Daniel in the Lions’ Den
5 min read ages 6 and up talerie.com/en/tales/daniel-in-the-lions-den
Daniel serves King Darius so wisely that the king plans to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. The other officials can find no fault in him, so they get the king to sign a law that cannot be changed: for thirty days, anyone who prays to any god or man but the king will be thrown to the lions.
King Darius ruled a great kingdom, and he appointed a hundred and twenty governors to look after it. Over them he set three chief ministers, so that every governor would answer to them and the king would never be cheated. The first of the three was Daniel.
Daniel did his work so wisely and so well that he soon stood out above all the other ministers and governors. The king even planned to put him in charge of the whole kingdom.
The other officials did not like that at all. They watched Daniel closely, hoping to catch him making some mistake in the kingdom’s affairs. But they found nothing. Daniel was honest and faithful, and there was no fault in him anywhere.
“We’ll never find anything against this Daniel,” they said to one another at last, “unless it has to do with the law of his God.”
So they went to the king together. “Long live King Darius!” they said. “All the ministers, governors, advisers, and commanders of your kingdom have agreed that Your Majesty should make a new law. For thirty days, no one may pray to any god or any man except you, Your Majesty. Whoever does shall be thrown into the den of lions. Sign the decree, then, and let it stand under the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”
And King Darius signed it.
When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed, he went home to the upstairs room of his house, where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. There he knelt down three times a day, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had always done.
The officials went to his house together and found him there, praying and asking God for help.
They went straight to the king. “Your Majesty,” they said, “didn’t you sign a decree that for thirty days anyone who prays to any god or any man except you shall be thrown into the den of lions?”
“I did,” the king answered. “It is the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”
“Then you should know,” they said, “that Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you signed. He still prays three times a day.”
When the king heard this, he was very angry with himself. He made up his mind to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he tried everything he could think of.
But the officials came back to him together. “Remember, Your Majesty,” they said, “by the law of the Medes and Persians, no decree or law the king makes can ever be changed.”
So the king gave the order, and his men brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions.
The king said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve so faithfully, will rescue you.”
A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that no one could change what had been decided about Daniel.
Then the king went back to his palace. All night long he ate nothing, he sent away the musicians who would have played for him, and he could not sleep.
At first light the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. As he came near, he called out in a voice full of grief, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Has your God, whom you serve so faithfully, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
“Your Majesty, may you live forever!” Daniel answered. “My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me. God found me innocent, and I have never done you any wrong.”
The king was overjoyed and ordered his men to lift Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was brought up, and there was not a scratch on him, because he had trusted in his God.
Then the king gave another order. The men who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den, together with their wives and children. Before they even reached the bottom, the lions leaped on them and killed them all.
After that, King Darius wrote to all the peoples of every nation and language on earth:
“Peace and prosperity to you all! I command that everyone in every part of my kingdom tremble before the God of Daniel and fear him. For he is the living God, and he endures forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end. He rescues and he saves; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He is the one who saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
So Daniel prospered while Darius was king, and after him under Cyrus the Persian.
Retold by Talerie from King James Version (opens in a new window) Public domain Copy this text, adapt it, use it however you like. A link back to Talerie is appreciated but never required. CC0 1.0 (opens in a new window)