16. (a) Why did Darius respect Daniel’s God? (b) What hope did Darius have regarding Daniel?

¹⁶ Darius felt that he had no choice in the matter. The law could not be annulled, nor could Daniel’s “transgression” be pardoned. All that Darius could say to Daniel was “your God whom you are serving with constancy, he himself will rescue you.” Darius seemed to respect Daniel’s God. It was Jehovah who had given Daniel the ability to foretell the fall of Babylon. God had also given Daniel “an extraordinary spirit,” which distinguished him from the other high officials. Perhaps Darius was aware that decades earlier this same God had delivered three young Hebrews from a fiery furnace. Likely, the king hoped that Jehovah would now deliver Daniel, since Darius was unable to reverse the law he had signed. Hence, Daniel was thrown into the lions’ pit.c Next, “a stone was brought and placed on the mouth of the pit, and the king sealed it with his signet ring and with the signet ring of his grandees, in order that nothing should be changed in the case of Daniel.”—Daniel 6:16, 17.