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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 59:3For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are gathered against me; not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O LORD.
- Dan 3:6And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
- Ps 83:1–3Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
- Dan 3:27And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
- Dan 3:2Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
- Ps 62:4They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
- Matt 26:4And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
- John 12:10But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;
- Ps 10:9He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
- Matt 12:14Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
- Acts 4:26–28The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
- Mark 15:1And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
- Nah 2:12The lion did tear in pieces enough for his whelps, and strangled for his lionesses, and filled his holes with prey, and his dens with ravin.
- Ps 64:2–6Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:
- Ps 2:2The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
- Dan 6:2–3And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
- Mic 6:5O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.
- Ps 94:20Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
- Dan 3:11And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
- Acts 4:5–7And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,
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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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