King James Version

1 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom when he was about sixty-two years old. 2 He set forth before Darius and established over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps to be in charge of the whole kingdom. 3 And from among them there are three leaders, Daniel being one of them, whom the chief officials appointed to give them advice, and the king should not be harmed. 4 Then Daniel was contending with the satraps, and with the administrators, all because a greater spirit was in him, and the king made him ruler over all the kingdom. 5 Then my leaders and my officials were in the presence of Daniel from the side of the kingdom, and all the presence and evil could not be forgotten; all who are trustworthy and all evil were not remembered before him. 6 Now the men said to me that they would not forget Daniel, for all this was known to them concerning him in the law of God. 7 Then my princes and the satraps felt concern for the king, and thus they said to her, "Darius, king, live forever." 8 All the officials of the kingdom and the governors and the satraps and the counselors and the administrators have convened to establish a decree that anyone who makes a request of any god or man for thirty days, except for you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions. 9 Like a king, you will establish a decree, and you will inscribe a writing that should not be changed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which shall not be revoked. 10 All that King Darius has written is a decree and a command. 11 And Daniel, as he knew that the writing was upon the wall, and he intended to open it against Jerusalem, and sometimes thrice in a day he blessed upon his knees and prayed and gave thanks before God for all that he had done since time immemorial. 12 Now therefore, let the men rejoice and remember Daniel in prayer and supplication before God. 13 And then they approached and said before the king concerning the king's decree: "Have you not decreed that anyone who petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be thrown into the lion's den?" The king answered and said, "The word is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not change." 14 Then his servants said before the king that Daniel, who is of the children of the exile of Judah, pays no regard to you, O king, nor to the decree that you have signed; but he makes his petition three times a day. 15 Then the king gave an order that the great word be heard in a fire upon the offering, and upon Daniel he placed a sentence for destruction, and until above the sun he would strive for her deliverance. 16 Then the men felt alarmed for the king and said to the king, "Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is that every decree and statute that the king establishes cannot be altered." 17 Then the king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” 18 And you shall take a new stone and set it on the top of the pile, and you shall seal it with the seal of the king in its strength, and in the strength of his great ones, that it shall not change according to Daniel. 19 Then I went out of the palace and the temple, and I did not see the head before her, and her sleep was taken away from her. 20 Then the king will stand in the brightness, and in the confusion, the lion will depart. 21 And when he drew near to the den, with a loud voice he called out to Daniel and said to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God whom you continually serve able to deliver you from the lions?" 22 Then Daniel spoke with the king and said, "Live forever." 23 My God, send your angel and close the mouth of the lion, and do not allow them to harm me, for I have been found innocent before you, and even before you, O king, I have committed no wrong. 24 And then King Nebuchadnezzar said to Daniel, "You are able to interpret dreams, for no secret is too difficult for you." 25 And the king said, "Let the mighty men go to the place where they shall eat the portion that Daniel and the sons of his people shall not be counted among the mighty men of the kingdom until they dominate over the people of the kingdom and all their possessions." 26 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: "Peace be multiplied to you." 27 From ancient times, the taste has been that in all dominions, my kingdom shall be strong and enduring before God, whose judgment is alive and everlasting, and her kingdom shall not be destroyed, and her dominion forever. 28 He will deliver and save, and shall work wonders in heaven and on earth, for he will deliver Daniel from the hand of the lions.