Daniel 6:3 (DBY)

Passage

Now this Daniel surpassed the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to appoint him over the whole realm.

Nearby Context

Daniel 6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be in all the kingdom;

Daniel 6:2 and over these, three presidents of whom Daniel was one to whom these satraps should render account, and that the king should suffer no loss.

Daniel 6:3 Now this Daniel surpassed the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to appoint him over the whole realm.

Daniel 6:4 Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a pretext against Daniel with respect to the kingdom; but they could not find any pretext or fault; inasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Daniel 6:5 Then said these men, We shall not find any pretext against this Daniel, unless we find [it] against him touching the law of his God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "daniel", "surpassed", "presidents", "satraps", "excellent", "king", and "thought". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "daniel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "and over these three presidents of whom..." into verse 4's "Then the presidents and the satraps sought...", so "Spirit" and "daniel" belong inside that flow. In Daniel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "daniel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.