9. And so King Darius signed the order.
10. When Daniel learnt that the order had been signed, he went home. In an upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced towards Jerusalem. There, just as he had always done, he knelt down at the open windows and prayed to God three times a day.
11. When Daniel's enemies observed him praying to God,
12. all of them went together to the king to accuse Daniel. They said, “Your Majesty, you signed an order that for the next thirty days anyone who requested anything from any god or from any human being except you, would be thrown into a pit filled with lions.”The king replied, “Yes, a strict order, a law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”
13. Then they said to the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, does not respect Your Majesty or obey the order you issued. He prays regularly three times a day.”
14. When the king heard this, he was upset and did his best to find some way to rescue Daniel. He kept trying until sunset.
15. Then Daniel's enemies came back to the king and said to him, “Your Majesty knows that according to the laws of the Medes and Persians no order which the king issues can be changed.”
16. So the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and he was thrown into the pit filled with lions. He said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve so loyally, rescue you.”
17. A stone was put over the mouth of the pit, and the king placed his own royal seal and the seal of his noblemen on the stone, so that no one could rescue Daniel.
18. Then the king returned to the palace and spent a sleepless night, without food or any form of entertainment.
19. At dawn the king got up and hurried to the pit.
20. When he got there, he called out anxiously, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was the God you serve so loyally able to save you from the lions?”
21. Daniel answered, “May Your Majesty live for ever!
22. God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. He did this because he knew that I was innocent and because I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”