Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 2:13

"So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain." — Daniel 2:13 (ASV)

And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain – The original here allows for a somewhat different translation, meaning, “the decree went forth, and the wise men were slain;” that is, the execution of the sentence had actually begun. So the Vulgate: Et egressa sententia, sapientes interficiebantur. So also the Greek version: καὶ οἱ σοφοί ἀπεκτέννοντο (kai hoi sophoi apektennonto) – “and the wise men were slain.”

This seems to me to be the more probable interpretation, and it better fits the connection. It would then mean that they had actually begun to execute the decree. In the prosecution of their bloody work, they sought out Daniel and his companions, and it was by his influence with Arioch that the execution of the sentence was arrested.

And they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain – His three companions (Daniel 1:6), who probably had not been among those who were summoned to court to explain the matter. Had they been consulted at first, the issuing of the decree would have been prevented, but it seems to have been the design of Providence to allow the fairest trial of the ability of these sages, and to allow matters to come to a crisis, in order to show that what was done was wholly beyond human power.