Darius
The king who was tricked into sending Daniel to the lions, spent the night fasting, and ran to the den at dawn.
Old Testament · c. 539 BC · Daniel · Also known as Darius the Mede, Darius the Median
About Darius
After Babylon fell, "Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old." He set Daniel over his officials and planned to make him chief over the whole realm. Jealous rivals persuaded him to sign a decree that for thirty days no one could pray to any god or man except the king. Daniel kept praying, and the unchangeable "law of the Medes and Persians" forced Darius to have him thrown to the lions. "The king... was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him." He said, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee," spent the night fasting, and at dawn ran to the den. Daniel was alive, and Darius decreed that all should "fear before the God of Daniel."
"Darius the Mede" is known only from Daniel; historians debate whether he was a Persian governor such as Gubaru, another name for Cyrus, or someone else. He is a different king from Darius the Great of Ezra and Haggai.
The story
Threescore and two years old
"And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old." He appointed a hundred and twenty princes and three presidents, "of whom Daniel was first... because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm."
Daniel 5:31; 6:1-3
The law of the Medes and Persians
Daniel’s rivals said, "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." They asked the king to decree that for thirty days whoever prayed "of any God or man... save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions," "according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not." "Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree."
Daniel 6:4-9
He set his heart on Daniel
When Daniel was caught praying, "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." But the law could not be changed. As Daniel was thrown in, the king said, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee."
Daniel 6:10-17
O Daniel, servant of the living God
Darius "passed the night fasting... and his sleep went from him." At dawn he hurried to the den: "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" Daniel answered, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths." "Then was the king exceeding glad for him."
Daniel 6:18-23
The living God, and stedfast for ever
Darius wrote to all peoples: "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." "So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius."
Daniel 6:25-28
Key moments
- Takes the kingdom: "About threescore and two years old." (Daniel 5:31)
- Prefers Daniel: "An excellent spirit was in him." (Daniel 6:3)
- Signs the decree: Thirty days, no prayer but to the king. (Daniel 6:9)
- A sleepless night: "His sleep went from him." (Daniel 6:18)
- Decrees honour for Daniel’s God: "The living God, and stedfast for ever." (Daniel 6:26)
Questions about Darius
In meetBible these answers are given in Darius’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why did you sign the decree?
Flattery. My officials came "together to the king" saying all the leaders had agreed I should be honoured: for thirty days, no petition "of any God or man... save of thee, O king." I didn’t see the trap. They had admitted among themselves, "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God."
Why couldn’t you change the law?
They reminded me: "Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed." A king’s sealed word could not be undone, even by the king. I "laboured till the going down of the sun" to find a way, and failed. Esther’s story shows the same rule in Persia.
Which Darius were you?
Daniel calls me "Darius the Median," aged about sixty-two when Babylon fell. Historians haven’t found me under that name outside Daniel, and suggest different identifications: a governor named Gubaru, or Cyrus himself under another title. Daniel 6:28 can even be read as the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus. I am not Darius the Great, who appears in Ezra.
Connected people
- Daniel: Trusted official
- Nebuchadnezzar: An earlier king of Babylon
- Cyrus: King of Persia
Read it yourself
Start with Daniel 6.