers to put special seals on the rock [C rings with personal identification symbols that could be pressed into soft clay]. This ensured that ·no one would move the rock and bring Daniel out [L nothing would be changed with Daniel]. 18 Then King Darius went back to his palace. He ·did not eat [fasted] that night, ·he did not have any entertainment [L nothing was; C referring to food and/or women] brought to him, and he could not sleep.
19 The next morning King Darius got up at dawn and ·hurried [or in agitation went] to the lions’ den. 20 As he came near the den, he was worried. He called out to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God that you always ·worship [fear; serve; Prov. 1:7] been able to ·save [rescue] you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his ·angel [or messenger] to close the lions’ mouths [Heb. 11:33]. They have not ·hurt [injured] me, because my God knows I am ·innocent [blameless]. I never did anything ·wrong to [to injure] you, O king.”
23 King Darius was very happy and told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lions’ den. So they lifted him out and did not find any injury on him, because Daniel had trusted in his God.
24 Then the king commanded that the men who had ·accused [conspired against; L eaten pieces of] Daniel be brought to the lions’ den. They, their wives, and their children were thrown into the den. The lions ·grabbed [overpowered] them before they ·hit [reached] the floor of the den and ·crushed their bones [or tore their bodies into pieces; Prov. 28:10].
25 Then King Darius wrote a letter to all people and all nations, ·to those who spoke every language [L and tongues] in the world:
I wish you great ·peace and wealth [prosperity].
26 I ·am making a new law [L set a decree] for people in every part of my ·kingdom [kingly dominion]. All of you must ·fear [tremble] and ·respect [fear] the God of Daniel.
For he is the living God;
he ·lives [endures] forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his ·rule [sovereignty] will never end.
27 God rescues and ·saves [delivers] people
and does ·mighty miracles [signs and wonders]
in heaven and on earth.
He is the one who ·saved [rescued] Daniel
from the ·power [L hand] of the lions.
28 So Daniel was ·successful [prosperous] during the time Darius was king ·and [or even] when Cyrus the Persian was king [C may be two different names for the same king].
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