1Darius decided to set a hundred and twenty princes over the kingdom, to rule throughout the whole kingdom.
2Over these he set three presidents, and Daniel was the first of them. The princes were to give their accounts to these three, so that the king would lose nothing.
3Then this Daniel was set above the presidents and the princes, because an excellent spirit was in him. The king planned to set him over the whole realm.
4Then the presidents and the princes tried to find some charge against Daniel in the business of the kingdom. But they could find no charge and no fault, because he was faithful. No error or fault was found in him.
5Then these men said, "We will never find any charge against this Daniel, unless we find it against him in the law of his God."
6Then these presidents and princes came together to the king and said to him, "King Darius, live for ever."
7All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors and the princes, the counsellors and the captains, have talked together. We want the king to make a royal law and to put out a firm order: that for thirty days anyone who asks a request of any god or man, except of you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions.
8"Now, O king, make the order and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not change."
9So king Darius signed the writing and the order.
10Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house. The windows of his upper room were open towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt down on his knees and prayed and gave thanks before his God, just as he had done before.
11Then these men came together and found Daniel praying and making his request before his God.
12Then they went to the king and spoke to him about the king's order. "Have you not signed an order that for thirty days any man who asks a request of any god or man, except of you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions?" The king answered, "The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not change."
13Then they answered the king, "That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the order you have signed. He makes his request three times a day."
14When the king heard these words, he was very unhappy with himself. He set his heart on saving Daniel, and he worked until the sun went down to rescue him.
15Then these men came together to the king and said to him, "Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is this: no order or law which the king makes may be changed."
16Then the king gave the command. They brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve all the time, he will save you."
17A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den. The king sealed it with his own seal and with the seals of his lords, so that nothing about Daniel could be changed.
18Then the king went to his palace and spent the night without food. No music was brought in before him, and his sleep went from him.
19Then the king got up very early in the morning and hurried to the den of lions.
20When he came to the den, he called out to Daniel with a sad voice. The king said to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve all the time, able to save you from the lions?"
21Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live for ever."
22"My God has sent his angel and has shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me. For I was found innocent before him, and before you also, O king, I have done no wrong."
23Then the king was very glad for him, and commanded that they should lift Daniel out of the den. So Daniel was lifted out of the den, and no hurt of any kind was found on him, because he believed in his God.
24Then the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and threw them into the den of lions, them, their children and their wives. The lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces before they even reached the bottom of the den.
25Then king Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and languages that live in all the earth: "May peace be multiplied to you."
26I make an order: that in every part of my kingdom people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he stands firm for ever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will last to the end.
27"He saves and he rescues, and he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."