All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.
Parallel translations
- WEB All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counselors and the governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong decree, that whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of you, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have 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.
- NASB All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors, have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who offers a prayer to any god or person besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.
- NLT We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They propose a decree that for thirty days no one may petition any god or man but the king, on pain of the lions' den. The law is crafted to entrap Daniel's prayer life.
Overview
The officials manipulate the king's pride into signing a decree that exalts him alone as the object of petition. Designed specifically to criminalize Daniel's devotion, it forces a choice between obedience to God and obedience to man. Such moments test whether God's people will fear Him rather than the threats of earthly power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Ps 59:3See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.
- Dan 3:6And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.”
- Ps 83:1–3A song. A Psalm of Asaph. O God, be not silent; be not speechless; be not still, O God.
- Dan 3:27and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.
- Dan 3:2Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.
- Ps 62:4They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah
- Matt 26:4and they conspired to arrest Jesus covertly and kill Him.
- John 12:10So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
- Ps 10:9He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.
- Matt 12:14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
- Acts 4:26–28The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One.’
- Mark 15:1Early in the morning, the chief priests, elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin devised a plan. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.
- Nah 2:12The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey.
- Ps 64:2–6Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of workers of iniquity,
- Ps 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
- Dan 6:2–3and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.
- Mic 6:5My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”
- Ps 94:20Can a corrupt throne be Your ally—one devising mischief by decree?
- Dan 3:11and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.
- Acts 4:5–7The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
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Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 6:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
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