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1 And Darius, the Mede, succeeded to the kingdom, being sixty-two years old. 2 It seemed good to Darius, and he appointed over the kingdom a hundred and twenty governors, to be over his whole kingdom. 3 And three princes over them of whom Daniel was one: that the governors might give an account to them, and the king might have no trouble. 4 And Daniel excelled all the princes, and governors: because a greater spirit of God was in him. 5 And the king thought to set him over all the kingdom; whereupon the princes, and the governors, sought to find occasion against Daniel, with regard to the king: and they could find no cause, nor suspicion, because he was faithful, and no fault, nor suspicion was found in him.

6 Then these men said: We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, unless perhaps concerning the law of his God. 7 Then the princes, and the governors, craftily suggested to the king, and spoke thus unto him: King Darius, live for ever: 8 All the princes of the kingdom, the magistrates, and governors, the senators, and judges, have consulted together, that an imperial decree, and an edict be published: That whosoever shall ask any petition of any god, or man, for thirty days, but of you, O king, shall be cast into the den of the lions.

9 Now, therefore, O king, confirm the sentence, and sign the decree: that what is decreed by the Medes and Persians may not be altered, nor any man be allowed to transgress it. 10 So King Darius set forth the decree, and established it.

11 Now, when Daniel knew this, that is to say, that the law was made, he went into his house: and opening the windows in his upper chamber towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored and gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before. 12 Wherefore those men carefully watching him, found Daniel praying and making supplication to his God. 13 And they came and spoke to the king concerning the edict: O king, have you not decreed, that every man that should make a request to any of the gods, or men, for thirty days, but to yourself, O king, should be cast into the den of the lions? And the king answered them, saying: The word is true, according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, which it is not lawful to violate.



14 Then they answered, and said before the king: Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Juda, has not regarded your law, nor the decree that you have made: but three times a day he makes his prayer. 15 Now when the king had heard these words, he was very much grieved, and in behalf of Daniel he set his heart to deliver him, and even till sunset he laboured to save him. 16 But those men perceiving the king's design, said to him: Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree which the king has made, may be altered. 17 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of the lions. And the king said to Daniel: Your God, whom you always serve, he will deliver you. 18 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den: which the king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, that nothing should be done against Daniel.

19 And the king went away to his house, and laid himself down without taking supper, and meat was not set before him, and even sleep departed from him. 20 Then the king rising very early in the morning, went in haste to the lions' den: 21 And coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel, and said to him: Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve always, been able, do you think, to deliver you from the lions? 22 And Daniel answering the king, said: O king, live for ever: 23 My God has sent his angel, and has shut up the mouths of the lions, and they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him justice has been found in me: yea, and before you, O king, I have done no offence.

24 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and he commanded that Daniel should be taken out of the den: and Daniel was taken out of the den, and no hurt was found in him, because he believed in his God. 25 And by the king's commandment, those men were brought that had accused Daniel: and they were cast into the lions' den, they and their children, and their wives: and they did not reach the bottom of the den, before the lions caught them, and broke all their bones in pieces.

26 Then King Darius wrote to all people, tribes, and languages, dwelling in the whole earth: PEACE be multiplied unto you. 27 It is decreed by me, that in all my empire and my kingdom, all men dread and fear the God of Daniel. For he is the living and eternal God for ever: and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his power shall be for ever. 28 He is the deliverer, and saviour, doing signs and wonders in heaven, and in earth: who has delivered Daniel out of the lions' den. 29 Now Daniel continued unto the reign of Darius, and the reign of Cyrus, the Persian.

 

6:1 Chapter 7 refers back to the reign of Baltasar, which means that the chronological order of Daniel, as St. Jerome points out, ends in chapter 6. 6:3-7 Inquiring as to who these princes might be, it is more clearly specified in the Septuagint, which renders:

"...and the two men whom the king had appointed with Daniel, and also the one hundred twenty satraps." And so it was the fact that the king was planning to appoint Daniel as chief ruler even over the two princes who had been associated with him that gave rise to the envy and intrigue. (St. Jerome)

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6:11 upper chamber: he did this out of courage so everyone could see. towards Jerusalem: he did this not only to provoke his accusers, but also to fulfull an ancient law, when Soloman built that famous temple and celebrated the festival of consecration. 1 Kings 8:48 (Theodoret of Cyrus) three times a day: Observance of certain hours will not be unprofitable. However this practice stands simply without any command for its observance, still it may be granted a good thing to establish some definite standard, which may both develop a habit to pray, and may, as it were by a law, tear us out from our businesses unto such a duty. (Tertullian) There is an ancient tradition of the Church to pray three times a day and understands them to be the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour i.e., 9:00 A.M., 12:00 M., and 3:00 P.M.. It was at

the third hour that the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles Acts 3. It was at the sixth hour that Peter, purposing to eat, ascended to the upper room for prayer Acts 10. It was at the ninth hour that Peter and John were on their way to the Temple Acts 3. (St. Jerome) 6:18 He sealed with his ring the rock by which the opening of the pit was shut up, so that the enemies of Daniel might not make any attempt to harm him. For he had entrusted him to the power of God, and although not worried about lions, he was fearful of men. He also sealed it with the ring of his nobles, in order to avoid all ground for suspicion so far as they were concerned. (St. Jerome)

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6:23-25 Josephus says, "Now when his enemies saw that Daniel had suffered nothing, they would not accept that he was preserved by God, but they said that the lions had been filled full with food, and on that account it was, as they supposed, that the lions would not touch Daniel, nor come to him; and this they alleged to the king." did not reach the bottom of the den: This was to prevent their claiming that the lions shunned Daniel on account of overfeeding, and thus through envy belittling the miracle that occurred. (Theodoret of Cyrus) those men: as mentioned above in footnote for verses 3-7, the Septuagint clarifies who 'those men' actually are, they are the other two princes that were appointed with Daniel; for the Septuagint says, "Then those two men who witnessed against Daniel, they and their wives and their children were thrown to the lions." they were cast into the lions' den, they and their children, and their wives: Ancient Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus says concerning the Persians in his time, "Their laws are remarkably severe; the most stringent

are against ingratitude and against deserters; some too are abominable, inasmuch as for the crime of one man they condemn all his relations." But the Law of Moses says the opposite, "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: but every man shall die for his own sins Ex. 24:16." 6:29 And so the statement which we read above at the end of the first vision, "And Daniel lived until the first year of King Cyrus," is not to be understood as defining the span of his life. In view of the fact that we read in the last vision: "In the third year of Cyrus, King of the Persians, a word was revealed to Daniel, whose surname was Belteshazzar"; this is what is meant, that up to the first year of King Cyrus, who destroyed the empire of the Chaldeans, Daniel continued in power in Chaldea, but was afterwards transferred to Media by Darius. (St. Jerome)