Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Daniel 6:14

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 14. The king - was sore displeased with himself — And well he might, when through his excessive folly he passed a law that, for its ostensible object, would have been a disgrace almost to an idiot.

And set his heart on Daniel — He strove by every means to get the law annulled. He had no doubt spoken to several of his lords in private, and had gone from one to another till the going down of the sun.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Daniel in the lion’s den (6:1-28)

There had been no opportunity for Daniel to enjoy his return to high office, because Babylon fell the night he was reinstated (see 5:29-30). But the new rulers would have known of his record under Nebuchadnezzar, so they made him one of the three presidents appointed to administer the nation (6:1-2).
Daniel had such obvious ability that the other two presidents soon became jealous of him. They wanted to get rid of him, but were unable to find any accusation of mismanagement to bring against him. They saw that their only chance lay in bringing in a new religious law that Daniel’s conscience would not allow him to obey (3-5).
In putting their suggestion to the king, the two men used words that made the king think Daniel agreed with them. Their suggestion was that for the next month all prayers to all gods had to pass through the king. It was a common Medo-Persian practice for the king to act as representative of the gods, so Darius agreed to the suggestion and made it law (6-9).
By the time Daniel heard about the new law, it had already been approved and sealed by the king, so he could do nothing to have it changed. He made no effort to obey it, and proceeded to pray to God as he had before (10). His enemies worked out a plan to catch him in the act of breaking their evil law, so that they could accuse him to the king (11-13). They had him condemned and thrown into a den of lions, even though this was against the king’s wishes (14-18).

God’s miraculous deliverance of Daniel showed that the kind of worship that he accepted was not the state-controlled worship, but Daniel’s kind of worship. Daniel had refused to sin against his conscience, had done nothing against the king, had not retaliated against his enemies, and above all had trusted in God (19-22; cf. Hebrews 11:33). After punishing the plotters (23-24), the king issued a decree commanding that all his subjects respect the God of Daniel (25-27). As for Daniel himself, he continued to prosper in the high positions he held in the Persian administration (28).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem); and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's interdict, that every man that shall make petition unto any god or man within thirty days, save unto 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 Medes and Persians, which altereth not. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the interdict which thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to rescue him. Then these men assembled together unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no interdict nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed."

DANIEL CONTINUES TO BE FAITHFUL

What a feeling of exultation must have come to the conspirators against Daniel at such a complete success of their diabolical plot. They had calculated everything perfectly (so they thought). The king, unaware of their hatred and of their evil purpose had signed the decree. True to what they knew would happen, Daniel went on in the faithful exercise of his holy religion without regard to human legislation. They were able to catch Daniel "in the act." Daniel did not even bother to deny the charges. The king was caught in the cruel vice of his own stupid law; and these enemies of Daniel must have thought at that juncture of affairs that they had everything under control. They overlooked the will of God, which is a universal characteristic of all wicked men.

WINDOWS OPEN TOWARD JERUSALEM

"Windows open toward Jerusalem" (Daniel 6:10). "This habit of praying toward a particular point has been maintained till this day by the Mohammedans who pray in the direction of Mecca."J. E. H. Thomson, op. cit., p. 189.

This writer feels a certain appreciation of this text, which was the basis of a sermon delivered in the Sixteenth and Decatur Streets Church in Washington, D.C. in January of 1953, attended that morning by Major General Charles I. Carpenter, Chief of the Armed Services Board of Chaplains, for the United States of America. As a result of the General's strong approval of that sermon, he extended an invitation for this writer to spend three months in the Far East as a guest of the U.S. Military, conducting Preaching Missions throughout the Far East. Later a plan was worked out to allow a vast expansion of the number of ministers from Churches of Christ privileged to participate in the chaplaincy programs of the U.S. Military.

OUTLINE Introduction

A.    Daniel's attitude:

1     Was not one of defiance (he did not kneel outdoors).

2     Was not one of cowardice (he did not hide).

3     He continued in his normal pattern.

B.    As he did aforetime:

4     A man's habits are the key to his destiny.

5     It is always what one is in the habit of doing that determines the course of his actions.

I.    Daniel had his windows opened toward Jerusalem:

A.    Not open toward Babylon.

B.    Not opened toward the king's palace.

C.    But open toward Jerusalem, from whence the Word of God came.

D.    Similarly people today should refuse to open the windows of their souls toward Paris (for fashions), or toward Moscow (for politics), or toward New York (for financial news), or toward Washington (for governmental support), etc.

E.    But let them open the windows of their souls to Jerusalem,
to the word of the Lord, which alone is able to save the soul.

II.    Daniel was faithful:

F.    Without regard to personal enemies,

G.    Without regard to human legislation,

H.    Without regard to personal danger,

I.    Without regard to impending death.

III.    Daniel's faith was rewarded:

J.    God heard his prayer and answered it.

K.    His enemies saw his faithfulness.

L.    The king reluctantly executed the penalty.

M.    The king rejoiced when Daniel was safe.

IV.    The purpose of God was advanced gloriously by Daniel's rescue.

N.    The king's edict

O.    It guaranteed for Israel their religious freedom for yet awhile.

P.    This was a key episode in the rescue of Israel from their second captivity (the first was in Egypt).

"Three times a day" Andrews gave the hours of prayer as, "the time of the morning burnt offering, the ninth hour (which was 3 p.m.), and at sunset."H. T. Andrews, Peake's Commentary on the Bible, Daniel (London: T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 528. The same writer also stated that the Jews frequently spoke of praying "before God," instead of praying "to God." The Talmud instructed that the Jews in foreign lands pray toward Jerusalem, and that persons in Jerusalem should pray toward the temple.J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible, Daniel (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 537.

Commenting on the true purpose behind the ridiculous law which Daniel, in conscience, violated by his prayers three times a day, Keil pointed out that, "The fundamental principle of heathenism is that the king is the son, the representative, the living manifestation of the peoples' gods."C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 211. However, it could not have been any concern for the protection of the peoples' religious systems that prompted the presidents who initiated the movement for the law passed in this situation. The prime motivation was the desire to destroy Daniel; and all the rest of the campaign in favor of the law was pure hypocrisy.

The evil strategy of Daniel's enemies (probably the two colleagues of his in the presidency) appears in a number of particulars. (1) They first rehearsed the terms of the new law and procured the king's agreement that it was indeed an irrevocable statute. (2) In their charge against Daniel, they left off any mention that he was one of the presidents, saying only that he was "of the children of the captivity of Judah," a despised foreigner, of course. (3) Thomson suggested that, "The subordinate position of Darius, occupying the place of king of Babylon only for a season, instead of Cyrus, would have made it very difficult for Darius to override any constitutional maxim."J. E. H. Thomson, op. cit., p. 189. The king was indeed effectively trapped by his own evil law. Of course, he should have violated that law at whatever cost to himself. "Not to break a wicked promise is not firmness; it is guilty obstinacy."Robert Jamieson, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, Daniel (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 632. This writer has known parents who were pressured into signing up with some church to rear their children in a certain faith, and who, upon learning "a more excellent way" of serving the Lord, nevertheless honored their prior wicked commitment by observing it. In such cases, the keeping of a wicked promise is more dishonorable than the breaking of it.

"Interdict and statute are mentioned together in Daniel 6:17 as if they were two documents, as is more clearly visible in Daniel 6:9. The style of rhetoric here is called "hendiadys." This is a device in which "two words are used to express the same idea as a single word with a qualifier."Footnote is not available There was only one document in view here, whether called a writing, a statute, or an interdict.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself - That is, for having consented to such a decree without deliberation, or with so much haste - or for having consented to it at all. It is remarkable that it is not said that he was displeased with them for having proposed it; but it is clear that he saw that the guilt was his own for having given his assent to it, and that he had acted foolishly. There is no evidence as yet that he saw that the decree had been proposed for the purpose of securing the degradation and ruin of Daniel - though he ultimately perceived it Daniel 6:24; or if he did perceive it, there was no way of preventing the consequences from coming on Daniel - and that was the point that now engrossed his attention. He was doubtless displeased with himself,

(1) because he saw that he had done wrong in confirming such a decree, which interfered with what had been tolerated - the free exercise of religion by his subjects;

(2) because he now saw that it was foolish, and unworthy of a king, thus to assent to a law for which there was no good reason, and the consequences of which he had not foreseen; and

(3) because he now saw that he had involved the first officer of the realm, and a man of unsullied character, in ruin, unless some way could be devised by which the consequences of the statute could be averted.

It is no uncommon thing for men to be displeased with themselves when they experience the unexpected consequences of their follies and their sins. An instance strongly resembling that here stated, in its main features, occurred at a later period in the history of Persia - an instance showing how the innocent may be involved in a general law, and how much perplexity and regret may be caused by the enactment of such a law. It occurred in Persia, in the persecution of Christians, 344 a.d. “An edict appeared, which commanded that all Christians should be thrown into chains and executed. Many belonging to every rank died as martyrs. Among these was an eunuch of the palace, named Azades, a man greatly prized by the king. So much was the latter affected by his death, that he commanded the punishment of death should be inflicted from thenceforth only on the leaders of the Christian sect; that is, only on persons of the clerical order.” - Neander’s Church History, Torrey’s Translation, vol. iii. p. 146.

And set his heart on Daniel to deliver him - In what way he sought to deliver him is not said. It would seem probable from the representation in the following verse, that it was by an inquiry whether the statute might not properly be changed or cancelled, or whether the penalty might not be commuted - for it is said that his counselors urged as a reason for the strict infliction of the punishment the absolute unchangeableness of the statute. Perhaps he inquired whether a precedent might not be found for the abrogation of a law enacted by a king by the same authority that enacted it; or whether it did not come within the king’s prerogative to change it; or whether the punishment might not be commuted without injury; or whether the evidence of the guilt was perfectly clear; or whether he might not be pardoned without anything being done to maintain the honor of the law. This is one of the most remarkable instances on record of the case of a monarch seeking to deliver a subject from punishment when the monarch had absolute power, and is a striking illustration of the difficulties which often arise in the administration of justice, where the law is absolute, and where justice seems to demand the infliction of the penalty, and yet where there are strong reasons why the penalty should not be inflicted; that is, why an offender should be pardoned. And yet there is no improbability in this statement about the perplexity of the king, for

(1) there were strong reasons, easily conceivable, why the penalty should not be inflicted in this case, because

(a) the law had been evidently devised by the crafty enemies of Daniel to secure just such a result;

(b) Daniel had been guilty of no crime - no moral wrong, but had done only what should commend him more to favor and confidence;

(c) his character was every way upright and pure;

(d) the very worship which he had been detected in had been up to that period allowed, and there was no reason why it should now be punished, and

(e) the infliction of the penalty, though strictly according to the letter of the law, would be manifestly a violation of justice and equity; or, in other words, it was every way. desirable that it should not be inflicted.

(2) Yet there was great difficulty in pardoning him who had offended, for

(a) the law was absolute in the case;

(b) the evidence was clear that Daniel had done what the law forbade;

(c) the law of the realm prohibited any change;

(d) the character and government of the king were involved in the matter. If he interposed and saved Daniel, and thus suffered the law to be violated with impunity, the result would be that there would be a want of stability in his administration, and any other subject could hope that he might violate the law with the same impunity. justice, and the honor of the government, therefore, seemed to demand that the law should be enforced, and the penalty inflicted.

(3) It may be added, that cases of this kind are frequently occurring in the administration of law - cases where there is a conflict between justice and mercy, and where one must be sacrificed to the other. There are numerous instances in which there can be no doubt that the law has been violated, and yet in which strong reasons exist why the offender should be pardoned. Yet there are great difficulties in the whole subject of pardon, and there are more embarrassments in regard to this than anything else pertaining to the administration of the laws. If an offence is never pardoned, then the government is stern and inexorable, and its administration violates some of the finest and most tender feelings of our nature for there are cases when all the benevolent feelings of our nature demand that there should be the remission of a penalty - cases, modified by youth, or age, or sex, or temptation, or previous character, or former service rendered to one’s country. And yet pardon in any instance always does just so much to weaken the strong arm of the law. It is a proclamation that in some cases crime may be committed with impunity. If often exercised, law loses its force, and men are little deterred from crime by fear of it. If it were always exercised, and a proclamation were sent forth that anyone who committed an offence might be pardoned, the authority of government would be at an end. Those, therefore, who are entrusted with the administration of the laws, are often substantially in the same perplexity in which Darius was in respect to Daniel - all whose feelings incline them to mercy, and who yet see no way in which it can be exercised consistently with the administration of justice and the prevention of crime.

And he labored - He sought to devise some way in which it might be done.

Till the going down of the sun - Houbigant understands this, “Until the sun arose;” but the common rendering is probably the correct one. Why that hour is mentioned is not known. It would seem from the following verse that the king was pressed by his counselors to carry the decree into execution, and it is probable that the king saw that the case was a perfectly clear one, and that nothing could be hoped for from delay. The law was clear, and it was equally clear that it had been violated. There was no way, then, but to suffer it to take its course.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

In the first place, Daniel recites that the king was disturbed, when he perceived the malice of his nobles which had formerly escaped him; for their intention and their object had never occurred to him; he perceives himself deceived and entrapped, and hence he is disturbed. Here again we are taught how cautiously kings ought to avoid depraved counsels, since they are besieged on every side by perfidious men, whose only object is to gain by their false representations, and to oppress their enemies, and those from whom they hope for booty or who may favor their evil courses. Because so many snares surround kings, they ought to be the more cautious in providing against cunning. They are too late in acknowledging themselves to have been overreached, when no remedy is left, partly through fear, and partly through wishing to consult their own credit; and they prefer offending God to suffering any outward disrespect from men. Since, therefore, kings consider their own honor so sacred, they persevere in their evil undertakings, even when their conscience accuses them; and even if justice itself were to appear visibly before them, yet this restraint would not be sufficient to withhold them, when ambition urges them in the opposite direction, and they are unwilling to lose the slightest portion of their reputation among men. The case of Darius supplies us with an example of this kind.

First of all, it is said, He was sorrowful when he heard these words, and was anxious till the setting of the sun about the way of snatching Daniel from death He wished this to be done, if his own honor were sound and safe, and his nobles were satisfied. But on the one side, he fears disunion if his nobles should conspire to produce disturbance; and on the other side, he is moved by a foolish fear, because he does not wish to incur the charge of levity which awaited him, and hence he is vanquished and obeys the lusts of the wicked. Although, therefore, he labored till the setting of the sun to free Daniel, yet that perverse shame prevailed of which I have spoken, and then the fear of dissension. For when we do not lean upon God’s help, we are always compelled to vacillate, although anxious to be honestly affected. Thus Pilate wished to liberate Christ, but was terrified by the threats of the people, when they denounced against him the displeasure of Caesar. (John 19:12.) And no wonder, since faith is alone a certain and fixed prop on which we may lean while fearlessly discharging our duty, and thus overcome all fears. But when we want confidence, we are, as I have said, sure to be changeable. Hence Darius, through fear of a conspiracy of his nobles against himself, permitted Daniel to be an innocent sufferer from their cruelty. Then that false shame is added which I have mentioned, because he was unwilling to appear without consideration, by suddenly revoking his own edict, as it was a law with the Medes and Persians that whatever proceeded from kings was inviolable! Daniel now states this. He says, those men assembled together; when they saw the king hesitate and doubt, they became fierce and contentious with him. When it is said they meet together, this relates to their inspiring him with fear. They say, Know, O king! He knew it well enough, and they need not instruct him in any unknown matter, but they treat him in a threatening manner. “What? dost thou not see how utterly the royal name will be hereafter deprived of its authority if he violates thine edict with impunity? Will you thus permit yourself to become a laughingstock? Finally, they intimate, that he would not be king unless he revenged the insult offered him by Daniel in neglecting his commandment. Know, therefore, O king, that the Persians and Medes — he was himself king of the Medes, but it is just as if they said, What kind of rumor will be spread through all thy subject provinces; for thou knowest how far this prevails among the Medes and Persians — the king must not change his edict. If, therefore, thou shouldst set such an example, will not all thy subjects instantly rise against thee? and wilt thou not be contemptible to them?” We see, then, how the satraps rage against their king, and frighten him from any change of counsel. And they also join the edict with the statute, which the king had resolved upon, with the view of impressing upon him the necessity of not changing a single decree which he had often and repeatedly sanctioned. It follows:

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 6

Now it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom ( Daniel 6:1 );

Now that the Persian, Medo-Persian Empire, has conquered over the Babylonian Empire, Darius who was co-reigning with Cyrus set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty princes.

And there were three presidents; of whom Daniel was the first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage ( Daniel 6:2 ).

So Daniel immediately moved into a position of extremely high authority within this Medo-Persian Empire, being made one of the three presidents and the head over them.

Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the entire realm. But then the other presidents, the princes sought to find an occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no occasions nor faults; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We will not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God ( Daniel 6:3-5 ).

This guy is just too good. We're never going to be able to trip him up unless it be with the law of his God.

Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said unto him, King Darius, live for ever. All of the presidents of the kingdom, and the governors, and the princes, and the counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, except from you, O king, he shall be cast in the den of lions ( Daniel 6:6-7 ).

This, of course, would be... a guy would have to be stupid to make this kind of a proclamation. No one can ask anybody for anything for thirty days except me. Now they were, of course, playing up to his pride, and flattery, you know, "You're so great and all. The people need to know how great you are. So to demonstrate this let's make this proclamation. That throughout the entire kingdom, no one can pray to any god or ask anybody for anything except you so that they'll know how great you are and all."

Now, O king, establish the decree, sign the writing ( Daniel 6:8 ),

They have made this proclamation, brought it in to him, now sign it, seal it.

that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which alters not. Wherefore king Darius sign the writing and the decree ( Daniel 6:8-9 ).

Now notice that the decree once signed cannot be changed, even by Darius the king. It shows that his rule was not as strong as was Nebuchadnezzar's. Nebuchadnezzar could make any decree and change any decree. He could do anything; he had the complete control. Whom he would he, you know, saved alive; whom he would he killed. I mean, he just had absolute control. With this he was controlled by the decrees.

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed ( Daniel 6:10 ),

I like this. Daniel knew that the king had signed the thing.

he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he was accustomed to do. And these men being assembled, found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God ( Daniel 6:10-11 ).

Now in the book of Second Chronicles, when Solomon had dedicated the temple that he had built unto the Lord, Solomon prayed a beautiful prayer at the dedication. And in a part of the prayer of Solomon, he said, "Oh Lord, if these people turn their back against Thee, and they begin to worship and serve other gods, and they be taken captive by their enemies, if they shall turn toward this place and pray unto Thee, then hear Thou from Thy holy place in heaven and answer their prayer and deliver them from their captivity." And we remember God responded to this prayer of Solomon by saying, "If My people which are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and heal their nation" ( 2 Chronicles 7:14 ), and so forth. So that Daniel was taken captive. But even as Solomon prayed, "Lord, if they turn toward this place and pray," and so he was turning toward the holy place in the temple.

Now that is why the Jews today go to the Western Wall and pray facing the Western Wall. Because on the other side of the Western Wall somewhere the Holy of Holies once stood in Solomon's temple. And so they are praying toward that place. Solomon said, "This place that I built unto Thee, you know, the heavens of heavens can't contain You, much less this house that I have built. But O God, we pray that this will be the place where the people can meet You. And if they turn toward this place and pray and call upon Thee." And so Daniel was turning towards Jerusalem. And three times a day during this seventy years that Daniel was in a captive in Babylon, it was his custom to just turn towards this place and pray unto God for the people, for the nation. What a beautiful man Daniel must be. What a privilege it would be to go up and shake his hand. Get acquainted with this fellow. He's one of the top on my list of fellows that I want to meet when I get to heaven. I really admired Daniel. Courage of this man, knowing the king had signed it, he went, as was his custom, left his windows open. He didn't bother, you know, hide anything, prayed unto God.

And then they came near, and they spake to the king concerning the king's decree; Have you not signed the decree, that every man that asked a petition of any God or man within thirty days, except from you, 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 Medes and the Persians, which thus cannot be altered. Then answered they and said before the king, Daniel, which is of the children of captivity of Judah, does not regard you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but he makes his petition three times a day. Then the king, when he heard these words, was very displeased with himself, and he set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he labored until the going down of the sun. And then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and the Persians is, That no decree or statute which the king established may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. And now the king spake unto him and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you ( Daniel 6:12-16 ).

Imagine this Darius, the king of the Medes, comforting Daniel. "Now don't worry, Daniel. I've got to do this, you know. I was a fool. But the God that you serve, He will deliver you." He sounds like the three Hebrew children. "The God that we serve, He is able to deliver us from your burning fiery furnace. And He will deliver us from your hand, and if He doesn't we're still not going to bow."

So a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and the signet of his lords; the purpose it might not be changed concerning Daniel. And then the king went to his palace, and he passed the night in fasting: neither did they bring the instruments of music before him: and his sleep had gone from him. And then the king arose very early in the morning, and he went in haste to the den of lions. And he came to the den, and he cried with a lamentable voice ( Daniel 6:17-20 )

I like that; half hoping, wondering.

a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions? ( Daniel 6:20 )

Now the king had some faith or he'd had never gone out there. Crying unto Daniel, the question. He said to him the night before, "Don't worry, Daniel. Your God is able to deliver you." But he had a question in his mind. So he asked the question, "Is your God able?"

Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel, and he has shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, I have done no hurt. Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and he commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, their wives; the lions had mastery over them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever hit the bottom of the den. Then king Darius wrote unto all the people, nations, and languages, that dwell in the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end ( Daniel 6:21-26 ).

What a proclamation for a pagan king.

He delivers and rescues, and he works signs and wonders in heaven and in the earth, and who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian ( Daniel 6:27-28 ).

Darius was the king over the Medes, and Cyrus over the Persians. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Daniel’s faithfulness and Darius’ predicament 6:10-15

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Daniel had so won the king’s favor that Darius immediately and energetically began trying to rescue his friend. Nebuchadnezzar had become angry with Daniel’s three friends when they refused to idolize him (Daniel 3:19), but Darius became angry with himself for signing the decree (cf. Daniel 2:1; Daniel 3:13; Daniel 5:6; Daniel 5:9). This shows how much he respected and valued Daniel.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself,.... Or "at it" e; or "with him"; with Daniel, not so much for what he had done, but that he had not done it with more caution, or more privately, that it might not have been known: or rather, as we render it, "with himself", that he should so rashly sign the decree, without considering the consequences of it; for he now found that he was circumvented by his princes, and that their design was not his honour and glory, but the destruction of Daniel: or the sense in general is, that what he heard was very disagreeable, afflictive, and distressing to him:

and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; he resolved, if possible, to do it; he applied his mind to it; he turned his thoughts wholly that way, and contrived all ways and means to effect it: R. Mattathiah, in Saadiah, interprets the phrase of his offering money as a ransom for his life:

and he laboured till the going down of the sun to save him; from the will of the princes, and from the jaws of the lions: very probably it was early in the morning these princes found Daniel at prayer, who went immediately to the king with their accusation; so that he was all day labouring with all his might and main to find out ways and means to save his darling favourite; he studied to put such a sense upon his decree, that it might not reach Daniel's case; he strove to make the princes easy, and to persuade them to drop the affair, and not insist on the execution of the decree.

e עלוהי "super eo", Montanus; "super ipsum", De Dieu.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.   12 Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that 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 Medes and Persians, which altereth not.   13 Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.   14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.   15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.   16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will 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, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

      Here is 1. Proof made of Daniel's praying to his God, notwithstanding the late edict to the contrary (Daniel 6:11; Daniel 6:11): These men assembled; the came tumultuously together, so the word is, the same that was used Daniel 6:6; Daniel 6:6, borrowed from Psalms 2:1, Why do the heathen rage? They came together to visit Daniel, perhaps under pretence of business, at that time which they knew to be his usual hour of devotion; and, if they had not found him so engaged, they would have upbraided him with his faint-heartedness and distrust of his God, but (which they rather wished to do) they found him on his knees praying and making supplication before his God. For his love they are his adversaries; but, like his father David, he gives himself unto prayer,Psalms 109:4. 2. Complaint made of it to the king. When they had found occasion against Daniel concerning the law of his God they lost no time, but applied to the king (Daniel 6:12; Daniel 6:12), and having appealed to his whether there was not such a law made, and gained from him a recognition of it, and that it was so ratified that it might not be altered, they proceeded to accuse Daniel, Daniel 6:13; Daniel 6:13. They so describe him, in the information they give, as to exasperate the king and incense him the more against him: "He is of the children of the captivity of Judah; he is of Judah, that despicable people, and now a captive in a despicable state, that can call nothing his own but what he has by the king's favour, and yet he regards not thee, O king! nor the decree that thou hast signed." Note, It is no new thing for that which is done faithfully, in the conscience towards God, to be misrepresented as done obstinately and in contempt of the civil powers, that is, for the best saints to be reproached as the worst men. Daniel regarded God, and therefore prayed, and we have reason to think prayed for the king and his government, yet this is construed as not regarding the king. That excellent spirit which Daniel was endued with, and that established reputation which he had gained, could not protect him from these poisonous darts. They do not say, He makes his petition to his God, lest Darius should take notice of that to his praise, but only, He makes his petition, which is the thing the law forbids. 3. The great concern the king was in hereupon. He now perceived that, whatever they pretended, it was not to honour him, but in spite to Daniel, that they had proposed that law, and now he is sorely displeased with himself for gratifying them in it, Daniel 6:14; Daniel 6:14. Note, When men indulge a proud vain-glorious humour, and please themselves with that which feeds it, they know not what vexations they are preparing for themselves; their flatterers may prove their tormentors, and are but spreading a net for their feet. Now, the king sets his heart to deliver Daniel; both by argument and by authority he labours till the going down of the sun to deliver him, that is, to persuade his accusers not to insist upon his prosecution. Note, We often do that, through inconsideration, which afterwards we see cause a thousand times to wish undone again, which is a good reason why we should ponder the path of our feet, for then all our ways will be established. 4. The violence with which the prosecutors demanded judgment, Daniel 6:15; Daniel 6:15. We are not told what Daniel said; the king himself is his advocate, he needs not plead his own cause, but silently commits himself and it to him that judges righteously. But the prosecutors insist upon it that the law must have its course; it is a fundamental maxim in the constitution of the government of the Medes and Persians, which had now become the universal monarchy, that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed. The same we find Esther 1:19; Esther 8:8. The Chaldeans magnified the will of their king, by giving him a power to make and unmake laws at his pleasure, to slay and keep alive whom he would. The Persians magnified the wisdom of their king, by supposing that whatever law he solemnly ratified it was so well made that there could be no occasion to alter it, or dispense with it, as if any human foresight could, in framing a law, guard against all inconveniences. But, if this maxim be duly applied to Daniel's case (as I am apt to think it is not, but perverted), while it honours the king's legislative power it hampers his executive power, and incapacitates him to show that mercy which upholds the throne, and to pass acts of indemnity, which are the glories of a reign. Those who allow not the sovereign's power to dispense with a disabling statute, yet never question his power to pardon an offence against a penal statute. But Darius is denied this power. See what need we have to pray for princes that God would give them wisdom, for they are often embarrassed with great difficulties, even the wisest and best are. 5. The executing of the law upon Daniel. The king himself, with the utmost reluctance, and against his conscience, signs the warrant for his execution; and Daniel, that venerable grave man, who carried such a mixture of majesty and sweetness in his countenance, who had so often looked great upon the bench, and at the council-board, and greater upon his knees, who had power with God and man, and had prevailed, is brought, purely for worshipping his God, as if he had been one of the vilest of malefactors, and thrown into the den of lions, to be devoured by them, Daniel 6:16; Daniel 6:16. One cannot think of it without the utmost compassion to the gracious sufferer and the utmost indignation at the malicious prosecutors. To make sure work, the stone laid upon the mouth of the den is sealed, and the king (an over-easy man) is persuaded to seal it with his own signet (Daniel 6:17; Daniel 6:17), that unhappy signet with which he had confirmed the law that Daniel falls by. But his lords cannot trust him, unless they add their signets too. Thus, when Christ was buried, his adversaries sealed the stone that was rolled to the door of his sepulchre. 6. The encouragement which Darius gave to Daniel to trust in God: Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee,Daniel 6:16; Daniel 6:16. Here (1.) He justifies Daniel from guilt, owning all his crime to be serving his God continually, and continuing to do so even when it was made a crime. (2.) He leaves it to God to free him from punishment, since he could not prevail to do it: He will deliver thee. He is sure that his God can deliver him, for he believes him to be an almighty God, and he has reason to think he will do it, having heard of his delivering Daniel's companions in a like case from the fiery furnace, and concluding him to be always faithful to those who approve themselves faithful to him. Note, Those who serve God continually he will continually preserve, and will bear them out in his service.