After he became king, Darius the Mede decided to subdivide his kingdom into 120 provinces and strategically appointed a governor for each province. He also appointed three chief officials to watch over the work of these governors so that the king’s interests might not suffer, and Daniel was one of these three. Now Daniel had an extraordinary spirit and possessed exceptional qualities. He so distinguished himself among all the chief officials and the governors that Darius intended to set him over his entire kingdom.
For that reason, the chief officials and the governors were stirred to seek some pretext against Daniel regarding his governmental affairs. But because he was trustworthy, no one could find any error or fault in him nor could they uncover any negligence or misconduct. Finally, his accusers said to themselves, “We will never find grounds for accusation against this Daniel unless it is related to his obedience to the law of his God.”
So these 122 powerful politicians consulted together as a group to entrap Daniel. And they went to speak to the king and said to him, “King Darius, live forever! All the officials of your kingdom—your high officials, administrators, advisers, and governors—we are all agreed that by royal decree the following prohibition should be enforced strictly: for thirty days, no one is to pray to any god or man except to you, O king; otherwise, he must be thrown into the lions’ den. Now therefore, let the king issue this written, irrevocable decree that cannot be altered according to the unchanging law of the Medes and the Persians.”
So King Darius signed the written decree.
Even after Daniel learned that the king had officially signed his decree, he continued his regular custom of praying at three set times a day. He went to the upper chamber of his house and opened the windows facing toward Jerusalem. Then he got down on his knees to pray, and he offered his grateful praise to God as he always had done.
Then all those who conspired against Daniel came and spied on him. They found him praying to God and asking him for help. So they approached the king and reminded him of his royal decree: “Your Majesty, did you not sign a decree forbidding everyone for thirty days to pray to any god or man except to you, O king, under penalty of being thrown into the lions’ den?”
“Yes, I did, and my decree is final,” the king answered. “It is irrevocable according to the law of the Medes and Persians.”
They then told the king, “We discovered that Daniel, one of the foreign Jewish exiles, pays no heed to you, O king, and ignores the decree you have signed. For he prays to his God three times a day.”
When King Darius heard this, he was deeply grieved and sought to find a way he could rescue Daniel from his fate. For most of that day until sundown, he wrestled within himself over how Daniel could be spared.
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