Daniel 6:18

“Then the king went to his palace, etc.] After he had accompanied Daniel to the den, and he was cast into it, the stone was laid to the mouth of it, and that sealed; this was after sunset, for he had laboured till then to serve him, (<270614>Daniel 6:14), perhaps it was late at night: and passed the night fasting; vexed for what he had done, in signing the decree; fretting because he could not save Daniel, and his heart full of grief for him, and so had no stomach to eat; went to bed without his supper, lay all night fasting, and would not eat a bit nor drink a drop of anything: neither were instruments of music brought before him; as used to be after supper, and played upon; his heart was…”

“neither were instruments of music, &c.--GESENIUS translates, "concubines." Daniel's mentioning to us as an extraordinary thing of Darius, that he neither approached his table nor his harem, agrees with XENOPHON'S picture of him as devoted to wine and women, vain, and without self-control. He is sorry for the evil which he himself had caused, yet takes no steps to remedy it. There are many such halters between good and bad, who are ill at ease in their sins, yet go forward in them, and are drawn on by others.”

“Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting - Daniel was probably cast into the den soon after the going down of the sun, Daniel 6:14. It was not unusual to have suppers then late at night, as it is now in many places. The great anxiety of the king, however, on account of what had occurred, prevented him from participating in the usual evening meal. As to the probability of what is here affirmed, no one can have any doubt who credits the previous statements. In the consciousness of wrong done to a worthy officer of the government; in the deep anxiety which he had to deliver him; in the excitement which must have existed against the cunning and wicked authors of the plot to…”

“6:18 The king spent the night fasting because he mourned over what he had done and hoped that Daniel’s God would rescue him. The king couldn’t sleep at all because he knew that Daniel was an innocent and noble man.”

“and passed: Sa2 12:16, Sa2 12:17, Sa2 19:24; Kg1 21:27; Job 21:12; Psa 137:2; Ecc 2:8; Isa 24:8, Isa 24:9; Amo 6:4-6; Jon 3:3-9; Rev 18:22 instruments: or, table and: Dan 2:1; Est 6:1; Psa 77:4 Daniel 6:19”