1 It pleased Darius when he appointed satraps {achashdarpenayya: regional governors} over the kingdom {malkhūṭā: realm of rule}, one hundred and twenty in total.
2 Over them he appointed three high officials {sarkhin: high authorities}, one of whom was Daniel, so that the satraps {achashdarpenayya: regional governors} would give account to them, and the king would suffer no harm.
3 The king appointed three officials over them {sarkhin: administrative overseers}, one of whom was Daniel, and these satraps provided them rations {tama: daily allotments}. And the king found no fault in him.
4 Then the high officials {sarkhayya: chief administrators} and the satraps {achashdarpenayya: regional governors} sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was trustworthy and no error or fault was found in him.
5 Then the officials and the satraps said, “We shall not find any occasion {illah: grounds for accusation} against this Daniel unless we find it concerning the law of his God {Elohim, Lawgiver}.”
6 Then the high officials and the satraps assembled {itkenneshu: deliberate gathering} by agreement before the king and said to him, “O King Darius, may you live forever {chei: may you thrive}!”
7 All the kingdom’s officials—the prefects, the administrators, the counselors, the governors, and the satraps {aḥashdarpnayya: regional governors}—have taken counsel to establish a royal statute and enforce an interdict: anyone who petitions {yiveh: request with supplication} any god or any person for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
8 Now, O king, establish the interdict {eser: binding edict} and sign the document {ketava: official record}, so that it may not be changed {lehashnaya: modified or reversed}, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.
9 Therefore King Darius signed the document {ketava: official record} and the interdict {esara: binding edict}, which could not be altered according to the law of the Medes and Persians.
10 And when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he entered his house—his windows in the upper room were open toward Jerusalem—and three times a day he knelt on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks before {lifnei: in-the-presence-of} his God {Elah: Faithful Guardian}, just as he had done previously.
11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and seeking favor {mithannen: earnest plea} before his God {Elah, Hearer of Prayer}.
12 Then these presidents and satraps came before the king regarding the interdict {pitrena: formal prohibition}, “O king, did you not sign a decree that anyone who petitions any god or man within thirty days—except you, O king—shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The interdict stands {qayyama: firm standing} according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”
13 Then they said to the king, “O king, live forever! Daniel, one of the exiles {galuta: forced displacement} of Judah pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction he signed, but he makes petition {tepilatān: solemn plea} three times a day.”
14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed {ra'ag: intense agitation} and he set his mind on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored until the sun went down {shemesh: day’s light source} to rescue him.
15 Then these men approached the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that by the law {dat: official decree} of the Medes and Persians no interdict {esar: binding edict} or statute that the king establishes may not be changed.”
16 Then the king commanded and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king spoke to Daniel, “May your God {elahakh: divine authority}, whom you serve {paleakh: worshipfully attend} continually, deliver you.”
17 And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet {petaqa: royal seal} and with the signets of his lords {saraita: nobles’ rings}, so that nothing concerning Daniel might be changed.
18 Then the king {malka: supreme ruler} went to his palace and passed the night in fasting {betanet: abstention from food}; no entertainments were brought before him, and his sleep fled from him.
19 Then the king {malka: sovereign ruler} arose at dawn, at first light {benagha: early glow}, and in haste he went to the pit of the lions.
20 As he came near to the den {gubba: enclosed pit}, he cried out with a troubled voice; the king said to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God {Elaha: Ever-Living Sovereign}, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
21 Then {edayin: Narrative Transition} Daniel spoke with the king, “O king, live forever {l’almin: Ceaseless Duration}!”
22 My God {elahay, Divine Protector} sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they did not harm me, because before Him innocence {zaku: blamelessness} was found in me, and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.
23 Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den {bur: lion’s lair}. So Daniel was brought up out of the den, and no harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God {elahai, Divine Sustainer}.
24 Then the king {malka: royal authority} commanded that they bring the men who had accused Daniel and cast them, their sons, and their wives into the lions’ den. Before they reached the bottom, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones {garmehon: skeletal structure}.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples {ʿammayya: ethnic groups}, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “May your peace {shelam: well-being and safety} increase.”
26 From before me I decree that in all the dominions {ummalkhūta: royal domains} of my kingdom they must tremble and fear before the God {elaha: Divine Sovereign} of Daniel. For He is the living God who endures forever, and His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will last to the end.
27 He {Elahâ: Eternal Deliverer} delivers and rescues and works signs {ôt: divine signals} and wonders {pōlē': astounding deeds} in the heavens and on the earth; He has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
28 So this Daniel the man prospered {hitsliach: achieved success} in the reign {bimmelchut: royal authority} of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.