Daniel 5:31--6:2

5:31 (6:1) ¹  So Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old.

Daniel is Thrown into a Lions’ Den

6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius ²  to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps ³  who would be in charge of the entire kingdom. 6:2 Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable ⁴  to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage.

[5:31]  ¹ sn Beginning with 5:31, the verse numbers through 6:28 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 5:31 ET = 6:1 AT, 6:1 ET = 6:2 AT, 6:2 ET = 6:3 AT, 6:3 ET = 6:4 AT, etc., through 6:28 ET = 6:29 AT. Beginning with 7:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Aramaic text are again the same.

[6:1]  ² tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”

[6:1]  ³ tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius.

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Aram “giving an account.”