Daniel:6:1-28
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It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes ,
which should be over the whole kingdom ;
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And over these three presidents ;
of whom Daniel was first :
that the princes might give accounts unto them ,
and the king should have no damage .
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Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes ,
because an excellent spirit was in him ;
and the king thought to set him over the whole realm .
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Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom ;
but they could find none occasion nor fault ;
forasmuch as he was faithful ,
neither was there any error or fault found in him .
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Then said these men ,
We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel ,
except we find it against him concerning the law of his God .
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Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king ,
and said thus unto him ,
King Darius ,
live for ever .
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All the presidents of the kingdom ,
the governors ,
and the princes ,
the counsellors ,
and the captains ,
have consulted together to establish a royal statute ,
and to make a firm decree ,
that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days ,
save of thee ,
O king ,
he shall be cast into the den of lions .
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Now ,
O king ,
establish the decree ,
and sign the writing ,
that it be not changed ,
according to the law of the Medes and Persians ,
which altereth not .
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Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree .
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Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed ,
he went into his house ;
and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem ,
he kneeled upon his knees three times a day ,
and prayed ,
and gave thanks before his God ,
as he did aforetime .
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Then these men assembled ,
and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God .
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Then they came near ,
and spake before the king concerning the king '
s decree ;
Hast thou not signed a decree ,
that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days ,
save of thee ,
O king ,
shall be cast into the den of lions ?
The king answered and said ,
The thing is true ,
according to the law of the Medes and Persians ,
which altereth not .
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Then answered they and said before the king ,
That Daniel ,
which is of the children of the captivity of Judah ,
regardeth not thee ,
O king ,
nor the decree that thou hast signed ,
but maketh his petition three times a day .
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Then the king ,
when he heard these words ,
was sore displeased with himself ,
and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him :
and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him .
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Then these men assembled unto the king ,
and said unto the king ,
Know ,
O king ,
that the law of the Medes and Persians is ,
That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed .
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Then the king commanded ,
and they brought Daniel ,
and cast him into the den of lions .
Now the king spake and said unto Daniel ,
Thy God whom thou servest continually ,
he will deliver thee .
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And a stone was brought ,
and laid upon the mouth of the den ;
and the king sealed it with his own signet ,
and with the signet of his lords ;
that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel .
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Then the king went to his palace ,
and passed the night fasting :
neither were instruments of musick brought before him :
and his sleep went from him .
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Then the king arose very early in the morning ,
and went in haste unto the den of lions .
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And when he came to the den ,
he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel :
and the king spake and said to Daniel ,
O Daniel ,
servant of the living God ,
is thy God ,
whom thou servest continually ,
able to deliver thee from the lions ?
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Then said Daniel unto the king ,
O king ,
live for ever .
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My God hath sent his angel ,
and hath shut the lions '
mouths ,
that they have not hurt me :
forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me ;
and also before thee ,
O king ,
have I done no hurt .
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Then was the king exceeding glad for him ,
and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den .
So Daniel was taken up out of the den ,
and no manner of hurt was found upon him ,
because he believed in his God .
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And the king commanded ,
and they brought those men which had accused Daniel ,
and they cast them into the den of lions ,
them ,
their children ,
and their wives ;
and the lions had the mastery of them ,
and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den .
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Then king Darius wrote unto all people ,
nations ,
and languages ,
that dwell in all the earth ;
Peace be multiplied unto you .
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I make a decree ,
That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel :
for he is the living God ,
and stedfast for ever ,
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed ,
and his dominion shall be even unto the end .
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He delivereth and rescueth ,
and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth ,
who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions .
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So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius ,
and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian .