Daniel 6

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty governors who should be in all the kingdom;

2 and over these three presidents, of whom Daniel was first, that the governors might give accounts unto them, and the king should not be bothered.

3 Then this Daniel was preferred above these governors and presidents because an overabundance of the Spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole kingdom.

4 Then the presidents and governors looked for occasions against Daniel on behalf of the kingdom, but they could find no occasion or fault because he was faithful, and no vice nor fault was found in him.

5 Then these men said, We shall never find any occasion against this Daniel except we find it against him in the law of his God.

6 Then these governors and presidents assembled together before the king and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.

7 All the presidents of the kingdom, magistrates, governors, great ones, and captains have agreed in common accord to promote a royal decree and to confirm it that whoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, except of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

8 Now, O king, confirm the decree and sign the writing that it not be moved, according to the law of Media and of Persia, which does not change.

9 Therefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree.

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he entered into his house; and with the windows open toward Jerusalem in his dining chamber, he knelt three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he was used to doing before.

11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

12 Then they went and spoke before the king concerning the royal decree; Hast thou not confirmed a decree that whoever shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days save of 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 Media and Persia, which does not change.

13 Then they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the sons of the captivity of the Jews, has not regarded thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast confirmed, but makes his petition three times a day.

14 When the king, heard the matter, it weighed very heavy upon him, and he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured until the going down of the sun to deliver him.

15 Then those men assembled near the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that this is the law of Media and of Persia: No decree nor statute which the king has confirmed may be moved.

16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king, speaking unto Daniel, said, Thy God whom thou servest continually, may he 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 ring and with the signet ring of his princes that the agreement concerning Daniel might not be changed.

18 Then the king went to his palace and lay down without eating; neither were instruments of music brought before him, and his sleep fled from him.

19 Therefore, the king arose very early in the morning at dawn and went in haste unto the den of lions.

20 And when he came to the den, he cried loudly with a sad voice unto Daniel; and the king, in speaking to Daniel said, Daniel, servant of the living God, has thy God, whom thou servest continually, been able to deliver thee from the lions?

21 Then Daniel said unto the king, O king, live for ever.

22 My God has sent his angel, who shut the lions’ mouths, that they do me no evil because before him righteousness was found in me; and even before thee, O king, I have done no corruption.

23 Then the king was exceeding glad because of him and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury was found upon him because he believed in his God.

24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and even before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces.

25 Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and tongues, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.

26 On my behalf a statute is put into effect, That in all the dominion of my kingdom everyone tremble at the presence of the God of Daniel for he is the living God and endures for all ages, and his kingdom is such that it shall never come apart, and his dominion shall be even unto the end:

27 that saves and frees, and makes signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

28 So this Daniel was prospered during the reign of Darius and during the reign of Cyrus, the Persian.

Daniel 6 Commentary

Chapter 6

The malice of Daniel's enemies. (1-5) His constancy in prayer. (6-10) He is cast into the lion's den. (11-17) His miraculous preservation. (18-24) The decree of Darius. (25-28)

Verses 1-5 We notice to the glory of God, that though Daniel was now very old, yet he was able for business, and had continued faithful to his religion. It is for the glory of God, when those who profess religion, conduct themselves so that their most watchful enemies may find no occasion for blaming them, save only in the matters of their God, in which they walk according to their consciences.

Verses 6-10 To forbid prayer for thirty days, is, for so long, to rob God of all the tribute he has from man, and to rob man of all the comfort he has in God. Does not every man's heart direct him, when in want or distress, to call upon God? We could not live a day without God; and can men live thirty days without prayer? Yet it is to be feared that those who, without any decree forbidding them, present no hearty, serious petitions to God for more than thirty days together, are far more numerous than those who serve him continually, with humble, thankful hearts. Persecuting laws are always made on false pretences; but it does not become Christians to make bitter complaints, or to indulge in revilings. It is good to have hours for prayer. Daniel prayed openly and avowedly; and though a man of vast business, he did not think that would excuse him from daily exercises of devotion. How inexcusable are those who have but little to do in the world, yet will not do thus much for their souls! In trying times we must take heed, lest, under pretence of discretion, we are guilty of cowardice in the cause of God. All who throw away their souls, as those certainly do that live without prayer, even if it be to save their lives, at the end will be found to be fools. Nor did Daniel only pray, and not give thanks, cutting off some part of the service to make the time of danger shorter; but he performed the whole. In a word, the duty of prayer is founded upon the sufficiency of God as an almighty Creator and Redeemer, and upon our wants as sinful creatures. To Christ we must turn our eyes. Thither let the Christian look, thither let him pray, in this land of his captivity.

Verses 11-17 It is no new thing for what is done faithfully, in conscience toward God, to be misrepresented as done obstinately, and in contempt of the civil powers. Through want of due thought, we often do that which afterwards, like Darius, we see cause a thousand times to wish undone again. Daniel, that venerable man, is brought as the vilest of malefactors, and is thrown into the den of lions, to be devoured, only for worshipping his God. No doubt the placing the stone was ordered by the providence of God, that the miracle of Daniel's deliverance might appear more plain; and the king sealed it with his own signet, probably lest Daniel's enemies should kill him. Let us commit our lives and souls unto God, in well-doing. We cannot place full confidence even in men whom we faithfully serve; but believers may, in all cases, be sure of the Divine favour and consolation.

Verses 18-24 The best way to have a good night, is to keep a good conscience. We are sure of what the king doubted, that the servants of the living God have a Master well able to protect them. See the power of God over the fiercest creatures, and believe his power to restrain the roaring lion that goeth about continually seeking to devour. Daniel was kept perfectly safe, because he believed in his God. Those who boldly and cheerfully trust in God to protect them in the way of duty, shall always find him a present help. Thus the righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead. The short triumph of the wicked will end in their ruin.

Verses 25-28 If we live in the fear of God, and walk according to that rule, peace shall be upon us. The kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever, are the Lord's; but many are employed in making known his wonderful works to others, who themselves remain strangers to his saving grace. May we be doers, as well as believers of his word, least at the last we should be found to have deceived ourselves.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 6

This chapter gives an account of Daniel's being cast into the den of lions, and the causes of it, and the steps leading to it; and also of his wonderful deliverance out of it, and what followed upon that. It first relates how Daniel was made by Darius first president of the princes of the kingdom, which drew their envy upon him, Da 6:1-4, and that these princes finding they could get no occasion against him, but in religion, proposed to the king to make a law forbidding prayer to any god for thirty days, which they got established, Da 6:5-9, and Daniel breaking this law, is accused by them to the king; and the penalty, casting into the den of lions, is insisted on to be executed, Da 6:10-13, which the king laboured to prevent, but in vain; and Daniel is cast to the lions, to the great grief of the king, Da 6:14-18, who visited the den the next morning, and to his great joy found Daniel alive, Da 6:19-23, upon which, by the law of retaliation, his accusers, their wives, and children, were cast into it, Da 6:24, and an edict was published by the king, commanding all in his dominions to fear and reverence the God of Daniel, Da 6:25-28.