Daniel 6:13-17

6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ¹  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ² 

6:14 When the king heard this, ³  he was very upset and began thinking about ⁴  how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon ⁵  he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. 6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and ⁶  said to him, ⁷  “Recall, ⁸  O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.” 6:16 So the king gave the order, ⁹  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ¹⁰  of lions. The king consoled ¹¹  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!” 6:17 Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening ¹²  to the den. The king sealed ¹³  it with his signet ring and with those ¹⁴  of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.

[6:13]  ¹ tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”

[6:13]  ² tn Aram “prays his prayer.”

[6:14]  ³ tn Aram “the word.”

[6:14]  ⁴ tn Aram “placed his mind on.”

[6:14]  ⁵ tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”

[6:15]  ⁶ tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”

[6:15]  ⁷ tn Aram “the king.”

[6:15]  ⁸ tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”

[6:16]  ⁹ tn Aram “said.” So also in vv. 24, 25.

[6:16]  ¹⁰ sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level which could be safely observed from above.

[6:16]  ¹¹ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”

[6:17]  ¹² tn Aram “mouth.”

[6:17]  ¹³ sn The purpose of the den being sealed was to prevent unauthorized tampering with the opening of the den. Any disturbance of the seal would immediately alert the officials to improper activity of this sort.

[6:17]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “the signet rings.”