1. Darius thought it would be a good idea to choose 120 governors. They would rule through all of his kingdom.
2. And he chose three men as supervisors over those 120 governors. Daniel was one of these three supervisors. The king set up these men so that he would not be cheated.
3. Daniel showed that he could do the work better than the other supervisors and the governors. Because of this, the king planned to put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom.
4. So the other supervisors and the governors tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel. But he went on doing the business of the government. And they could not find anything wrong with him. So they could not accuse him of doing anything wrong. Daniel was trustworthy. He was not lazy and did not cheat the king.
5. Finally these men said, “We will never find any reason to accuse Daniel. But we must find something to complain about. It will have to be about the law of his God.”
6. So the supervisors and the governors went as a group to the king. They said: “King Darius, live forever!
7. The supervisors, assistant governors, governors, the people who advise you and the captains of the soldiers have all agreed on something. We think the king should make this law that everyone would have to obey: No one should pray to any god or man except to you, our king. This should be done for the next 30 days. Anyone who doesn’t obey will be thrown into the lions’ den.
8. Now, our king, make the law. Write it down so it cannot be changed. The laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled.”
9. So King Darius made the law and had it written.
10. When Daniel heard that the new law had been written, he went to his house. He went to his upstairs room. The windows of that room opened toward Jerusalem. Three times each day Daniel got down on his knees and prayed. He prayed and thanked God, just as he always had done.
11. Then those men went as a group and found Daniel. They saw him praying and asking God for help.
12. So they went to the king. They talked to him about the law he had made. They said, “Didn’t you write a law that says no one may pray to any god or man except you, our king? Doesn’t it say that anyone who disobeys during the next 30 days will be thrown into the lions’ den?”The king answered, “Yes, I wrote that law. And the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled.”