Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 6:5

"Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." — Daniel 6:5 (ASV)

We will not find any occasion ... - We will not find any pretext or any cause by which he may be humbled and degraded. They were satisfied with his integrity, and they saw it was futile to hope to accomplish their purposes by any attack on his moral character, or any charge against him concerning the way he had discharged the duties of his office.

Except we find it against him concerning the law of his God - Unless it is concerning his religion; unless we can interpret his known conscientiousness regarding his religion in such a way as to make that proof of his unwillingness to obey the king. It occurred to them that his well-understood faithfulness in his religious duties and his conscientiousness were such that they might expect that, whatever might occur, he would be found true to his God, and that this could be a basis for calculation in any measure they might propose for his downfall. His habits seem to have been well understood, and his character was so fixed that they could rely on this as a settled matter in their plans against him.

The only question was how to interpret his conduct in this respect as criminal, or how to make the king listen to any accusation against him for this reason. His religious views were well known when he was appointed to office, the worship of the God of Daniel was not prohibited by the laws of the realm, and it would not be easy to obtain a law directly and openly prohibiting it.

It is unlikely that the king would have consented to pass such a law if proposed directly—a law that would have been so likely to cause disturbance, and for which no plausible reason could have been given. However, another method occurred to these crafty counselors. Their plan was not to aim absolutely and directly to have that worship prohibited; instead, they would approach the king with a proposal that would be flattering to his vanity. This proposal, perhaps, might also be suggested as a test question, showing the degree of esteem in which he was held in the empire and the willingness of his subjects to obey him. By proposing a law that, for a limited period, no one would be allowed to present a petition of any kind to anyone except to the king himself, the object would be accomplished.

A vain monarch could be persuaded to pass such a law, and this could be represented to him as a suitable measure to test his subjects' willingness to show him respect and obedience. At the same time, it would be certain to achieve the purpose against Daniel, for they had no doubt that he would adhere steadfastly to the principles of his religion and to his well-known habits of worship. This plan was, therefore, extremely crafty and was the highest tribute that could be paid to Daniel. It would be good if the religious character and fixed habits of all who profess religion were so well understood that it was absolutely certain no accusation could lie against them on any other ground, but that their adherence to their religious principles could be relied upon as a basis for action, whatever the consequences might be.