Danielchapter 6
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Daniel in the Lions' Den, Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Key verse
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, 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 did aforetime.
It stands in Windows open toward Jerusalem, three times a day, verses 10 to 15.
The chapter
Chapter summary
Under Darius the Mede, Daniel is set over a hundred and twenty satraps and marked for promotion over the whole realm 'because an excellent spirit was in him.' His rivals can find no fault in his administration and conclude they must attack his religion, so they flatter the king into an interdict against petitioning any god or man for thirty days: irrevocable under the law of the Medes and Persians. Daniel goes home, and with his windows open toward Jerusalem kneels upon his knees three times a day, as he had always done. The king spends a sleepless night and calls at dawn; the answer echoes in Hebrews 11: 'My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths.'
Context
Prophecy · Daniel · Daniel overview
Where the chapter sits
Daniel 6 falls in Court narratives (chapters 1–6). The exile to Babylon; the king's dream of the statue (2); the fiery furnace (3); Nebuchadnezzar's madness and restoration (4); Belshazzar's feast (5); the lions' den (6).
The lions' den. Daniel in the den; the king fasting; the stone and the signet.
After it: Apocalyptic visions, chapters 7–12.
The whole shape of Daniel→The world behind this chapter
Daniel 6The history
Who "Darius the Mede" was is an open question. He is not Darius I, who came to the throne years later. Proposals include Gubaru, the officer Cyrus installed over Babylon, and Cyrus himself under a second title. No inscription has settled it, and the chapter works the same either way.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
The administration described is Persian to the core. The empire was divided into satrapies, large provinces, each under a satrap who collected tribute, kept order, and answered to the king. Layering presidents over the satraps to audit them is exactly the sort of anti-corruption plumbing a new regime installs. Daniel, a holdover from the previous government, was good enough at it to be resented.
The trap depends on a rule this book states twice and Esther states again: a decree sealed with the king's ring could not be revoked, not even by the king. No Persian document outside the Bible describes that rule, so historians argue about whether it was law, court etiquette, or the storyteller's shorthand. It drives the crisis in Esther the same way, a death sentence on the Jews that cannot be cancelled and has to be answered with a second decree, and the chapter works the same whichever it was.
The lions were royal property. Assyrian and Persian kings kept big cats for the hunt, and palace reliefs from Nineveh show lions released from cages for the king to shoot. Feeding a condemned man to them was a use of the royal menagerie, not a fairy tale.
Notice what Daniel does not do. He does not argue, protest, or hide. He goes home, opens the windows toward Jerusalem, and prays three times a day exactly as he always had.
What it meant to them
Exiles reading this were living under laws they had no vote in and no way to change. The chapter does not promise them a friendly government. It shows a good law-abiding servant framed by his colleagues using a legal system that could not be appealed.
The windows toward Jerusalem are the heart of it. Daniel was praying toward a ruined city, in a foreign capital, under a law that made it a capital crime, and God shut the lions' mouths. Then a pagan king wrote a decree telling the whole empire that the God of Daniel is the living God whose kingdom does not end.
Sources cited
- Edwin Yamauchi, Persia and the Bible
- Herodotus, Histories (public domain)
- K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament
The structure of this chapter
Places1
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. An edict crafted to trap one faithful man
1. (vv. 1-3)
Daniel 6:1
“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes,.... This is the same Darius mentioned in the latter part of the preceding chapter; who, as soon as he took the kingdom of Babylon, divided it into a hundred and twenty provinces, as Jacchiades observes; as was the manner of the Medes and Persians.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Daniel 6:1
“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom - Evidently over the kingdom of Babylon, now united to that of Media and Persia. As this was now subject to him, and tributary to him, it would be natural to appoint persons over it in whom he could confide, for the administration of justice, for the collection of revenue, etc. Others however, suppose that this relates to the whole kingdom of Persia, but as the reference here is mainly to what was the kingdom of Babylon, it is rather to be presumed that this is what is particularly alluded to.”
Daniel 6:2
“Three presidents - Each having forty of these presidents accountable to him for their administration. Daniel was first - As being established over that part where was the seat of government. He was confirmed in his offices by Darius.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:2
“We must notice, in the context of this history, how Daniel alone was chosen by Darius one of these three superior officers. He was the third in rank under king Belshazzar, although for a moment, yet it might occasion envy under the new king that so great an honor was conferred upon him.”
John Calvin· Commentaries (1554)reformed
Daniel 6:3
“Hence the very expression used by the queen mother on that occasion (Da 5:12) is here used, "because an excellent spirit was in him." king thought to set him over the whole realm--Agreeing with Darius' character, weak and averse to business, which he preferred to delegate to favorites.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:3
“We must take notice of it, to the glory of God, that, though Daniel was now very old (it was above seventy years since he was brought a captive to Babylon), yet he was as able as ever for business both in body and mind, and that he who had continued faithful to his religion through all the temptations of the foregoing reigns in a new government was as much respected as ever.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
an hundred and twenty princes: Darius sets an hundred and twenty princes over the kingdom with three presidents above them, Daniel first among the three, and the bench reads the structure as ordinary imperial administration rather than anything unusual for a conquering power organizing a new territory. Daniel is preferred above the presidents and princes because an excellent spirit was in him, the same phrase the queen used of him to Belshazzar in the previous chapter, and the king's plan to set him over the whole kingdom is what triggers everything that follows. Gill notes Daniel's advanced age at this point, likely past eighty, makes the promotion and the envy it provokes all the more remarkable.
2. (vv. 4-5)
Daniel 6:4
“Sought to find occasion against Daniel - But they found no blemish in his administration, for he was faithful to his king: this was a virtue. But he was also faithful to his God: this they hoped to construe into a crime, and make it the cause of his ruin.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:4
“Accordingly, after this happened, the governors and satraps were stirred with jealousy and sought to find a pretext against Daniel, so that they might take some occasion against him and accuse him and kill him. In which manner the word was fulfilled, which we spoke a little before, that a pious man or one who fears God and has grace and wisdom from God is hated by the rest of men because they also were not honored with the same gift.”
Hippolytus of Rome· written before 235· Commentary on Daniel 3.19.3-6patristic
Daniel 6:5
“It is observable that, when Daniel's enemies could find no occasion against him concerning the kingdom, they had so much sense of justice left that they did not suborn witnesses against him to accuse him of crimes he was innocent of, and to swear treason upon him, wherein they shame many that were called Jews and are called Christians.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
sought to find occasion against Daniel: The presidents and princes search Daniel's public record for an occasion and find none, neither error nor fault, a verdict the text states plainly before the conspirators state their own conclusion in verse 5: they will not find occasion against this Daniel except against him concerning the law of his God. Henry reads this as one of Scripture's clearest tributes to a man's integrity, an enemy search that comes up empty being a harder compliment than any friend could pay, and the conspirators' own words concede it. The plot that follows is therefore built on Daniel's virtue rather than any vice, using his faithfulness as the very lever against him.
3. (vv. 6-9)
Daniel 6:6
“Then these presidents and princes assembled together - Margin, came tumultuously. The margin expresses the proper meaning of the original word - רגשׁ râgash - to run together with tumult. Why they came together in that manner is not stated. Bertholdt suggests that it means that they came in a procession, or in a body, to the king; but there is undoubtedly the idea of their doing it with haste, or with an appearance of great earnestness or excitement.”
Daniel 6:7
“But it was much worse, and an impudent affront to all religion, to forbid asking a petition of any god. It is by prayer that we give glory to God, fetch in mercy from God; and so keep up our communion with God; and to interdict 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.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Daniel 6:7
“All the presidents of the kingdom, the governor ... - Several functionaries are enumerated here who are not in the previous verses, as having entered into the conspiracy. It is possible, indeed, that all these different classes of officers had been consulted, and had concurred in asking the enactment of the proposed law; but it is much more probable that the leaders merely represented or affirmed what is here said in order to be more certain of the enactment of the law.”
Daniel 6:7
“They evidently exaggerated the case of the weak king, as if their request was that of all the officers in the empire. den of lions--an underground cave or pit, covered with a stone. It is an undesigned proof of genuineness, that the "fiery furnace" is not made the means of punishment here, as in Da 3:20; for the Persians were fire-worshippers, which the Babylonians were not.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Daniel 6:8
“According to the law of the Medes and Persians - I do not think that this is to be understood so as to imply that whatever laws or ordinances the Medes or Persians once enacted, they never changed them. This would argue extreme folly in legislators in any country. Nothing more appears to be meant than that the decree should be enacted, written, and registered, according to the legal forms among the Medes and Persians; and this one to be made absolute for thirty days.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Daniel 6:9
“Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. Moved to it by the number and importunity of his principal men; and chiefly through affectation of deity, which this law gave him; and that he might have an opportunity of ingratiating himself into his new subjects by his munificence and liberality, not being aware of the snare laid for his favourite, Daniel.”
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:9
“Such a despotic decree is quite explicable by remembering that the king, as the incarnation of Ormuzd, might demand such an act of religious obedience as a test of loyalty. Persecuting laws are always made on false pretenses.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
King Darius, live for ever: The conspirators bring the king a decree engineered to look like flattery, thirty days of petitions to Darius alone, and press him to sign it according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not, a formula the bench sets directly beside the same unalterable law governing Esther's court. Barnes reads the appeal to the king's vanity, live for ever, as calculated to keep Darius from asking why such a decree is needed at all, and the trap closes the moment his signature is on the writing, since even a king who wished to reverse it now cannot. The chapter's real subject surfaces here before Daniel appears in the plot at all: a government whose law cannot bend also cannot pardon.
B. Windows open toward Jerusalem, three times a day
1. (vv. 10-11)
Daniel 6:10
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed - He saw what was designed, and he knew whom he served. His windows being open - He would not shut them to conceal himself, but “kneeled down with his face turned toward Jerusalem, and prayed thrice each day, giving thanks to God as usual.” When the Jews were in distant countries, in prayer they turned their faces towards Jerusalem; and when in Jerusalem, they turned their faces towards the temple.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Daniel 6:10
“Toward Jerusalem - The temple was the place where the Lord placed his name, and promised to appear, and accept his people, all being a type of Christ, through whom only sinners are accepted. As he did aforetime - He did not abate his prayers for the king's command, nor did he break the law purposely, because he did no more than he was wont to do in serving his God.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Daniel 6:10
“To Christ in the heavenly temple let us turn our eyes in prayer, from this land of our captivity (1Ki 8:44, 48; Ps 5:7). chamber--the upper room, where prayer was generally offered by the Jews (Ac 1:13). Not on the housetop (Ac 10:9), where he would be conspicuous. upon his knees--Humble attitudes in prayer become humble suppliants. three times a day-- (Ps 55:17).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Daniel 6:10
“Cornelius was a man that prayed in his house, Acts x. Note, Every house not only may be, but ought to be, a house of prayer; where we have a tent God must have an alter, and on it we must offer spiritual sacrifices. (2.) In every prayer he gave thanks.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem: Daniel's response to the signed decree is not new caution but old habit continued in the open, his windows toward Jerusalem, kneeling three times a day, praying and giving thanks as he did aforetime, and the bench reads as he did aforetime as the verse's real weight: he changes nothing rather than defying anything freshly. Praying toward Jerusalem recalls Solomon's own prayer at 1 Kings 8:48 that the exiles would pray toward the land and the house built for God's name, which the older writers read Daniel as consciously fulfilling from Babylon itself. He prays with the windows open knowing the decree exists, which JFB reads as neither reckless provocation nor timid concealment but simple constancy under a law he will not let reorder his worship.
2. (vv. 12-13)
Daniel 6:12
“Shall be cast into the den of lions - Either this was the royal menagerie, like that place in the Tower of London, where wild beasts are kept for the king’s pleasure, and the public amusement; or they were kept for the purpose of devouring certain criminals, which the laws might consign to that kind of death. This is most likely, from the case before us.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Daniel 6:13
“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. The great concern the king was in hereupon.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Hast thou not signed a decree: The conspirators force Darius to restate his own decree before naming the offender, trapping him with his own words, the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not, before revealing that Daniel is the man who regardeth not thee, O king. Clarke notes the phrase children of the captivity of Judah is used with the same edge Belshazzar used of Daniel in the previous chapter, a reminder meant to diminish him as a foreign exile rather than the kingdom's own trusted president. The accusation is technically accurate and morally false, which is exactly the kind of charge integrity cannot answer by denial, only by the God it trusts.
3. (vv. 14-15)
Daniel 6:15
“Then these men assembled unto the king - The Chaldee here is the same as in Dan 6:6, “they came tumultuously.” They were earnest that the law should be executed, and they probably apprehended that if the king were allowed to dwell upon it, the firmness of his own mind would give way, and that he would release Daniel. Perhaps they dreaded the effect of the compunctious visitings which he might have during the silence of the night, and they, therefore, came tumultuously to hasten his decision.”
1 more voice on this verse
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.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him: Darius is sore displeased with himself, not with Daniel, and labors till the going down of the sun trying to find a way out of his own law, a detail the bench reads as the king's belated recognition that he has been used. His labor fails against the very formula he was flattered into signing, and the conspirators return to press the point again, that no decree which the king establisheth may be changed, closing every door the king searches for. Henry contrasts Darius's genuine distress with Pilate's later and far less honest hand-washing, a king trapped by his own law rather than one merely indifferent to justice.
C. Sealed in the den, and a king who cannot sleep
1. (vv. 16-17)
Daniel 6:16
“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.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
cast him into the den of lions: The king's own hope escapes him even as he gives the order, thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee, spoken to Daniel by the pagan king who has just condemned him, which the bench reads as testimony wrung out of Darius by Daniel's own long witness in his court. The stone laid on the den's mouth is sealed with the king's own signet and his lords', a double seal meant to make any rescue, human or otherwise, undeniable if it occurred. Several of the older writers set the sealed stone beside another sealed stone in the church's reading, a stone rolled to a tomb's mouth and later found rolled away, named as their reading and not argued as the text's own claim here.
2. (v. 18)
Daniel 6:18
“He is sorry for the evil which he himself had caused, yet takes no steps to remedy it. There are many such halters between good and bad, who are ill at ease in their sins, yet go forward in them, and are drawn on by others.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Daniel 6:18-20
passed the night fasting: Darius passes the night fasting, without music, his sleep gone from him, a king's own vigil kept for a servant rather than for himself, and rises early to go in haste to the den, calling with a lamentable voice before he even knows the answer. His question to Daniel names God as the living God and asks whether he whom thou servest continually is able to deliver, the same confession the queen and Nebuchadnezzar each came to in their own words earlier in the book. Barnes reads Darius's night as the closest a pagan king in Daniel comes to genuine anguish over another man's fate rather than his own.
D. God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths
1. (vv. 19-20)
Daniel 6:20
“He cried with a lamentable voice - His heart, full of grief, affected his speech. Servant of the living God - The king was convinced that, unless his God saved him, his destruction was inevitable.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Daniel 6:20
“Able to deliver - What he doubted of, we are sure of, that the servants of the living God, have a master who is able to deliver them and bear them out in his service.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Daniel 6:20
“THE empire of Babylonia and Chaldea passed into the hands of a new dynasty and king Belshazzar was slain in a night-assault upon his capital. On that very night, he had clothed Daniel in scarlet and made him the third ruler in the Kingdom. This was Providential, for, had Daniel been in obscurity, he would have been little likely to attract the notice of Darius. But, observing him in the palace, clothed in scarlet, Darius would naturally ask who he was and enquire into his antecedents.”
Charles Spurgeon· written before 1892· The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2859: “The Lions' Den” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
2. (vv. 21-23)
Daniel 6:21
“Then said Daniel unto the king,.... Whose voice he knew, though the tone of it was so much altered: O king, live for ever; he does not reproach him for delivering him into the hands of his enemies, and suffering him to be cast into that place, which he might have prevented, had he had more resolution; he knew it was done with reluctance, though with weakness; which he does not upbraid him with, but freely forgives him, and wishes him health, long life, and prosperity.”
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:21
“The same bright and glorious being that was seen in the form of the Son of God with the three children in the fiery furnace had visited Daniel, and, it is likely, in a visible appearance had enlightened the dark den, and kept Daniel company all night, and had shut the lions' mouths, that they had not in the least hurt him.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Daniel 6:22
“My God hath sent his angel - Such a one as that who attended Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the fiery furnace, and blew aside the flames, so that they could not hurt them. Before him innocency was found in one - Because I was innocent God has preserved me; and now that I am preserved, my innocence is fully proved.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:22
“His angel - The same that was with the three children in the fiery furnace, whose presence made even the lion's den a strong- hold, his palace, his paradise. See the power of God over the fiercest creatures! See the care God takes of his faithful servants, especially when they are called to suffer for him!”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Daniel 6:23
“The lesson that was read today invites you to the true faith, by setting before you the way in which you also must please God. It affirms that "without faith it is impossible to please him." For when will an individual resolve to serve God, unless he believes that "he is a giver of reward"? When will a young woman choose a virgin life, or a young man live soberly, if they do not believe that for chastity there is "a crown that does not fade away"? Faith is an eye that enlightens every conscience and imparts understanding.”
Cyril of Jerusalem· written before 386· Catechetical Lecture 5:4patristic
O king, live for ever: Daniel's answer credits the deliverance entirely to another, my God hath sent his angel and hath shut the lions' mouths, an act the older writers read alongside the Angel of the LORD tradition that shielded the three men in the furnace under Nebuchadnezzar, the same divine protection extended across two reigns. Daniel names his own innocency before God and before the king together, forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me, and also before thee have I done no hurt, refusing to let the miracle excuse any wrong he might actually have done Darius. No manner of hurt was found upon him because he believed in his God, the chapter's own explanation offered before any theological gloss is needed.
3. (v. 24)
Daniel 6:24
“Then, "the king spoke and they brought the men who accused Daniel and they themselves and their sons and their wives were cast into the den of lions, and they did not reach the bottom of the den before the lions mastered them, and they ground all their bones." [Daniel 6:24] And so they who have trusted in a human king and in wealth, they themselves dug a trench, and they fell in it for their destruction.”
Hippolytus of Rome· written before 235· Commentary on Daniel 3.30.1-6patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:24
“They brought those men - It was perfectly just that they should suffer that death to which they had endeavored to subject the innocent; but it was savage cruelty to destroy the women and children who had no part in the transgression.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
they cast them into the den of lions: The accusers are cast into the same den, with their children and their wives, and the lions have the mastery of them before they reach the bottom, a severity that has troubled readers of every age, and the bench does not soften it: eastern justice under the law of the Medes and Persians punished false accusers with the very penalty they sought for the accused, extended in this case to households under the same law's own custom rather than Daniel's request. Clarke notes the text records the sentence without praising or protesting it, a fact of ancient near eastern law reported rather than commended.
E. Darius decrees that the living God be feared
1. (vv. 25-27)
Daniel 6:25
“Then king Darius wrote unto all people ... - Compare the note at Dan 2:47; Dan 3:29; Dan 4:1. If there is a probability that Nebuchadnezzar would make such a proclamation as he did, there is no less probability that the same thing would be done by Darius. Indeed, it is manifest on the face of the whole narrative that one great design of all that occurred was to proclaim the knowledge of the true God, and to secure his recognition.”
Daniel 6:26
“I make a decree that - men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel - As in the case of the three Hebrews, Dan 3:29. The true God was known by his servants, and by the deliverances he wrought for them. See his characters in this decree. 1. He is the living God, the Author and Giver of life; all others are dead gods. 2. He is steadfast for ever. All things change; but he is unchangeable. 3. He has a kingdom; for as he made all things, so he governs all things.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Daniel 6:26
The foundation and strength of hope and faith is fear. In Psalm 111: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Of the same thing in the Wisdom of Solomon, … in the Proverbs, … in Isaiah, … in Genesis, … and in Psalm 2, … Then Darius the king wrote, "To all peoples, tribes and languages that are in my kingdom, peace be to you from my face. I decree and ordain that all those who are in my kingdom shall fear and tremble before the Most High God whom Daniel serves."
Cyprian· written before 258· Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 3:20patristic
Daniel 6:26
“He gives honour to God by a decree published to all nations, by which they are required to fear before him. And this is a decree which is indeed fit to be made unalterable, according to the laws of the Medes and Persians, for it is the everlasting gospel, preached to those that dwell on the earth, Rev. xiv. Fear God, and give glory to him.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Daniel 6:27
“He delivereth and rescueth - As in the case of Daniel. This attribute would of course be prominent in the view of Darius, since so remarkable an instance of his power had been recently manifested in rescuing Daniel. And he worketh signs and wonders ... - Performs miracles far above all human power. If he had done it on earth in the case of Daniel, it was fair to infer that he did it also in heaven. Compare the notes at Dan 4:2-3. The power of the lions - Margin, hand. The hand is the instrument of power.”
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:27
“He delivers his faithful servants from trouble and rescues them out of trouble; he works signs and wonders, quite above the utmost power of nature to effect, both in heaven and on earth, by which it appears that he is sovereign Lord of both.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Peace be multiplied unto you: Darius's decree to all people, nations, and languages echoes Nebuchadnezzar's own doxology after his humbling in chapter 4, the fourth pagan king in the book to confess in his own words that the God of Daniel is the living God, stedfast for ever, whose kingdom shall not be destroyed. Henry reads the decree's language, he delivereth and rescueth, and worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, as coming remarkably close to genuine confession from a Median king who a chapter before knew Daniel only as a capable administrator. The pattern the whole book has been building since chapter 2 reaches its fullest imperial voice here: sovereignty over kings stated by the kings themselves.
2. (v. 28)
Daniel 6:28
“So this Daniel prospered - He had served fine kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus. Few courtiers have had so long a reign, served so many masters without flattering any, been more successful in their management of public affairs, been so useful to the states where they were in office, or have been more owned of God, or have left such an example to posterity. Where shall we find ministers like Samuel and Daniel? None so wise, so holy, so disinterested, so useful, have ever since appeared in the nations of the earth.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Daniel 6:28
“So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius,.... This Daniel, of whom so much has been said all the preceding chapters, and who had been so lately and so wonderfully delivered from the lions' den, the same flourished throughout the reign of Darius the Mede; continued a favourite with the king; retained his honour and dignity; and kept his posts and places of trust and profit. Darius the Mede reigned two years; though Jarchi says he reigned but one, and was slain in war; for which he refers to Joseph ben Gorion, who has not a word of it.”
prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus: The chapter closes on a single administrative sentence, Daniel prospering under both Darius and Cyrus the Persian, which the bench reads as the narrative's quiet final word on the whole court-narrative half of the book: faithfulness under four kings and two empires outlasting every plot raised against it. Gill notes the naming of Cyrus here ties directly into the seventy years' fulfillment the book has been building toward since Daniel read Jeremiah's prophecy, since Cyrus is the very king whose decree will end the captivity.
This page carries no textual note on Daniel 6. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
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