Daniel 6

Daniel · Chapter 6

Daniel 6:18

1It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;2And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.3Then 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 whole realm.4Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.5Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.6Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.7All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, 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, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.8Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.9Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.10Now 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.11Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.12Then 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.13Then 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.14Then 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.15Then 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.16Then 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.17And 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.18Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.19Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.20And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?21Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.22My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.23Then was the king exceeding 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 manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.24And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.25Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.26I 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 stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.27He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.28So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
18Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Darius's officials, who could find no fault in Daniel, got the king to sign a decree that sent Daniel to the lions, and the king tried all day to save him but could not. After the den was sealed, the king went home and spent the night without food, without entertainment, and without sleep. At dawn he hurried back to the den to see if Daniel's God had saved him. Daniel 6:4Daniel 6:5Daniel 6:7Daniel 6:9Daniel 6:14Daniel 6:16Daniel 6:17Daniel 6:18Daniel 6:19Daniel 6:20

SpeakingThe narrator tells this part of the story. Chapters 1-6 speak of Daniel in the third person, and the book is traditionally credited to Daniel. Daniel overview

ToThe book is written for God's people in exile and after it, not as a letter to one group. Daniel overview

Also involvedKing Darius is the one described. His distress is for Daniel, who lies in the sealed den. Daniel 6:14Daniel 6:17Daniel 6:18

The king, grieved by what his own decree had done, passed the night fasting. No music or other diversions were brought to him, and he could not sleep. Other kings in Scripture also lose sleep when troubled (Daniel 2:1; Esther 6:1), and David fasted all night when grieving over his child (2 Samuel 12:16-17). Daniel 6:14Daniel 6:18Daniel 2:1Esther 6:12 Samuel 12:162 Samuel 12:17

The king went to his palace. The text does not name the city, but the book places Daniel's service in Babylon under Babylonian and then Persian kings. Daniel 6:18Strong's H1965HDaniel overview

BABYLONIAMEDIABabylon 1SusaUlai

The eventsThis happened in the reign of Darius, after Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians and before the reign of Cyrus. It is the night between Daniel being cast into the den and the morning he was found alive. Daniel overviewDaniel 6:28Daniel 6:16Daniel 6:19

WrittenTraditional view: Daniel wrote the book in the 500s BC. Scholarly view: many critical scholars date its final form to about 167-164 BC, while others hold to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview

HereThe verse shows how much the king cared for Daniel and how helpless his power was to save him. His sleepless night sets up his early rush to the den and his cry, "is thy God... able to deliver thee?" Daniel 6:14Daniel 6:18Daniel 6:19Daniel 6:20

In the whole of ScriptureThe most powerful man in the kingdom could not undo his own law, but Daniel's God delivered him. Darius then decreed that all should fear "the living God," whose kingdom "shall not be destroyed." Daniel 6:15Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:26Daniel overview

For readersThe king set aside food and entertainment because he grieved for Daniel. Amos 6:4-6 describes people who feast, drink wine and anoint themselves, "but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." Darius was the opposite: grief over Daniel filled his night and sent him to the den at dawn. Daniel 6:18Amos 6:4Amos 6:6Daniel 6:19

  • fastingטְוָת
    Aramaic · te.vat · H2908

    The word means fasting or going hungry. It shows the king went without food through the night out of distress, much like David's all-night fast in grief (2 Samuel 12:16-17). Strong's H29082 Samuel 12:162 Samuel 12:17

  • instruments of musickדַּחֲוָה
    Aramaic · da.cha.vah · H1761

    The lexicon gives a range of meanings: diversions, music, musical instruments (marked with a question mark), dancing girls, or concubines. Whatever exactly is meant, none of these were brought before the king that night. Strong's H1761Daniel 6:18

  • went (fled)נְדַד
    Aramaic · ne.dad · H5075

    The verb means "to flee": his sleep fled from him. Daniel 2:1 says something similar of troubled Nebuchadnezzar, whose "sleep brake from him." Strong's H5075Strong's H8139Daniel 2:1

Takeaway

Darius's sleepless, foodless night shows that even a king's power could not save Daniel from the king's own decree. Only Daniel's God could do that, and the next morning he had. Daniel 6:15Daniel 6:18Daniel 6:22Daniel 6:27

Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.

The world around the text

Behind this verse

Lions kept by kings
The kings of Mesopotamia kept lions and hunted them as a show of royal power, as the Assyrian palace reliefs of Ashurbanipal's lion hunt show. Daniel 6:7Daniel 6:16Assyrian palace reliefs, Ashurbanipal's lion hunt

About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.

Who ruled
  • King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC

    The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)

  • Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC

    Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus

  • Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC

    Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)

  • King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC

    He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder

  • King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC

    Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11

What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
  1. 612 BC
    WarNineveh falls

    Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)

  2. 605 BC
    WarBattle of Carchemish

    Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)

  3. 597 BC
    WarJerusalem surrenders

    Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)

  4. 586 BC
    WarJerusalem and the temple destroyed

    Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17

  5. c. 575 BC
    BuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor

    Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183

  6. 562 BC
    RulersNebuchadnezzar dies

    His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34

  7. c. 553-543 BC
    RulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar

    King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1

  8. 550 BC
    WarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians

    Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130

  9. October 539 BC
    WarBabylon falls to Cyrus

    Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder

  10. 538 BC
    God's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return

    In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder

  11. c. 536 BC
    God's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid

    The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3

  12. 334-331 BC
    WarAlexander the Great conquers Persia

    Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3

  13. 323-301 BC
    WarAlexander's empire is divided

    Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30

  14. 167 BC
    WarAntiochus IV defiles the temple

    The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15

The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.

Original Aramaic words

This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.

EnglishAramaicSay itStrong'sMeaning
thenאֱ֠דַיִן'E-da-yinH0116
then

אֱדַ֫יִן (e.da.yin) then, afterwards, thereupon, from that time Aramaic of az (אָז "then" H0227A)

he wentאֲזַ֨ל'a-ZALH0236
to go

אֲזַל (a.zal) 1) to go, to go off 1a) (P'al) to go, go off

king theמַלְכָּ֤אmal-KA'H4430
king

מֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king

to palace hisלְהֵֽיכְלֵהּ֙le-hei-khe-LEHH1965H
temple

הֵיכַל (he.khal) : temple 1) palace, temple 1a) palace 1b) temple (in Jerusalem) 1c) temple (pagan)

and he passed [the] nightוּבָ֣תu-VATH0956
to lodge

בִּית (but) (P'al) to pass the night, lodge Aramaic of ba.yit (בַּ֫יִת ": home" H1004B)

fastingטְוָ֔תte-VATH2908
fasting

טְוָת (te.vat) fasting, fastingly, hungrily

and thrusting [women]וְדַחֲוָ֖ןve-da-cha-VANH1761
diversion

דַּחֲוָה (da.cha.vah) diversions, musical instruments?, dancing girls, concubines, music Aramaic of da.chah (דָּחָה "to thrust" H1760A)

notלָא־la'-H3809
not

לָא (la) no, not, nothing Aramaic of lo (לֹא "not" H3808)

he brought inהַנְעֵ֣לhan-'ELH5954
to come

עֲלַל (a.lal) 1) to thrust in, go in, come in 1a) (P'al) to go in, come in 1b) (Aphel) to bring in 1c) (Hophal) to be brought in

before himקָֽדָמ֑וֹהִיka-da-MO-hiH6925
before

קֳדָם (qo.dam) 1) before, in front of 1a) before 1b) from before

and sleep hisוְשִׁנְתֵּ֖הּve-shin-TEHH8139
sleep

שְׁנָה (she.nah) sleep Aramaic of she.nah (שֵׁנָה "sleep" H8142)

it fledנַדַּ֥תna-DATH5075
to flee

נְדַד (ne.dad) (P'al) to flee Aramaic of na.dad (נָדַד "to wander" H5074)

on himעֲלֽוֹהִי׃a-LO-hiH5922
since

עַל (al) 1) upon, over, on account of, above, to, against 1a) upon, over, on account of, regarding, concerning, on behalf of 1b) over (with verbs of ruling) 1c) above, beyond (in comparison) 1d) to, against (of direction)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.