Daniel and the Lions' Den

Daniel 6

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; 2 and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, a because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. 4 b So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."

6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: c "King Darius, live forever! 7 "All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have d consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 "Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the e law of the Medes and Persians, which 1 does not alter." 9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.

10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open f toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees g three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. 11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 h And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: "Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?" The king answered and said, "The thing is true, i according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which 2 does not alter." 13 So they answered and said before the king, "That Daniel, j who is 3 one of the captives from Judah, k does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day."

14 And the king, when he heard these words, l was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he 4 labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men 5 approached the king, and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is m the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed."

16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you." 17 n Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, o and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. 18 Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no 6 musicians 6 were brought before him. p Also his sleep 8 went from him.

19 Then the q king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a 9 lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, r has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?" 21 Then Daniel said to the king, s "O king, live forever! 22 t "My God sent His angel and u shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you." 23 Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, v because he believed in his God. 24 And the king gave the command, w and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions - them, x their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.

25 y Then King Darius wrote:
To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:
Peace be multiplied to you.

26 z I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must a tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.
b For He is the living God,
And steadfast forever;
His kingdom is the one which shall not be c destroyed,
And His dominion shall endure to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues,
d And He works signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has delivered Daniel from the 10 power of the lions.

28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius e and in the reign of f Cyrus the Persian.

  1. Cross References
    Daniel 5:12
    "Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation."
  2. Cross References
    Ecclesiastes 4:4
    Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.
  3. Cross References
    Nehemiah 2:3
    And said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?
    Daniel 2:4
    Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.
    Daniel 6:21
    Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever!
  4. Cross References
    Psalms 59:3
    For look, they lie in wait for my life; The mighty gather against me, Not for my transgression nor for my sin, O LORD.
    Psalms 62:4
    They only consult to cast him down from his high position; They delight in lies; They bless with their mouth, But they curse inwardly. Selah
    Psalms 64:2 - 6
    Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity.
  5. Cross References
    Esther 1:19
    If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.
    Esther 8:8
    "You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring; for whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring no one can revoke."
    Daniel 6:12
    And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: "Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except 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 Persians, which does not alter.
    Daniel 6:15
    Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.
  6. Cross References
    1 Kings 8:29
    That Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place.
    1 Kings 8:30
    And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive.
    1 Kings 8:46 - 48
    When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near.
    Psalms 5:7
    But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.
    Jonah 2:4
    Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 55:17
    Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, an...
    Acts 2:1
    When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they ...
    Acts 2:2
    And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as...
    Acts 2:15
    For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since ...
    Philippians 4:6
    Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by pr...
    1 Thessalonians 5:17
    Pray without ceasing.
    1 Thessalonians 5:18
    In everything give thanks; for this is the will...
  8. Cross References
    Daniel 3:8 - 12
    Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.
    Acts 16:19 - 21
    But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
  9. Cross References
    Esther 1:19
    If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she.
    Daniel 6:8
    "Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter."
    Daniel 6:15
    Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.
  10. Cross References
    Daniel 1:6
    Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
    Daniel 5:13
    Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, " Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?
  11. Cross References
    Esther 3:8
    Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people's, and they do not keep the king's laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain.
    Daniel 3:12
    "There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego'; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up."
    Acts 5:29
    But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men.
  12. Cross References
    Mark 6:26
    And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.
  13. Cross References
    Esther 8:8
    "You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king's name, and seal it with the king's signet ring; for whatever is written in the king's name and sealed with the king's signet ring no one can revoke."
    Psalms 94:20
    Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, Have fellowship with You?
    Psalms 94:21
    They gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood.
    Daniel 6:8
    "Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter."
    Daniel 6:12
    And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: "Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except 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 Persians, which does not alter.
  14. Cross References
    Lamentations 3:53
    They silenced my life in the pit And threw stones at me.
  15. Cross References
    Matthew 27:66
    So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
  16. Cross References
    Esther 6:1
    That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
    Psalms 77:4
    You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
    Daniel 2:1
    Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
  17. Cross References
    Daniel 3:24
    Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered and said to the king, "True, O king.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 18:14
    "Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
    Numbers 11:23
    And the LORD said to Moses, "Has the LORD's arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.
    Jeremiah 32:17
    Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
    Daniel 3:17
    If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.
    Luke 1:37
    "For with God nothing will be impossible."
  19. Cross References
    Daniel 2:4
    Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.
    Daniel 6:6
    So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: "King Darius, live forever!
  20. Cross References
    Numbers 20:16
    When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border.
    Isaiah 63:9
    In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days of old.
    Daniel 3:28
    Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego', who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!
    Acts 12:11
    And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.
    Hebrews 1:14
    Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
  21. Cross References
    Psalms 91:11 - 13
    For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
    2 Timothy 4:17
    But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
    Hebrews 11:33
    Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
  22. Cross References
    Hebrews 11:33
    Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
  23. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 19:18
    And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother.
    Deuteronomy 19:19
    Then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
    Esther 7:10
    So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's wrath subsided.
  24. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 24:16
    Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.
    2 Kings 14:6
    But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the LORD commanded, saying, "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.
    Esther 9:10
    The ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews - they killed; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.
  25. Cross References
    Ezra 1:1
    Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying.
    Ezra 1:2
    Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.
    Esther 3:12
    Then the king's scribes were called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and a decree was written according to all that Haman commanded - to the king's satraps, to the governors who were over each province, to the officials of all people, to every province according to its script, and to every people in their language. In the name of King Ahasuerus it was written, and sealed with the king's signet ring.
    Esther 8:9
    So the king's scribes were called at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and it was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, the satraps, the governors, and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.
    Daniel 4:1
    Nebuchadnezzar the king, To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you.
  26. Cross References
    Ezra 6:8 - 12
    Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king's expense from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered.
    Ezra 7:13
    I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you.
    Daniel 3:29
    "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and AbedNego' shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this."
  27. Cross References
    Psalms 99:1
    The LORD reigns; Let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; Let the earth be moved!
  28. Cross References
    Daniel 4:34
    And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
    Daniel 6:20
    And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?
    Hosea 1:10
    "Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There it shall be said to them, 'You are sons of the living God.'
    Romans 9:26
    "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ' You are not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God."
  29. Cross References
    Daniel 2:44
    And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
    Daniel 4:3
    How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation.
    Daniel 7:14
    Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
    Daniel 7:27
    Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.
    Luke 1:33
    "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
  30. Cross References
    Daniel 4:2
    I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me.
    Daniel 4:3
    How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation.
  31. Cross References
    Daniel 1:21
    Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.
  32. Cross References
    Ezra 1:1
    Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying.
    Ezra 1:2
    Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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