What does Daniel 6:13 mean?
Daniel's enemies were jealous of his reputation and advancement (Daniel 6:1–3). They knew his only "weakness" was absolute loyalty to his God (Daniel 6:4–5). They tricked Darius, the king, into signing an irrevocable decree outlawing prayer (Daniel 6:6–9). As expected, Daniel ignored this and continued to pray, and was caught in the act by the conspiring enemies (Daniel 6:10–11). Before making their accusation, the clever conspirators ask the king to affirm what he has commanded (Daniel 6:12).Now that the king has spoken, Daniel's scheming enemies spring their trap. They speak of Daniel almost as if the king would not know who he was, specifying that he is a Hebrew exile. They would have explained how they saw Daniel blatantly defy the law with their own eyes. The Bible offers no explanation of what Darius thought would happen. Clearly, however, this outcome is neither what he expected nor what he wanted (Daniel 6:14).
Believers today should follow Daniel's example and be open about their relationship with the Lord (Matthew 5:14–16).