Daniel 6:12-23

6:12 So they approached the king and said to him, ¹  “Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions?” The king replied, “That is correct, ²  according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.” 6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ³  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ⁴ 

6:14 When the king heard this, ⁵  he was very upset and began thinking about ⁶  how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon ⁷  he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. 6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and ⁸  said to him, ⁹  “Recall, ¹⁰  O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.” 6:16 So the king gave the order, ¹¹  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ¹²  of lions. The king consoled ¹³  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!” 6:17 Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening ¹⁴  to the den. The king sealed ¹⁵  it with his signet ring and with those ¹⁶  of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel. 6:18 Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions ¹⁷  were brought to him. He was unable to sleep. ¹⁸ 

God Rescues Daniel from the Lions

6:19 In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions’ den. 6:20 As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, ¹⁹  “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”

6:21 Then Daniel spoke to ²⁰  the king, “O king, live forever! 6:22 My God sent his angel and closed the lions’ mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king.”

6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.

[6:12]  ¹ tc The MT also has “about the edict of the king,” but this phrase is absent in the LXX and the Syriac. The present translation deletes the expression.

[6:12]  ² tn Aram “the word is true.”

[6:13]  ³ tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”

[6:13]  ⁴ tn Aram “prays his prayer.”

[6:14]  ⁵ tn Aram “the word.”

[6:14]  ⁶ tn Aram “placed his mind on.”

[6:14]  ⁷ tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”

[6:15]  ⁷ tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”

[6:15]  ⁸ tn Aram “the king.”

[6:15]  ⁹ tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”

[6:16]  ⁹ tn Aram “said.” So also in vv. 24, 25.

[6:16]  ¹⁰ sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level which could be safely observed from above.

[6:16]  ¹¹ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”

[6:17]  ¹¹ tn Aram “mouth.”

[6:17]  ¹² sn The purpose of the den being sealed was to prevent unauthorized tampering with the opening of the den. Any disturbance of the seal would immediately alert the officials to improper activity of this sort.

[6:17]  ¹³ tn Aram “the signet rings.”

[6:18]  ¹³ tn The meaning of Aramaic דַּחֲוָה (dakhavah) is a crux interpretum. Suggestions include “music,” “dancing girls,” “concubines,” “table,” “food” – all of which are uncertain. The translation employed here, suggested by earlier scholars, is deliberately vague. A number of recent English versions follow a similar approach with “entertainment” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT). On this word see further, HALOT 1849-50 s.v.; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 37.

[6:18]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “his sleep fled from him.”

[6:20]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “The king answered and said to Daniel.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is redundant in English.

[6:21]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “with.”