Daniel 6
The full text of Daniel 6 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew and Aramaic. Free to read.
1 It pleased Darius to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,
2 and over them three administrators, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.
3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
4 At this, the administrators and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy; no negligence or corruption was found in him.
5 Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."
6 So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said, "May King Darius live forever!
7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions' den.
8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed."
9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.
12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: "Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human except you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions' den?" The king answered, "The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed."
13 Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day."
14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, "Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."
16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"
17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed.
18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den.
20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"
21 Daniel answered, "May the king live forever!
22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty."
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted out, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
24 At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: "May you prosper greatly!
26 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
"For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.
27 He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions."
28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Translation notes (7)
- Daniel 6:7a The claim that 'all agreed' was a lie, as Daniel was not consulted. This decree takes advantage of Persian royal theology, which held that the king served as a mediator between the gods and the people.
- Daniel 6:8a The fact that Medo-Persian law could not be changed is a key element of the plot (see Esther 1:19; 8:8). This law restricted even the king himself.
- Daniel 6:10a Windows toward Jerusalem: cf. Solomon's prayer (1 Kgs 8:48). Three daily prayers became standard Jewish practice (cf. Ps 55:17). 'Just as before' = no escalation, no hiding.
- Daniel 6:17a The sealed stone over a pit foreshadows the narrative of Jesus's tomb in a Christian typological reading, which sees Old Testament events as patterns for New Testament events.
- Daniel 6:18a This word literally means 'diversions' (Aramaic: *dachawan*), possibly referring to music, concubines, or both. The exact meaning of the word is unclear.
- Daniel 6:24a The inclusion of wives and children in the punishment follows the Persian legal practice of collective punishment (see Herodotus 3.119). While morally troubling by modern standards, this detail shows that the lions were genuinely dangerous, and Daniel's survival was miraculous, not because the lions were tame.
- Daniel 6:28a The Aramaic conjunction 'and' (*ve*) could also be translated as 'even' or 'that is.' This might suggest that Darius is identified with Cyrus, rather than being a separate person.
About this translation
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