John Calvin Commentary Daniel 6:13

"Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the interdict that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day." — Daniel 6:13 (ASV)

Now, when Daniel’s slanderers saw that King Darius had no wish to defend Daniel's cause, they more freely revealed what they had previously kept back. For, as we have said, if they had openly accused Daniel, their accusation could have been instantly and completely refuted. But after this sentiment had been expressed to the king, their statement became decisive, since by the laws of the Medes and Persians a king’s decree was meant to be irrevocable. Therefore, once this was accomplished, they then focused on Daniel himself.

Daniel, they said, one of the captives of Judah, has not obeyed your will, O king, nor the decree which you have signed. By saying, “Daniel, one of the Jewish captives,” they undoubtedly intended to magnify his crime and to make him odious. For if any Chaldean had dared to despise the king’s edict, his rashness would not have been excused.

But now, when Daniel, who was recently a slave and a Chaldean captive, dared to despise the command of the king who reigned over Chaldea by right of conquest, this seemed even less tolerable. The effect is the same as if they had said, “He was recently a captive among your slaves; you are supreme lord, and his masters to whom he was subject are under your yoke, because you are their conqueror. He is but a captive and a stranger, a mere slave, and yet he rebels against you!” We see, then, how they desired to poison the king’s mind against him by this allusion: He is one of the captives! The words are very harmless in themselves, but they endeavored to sting their monarch in every way and to stir up his wrath against Daniel.

He does not direct his mind to you, O king; that is, he does not reflect upon who you are, and thus he despises your majesty and the edict which you have signed. This is another amplification: Daniel, therefore, did not direct his mind either to you or to your edict; and will you tolerate this? Next, they recite the deed itself: he prays three times a day. This would have been the simple narrative: Daniel has not obeyed your command in praying to his own God. But, as I have said, they exaggerate his crime by accusing him of pride, contempt, and insolence. We see, therefore, by what artifices Daniel was oppressed by these malicious men. It now follows: