Daniel 6:14

Daniel 6:14, in plain English

When Darius hears what's happened, he's devastated and immediately begins trying to figure out how to save Daniel, working hard until sunset to find a legal way out.

Why it's here

Here's where you see Darius's true feelings about Daniel. Whatever ambition he had to use Daniel in the government, his personal affection for him is genuine. The king realizes he's been manipulated, and he's desperate to undo what he's done. But he's caught by his own law. He can't simply overturn a decree that's binding under the law of the Medes and Persians. It's a heartbreaking moment for a powerful man who discovers he's not actually as powerful as he thought.

Who's speaking

The narrator.

Where it sits in the story

This shows that Darius, despite his position, isn't ultimately in control. But it also shows that human power and human compassion aren't enough to rescue us. Only God can save. The stage is being set for a divine deliverance.

The scholarly reading

Darius becomes deeply distressed upon learning that Daniel is the violator and spends the remainder of the day attempting to find a legal avenue to save his favored official.

Language and setting

The Aramaic שְׂגִיא (segiah, 'very' or 'greatly') intensifies his distress; the king's anguish is genuine. His attempted laboring (מִשְׁתַּדַּל, mishtaddal—literally 'striving' or 'exerting himself') until sundown suggests frantic consultation with advisors, legal precedent, and alternatives. He recognizes the trap but finds himself ensnared by his own decree.

Voice

The narrator, depicting Darius's emotional and political crisis

Significance

The king's desire to rescue Daniel reveals that conscience and affection can yet operate within corrupt systems, but that structural evil often permits no escape—a tragic recognition that foreshadows how even well-intentioned earthly powers cannot ultimately deliver those whom divine judgment has marked.

12So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?”

13Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

14As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel, and he labored until sundown to rescue him.

15Then the men approached the king together and said to him, “Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”

16So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions.

Read all of Daniel 6 — Daniel prays with his windows open, knowing it means death. The lions are hungry. But there is someone in the den with him.