Darius

30That very night Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, was killed.

In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.

NoteChaldeans was another name for the people of Babylon.

31Then Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. He was about sixty-two years old.

And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.

NoteThe Medes lived in the land next to Persia. The King James Version says he was "threescore and two" years old. A score means twenty, so three scores and two more is sixty-two.

1King Darius chose 120 rulers. Each one took care of a part of his kingdom.

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;

NoteThe King James calls these men "princes." They were not the king's sons. They were men he chose to rule parts of his land.

2Over those rulers he put three leaders. Daniel was one of them. The rulers had to report to the three leaders. That way the king would not lose anything.

And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.

Note"Presidents" here is an old word for the top three helpers. It does not mean a president of a country today. Their job was to make sure no money went missing.

3Daniel did better work than all the other leaders and rulers. He had a very good spirit in him. So the king planned to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.

Then 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.

NoteThe King James says Daniel had "an excellent spirit." That means he was wise, and very good at his work.

4The other leaders and rulers looked for something Daniel had done wrong in his work. They could not find anything. He was honest, and he made no mistakes.

Then 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.

5So these men said, "We will never find anything wrong with Daniel. Our only chance is something about the law of his God."

Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

NoteThe law of Daniel's God was the set of rules God gave his people long ago. One rule was to pray to God alone.

6So the leaders and rulers went to the king together. They said, "King Darius, may you live forever!

Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.

Note"O king, live for ever" was a polite way to say hello to a king. It was like saying, "Hello, your majesty."

7All the leaders of the kingdom have talked and agreed. Please make a new law that cannot be changed. For thirty days, no one may ask anything from any god or any person, except you, O king. Anyone who does will be thrown into the lions' den.

All 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.

NoteA den was a deep pit dug in the ground. Kings kept lions in it. People were dropped in through a hole on top.

8Now, O king, make this law and sign the paper. Then it cannot be changed. That is how the law of the Medes and Persians works. It never changes."

Now, 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.

NoteThe Medes and Persians were two peoples who ruled together in one big kingdom. They had a rule that a king's written law could never be taken back. Even the king could not undo it.

9So King Darius signed the paper with the new law on it.

Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

10Daniel heard that the paper was signed. He went into his house. In his upstairs room the windows faced Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees. He prayed and thanked his God, just as he always had.

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.

NoteJerusalem was the city far away where Daniel's family came from. God's temple had been there. Daniel faced that way when he prayed, to remember home. Praying three times a day was his normal habit, not something new.

11Then these men came together and found Daniel. He was praying and asking his God for help.

Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

12So they went to the king and asked about his new law. "Did you not sign a law, O king? For thirty days, anyone who asks anything from any god or person, except you, will be thrown into the lions' den." The king said, "Yes, that is right. It is the law of the Medes and Persians, and it cannot be changed."

Then 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 they told the king, "Daniel is one of the people brought here from Judah. He pays no attention to you or to the law you signed. He still prays three times a day."

Then 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.

NoteDaniel came from Judah, the land of God's people. Soldiers had taken him away from there as a boy. That is why the King James calls him one of "the children of the captivity."

14When the king heard this, he was very upset. He tried hard to find a way to save Daniel. He worked at it until the sun went down.

Then 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.

NoteThe King James says the king was "sore displeased with himself." That means he was upset and angry at his own mistake. He had signed the law without thinking.

15Then the men came to the king together. They said, "Remember, O king, the law of the Medes and Persians. No law the king makes can be changed."

Then 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.

16So the king gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God save you. You serve him all the time."

Then 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.

17A stone was brought and laid over the opening of the den. The king pressed his ring into it to mark it, and so did his important men. Now nothing about Daniel could be changed.

And 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.

NoteA signet was a ring with a picture cut into it. The king pressed it into soft clay to leave his mark. If someone broke the clay, everyone would know the stone had been moved.

18Then the king went to his palace. He ate nothing all night. No music was played for him. He could not sleep.

Then 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.

NoteFasting means choosing to eat no food. Kings usually had music played while they ate. The king was too sad for food or music.

19As soon as it began to get light, the king got up. He hurried to the lions' den.

Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

20When he came to the den, he called out in a sad, worried voice. "Daniel, servant of the living God! You serve your God all the time. Was he able to save you from the lions?"

And 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?

NoteThe King James says the king used a "lamentable" voice. That means a sad, crying voice. Many people then prayed to statues of stone. Calling God "living" meant he was real and alive.

21Then Daniel answered the king, "O king, may you live forever!

Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.

22My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths. They have not hurt me. God saw that I had done nothing wrong. And I have done nothing wrong to you, O king."

My 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.

NoteAn angel is a messenger God sends to do his work.

23The king was very happy. He told his men to lift Daniel out of the den. They lifted him out, and he had no hurt on him at all. He had trusted his God.

Then 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.

24Then the king gave an order. The men who had accused Daniel were brought in. They were thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. Before they reached the bottom, the lions caught them and broke all their bones.

And 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.

NoteIn those days, a whole family was often punished with the person who broke the law. That is why the wives and children were taken too.

25Then King Darius wrote to people everywhere, of every nation and language. He said, "May you have much peace!

Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.

Note"Peace be multiplied unto you" was how letters began back then. It means, "I hope things go very well for you."

26I make this law. Everywhere in my kingdom, people are to shake with fear before the God of Daniel. He is the living God. He lasts forever. His kingdom will never be broken. His rule will never end.

I 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.

NoteIn the King James, to "fear" God often means to show him deep respect. It is like how you feel around someone very great.

27He saves and rescues. He does signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He saved Daniel from the power of the lions."

He 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 things went well for Daniel while Darius was king, and while Cyrus the Persian was king.

So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

NoteCyrus was the next king after Darius. He was the king who later let God's people go back home to Judah.

1It was the first year that Darius was king. He was the son of Ahasuerus, and he came from the Medes. He was made king over the land of the Chaldeans, which is Babylon.

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

NoteDarius was a new king who ruled Babylon. The Medes were a people from a land east of Babylon. The Chaldeans were the people who had ruled Babylon before. Daniel's people had been carried to Babylon as prisoners.

2In that first year, I, Daniel, was reading the holy books. I learned what the LORD had told the prophet Jeremiah. A prophet is someone who told people what God said. Jerusalem would lie empty and broken for seventy years.

In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

NoteJeremiah was a prophet who lived before Daniel's time. His words were saved on scrolls, long rolls of writing. Jeremiah wrote that Jerusalem would sit empty for seventy years. Jerusalem was the home city Daniel's people had lost.

3So I turned to the Lord God to look for him. I prayed and begged for help. I went without food, wore rough cloth, and sat in ashes.

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

NoteGoing without food while you pray is called fasting. Rough cloth was scratchy and plain, not nice to wear. Sitting in ashes showed everyone that you were very sad. People did these things to show they were truly sorry.