20. What happened to Daniel’s malicious enemies?

²⁰ Now that Daniel was safe, Darius had other business to attend to. “The king commanded, and they brought these able-bodied men who had accused Daniel, and into the lions’ pit they threw them, their sons and their wives; and they had not reached the bottom of the pit before the lions had got the mastery over them, and all their bones they crushed.”d—Daniel 6:24.

21. In dealing with family members of wrongdoers, what contrast existed between the Mosaic Law and the laws of some ancient cultures?

²¹ Putting to death not only the conspirators but also their wives and children may seem unreasonably harsh. In contrast, the Law that God gave through the prophet Moses stated: “Fathers should not be put to death on account of children, and children should not be put to death on account of fathers. Each one should be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24:16) Nevertheless, in some ancient cultures, it was not unusual for family members to be executed along with the wrongdoer, in the case of a serious crime. Perhaps this was done so that family members would not be able to seek revenge later on. However, this act against the families of the high officials and the satraps was certainly none of Daniel’s doing. Likely, he was distressed over the calamity that these wicked men had brought upon their families.