Daniel 6 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Darius decided it made sense to appoint a hundred and twenty regional governors to manage the entire kingdom.

Over them, he placed three chief administrators — and Daniel was one of them. The governors reported to these three so that the king wouldn't suffer any losses.

Daniel quickly stood out from the other administrators and governors because he had an extraordinary spirit in him. The king was considering putting him in charge of the entire kingdom.

So the other administrators and governors started looking for something to use against Daniel in his government work. But they couldn't find a single thing to accuse him of — no corruption, no negligence, nothing. He was completely trustworthy.

Finally, these men said, "We're never going to find anything against Daniel — unless we use his devotion to his God against him."

So the administrators and governors went together to the king and said, "King Darius, may you live forever!"

"All the chief administrators of the kingdom, the prefects, the governors, the advisors, and the regional leaders have agreed that the king should issue a binding decree: for the next thirty days, anyone who prays to any god or person other than you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into the pit of lions."

"Now, Your Majesty, establish the decree and sign the document so it cannot be changed — in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be reversed."

So King Darius signed the written decree.

When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God — just as he had always done.

Then these men came as a group and found Daniel praying and asking his God for help.

They went straight to the king and brought up the royal decree: "Your Majesty, didn't you sign a decree that for the next thirty days, anyone who prays to any god or person other than you would be thrown into the pit of lions?" The king answered, "That's exactly right — and it's binding under the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be reversed."

Then they said to the king, "Daniel — one of the Jewish exiles — pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you signed. He still prays three times a day."

When the king heard this, he was deeply troubled. He set his mind on rescuing Daniel and worked until sundown trying to find a way to save him.

Then the men came as a group to the king and said, "Remember, Your Majesty — under the law of the Medes and Persians, no decree or statute the king establishes can be changed."

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the pit of lions. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you."

A stone was brought and placed over the opening of the pit. The king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing about Daniel's situation could be changed.

Then the king went back to his palace. He refused food that night, wouldn't allow any entertainment to be brought to him, and couldn't sleep at all.

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and rushed to the pit of lions.

As he came near the pit, he called out to Daniel in a voice full of anguish: "Daniel, servant of the living God — was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?"

Daniel answered, "Your Majesty, may you live forever!"

"My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths. They haven't hurt me at all, because I was found innocent before him. And I've never done anything wrong against you either, Your Majesty."

The king was overjoyed and gave orders for Daniel to be lifted out of the pit. When Daniel was brought up, not a single scratch was found on him — because he had trusted his God.

Then the king gave the order, and the men who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the pit of lions — along with their wives and children. Before they even reached the bottom of the pit, the lions overpowered them and crushed every bone in their bodies.

Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and language groups throughout the whole earth: "May your prosperity increase!"

"I am issuing a decree that in every part of my kingdom, people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. He is the living God, and he endures forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his authority has no end."

"He rescues and he saves. He performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He is the one who rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and during the reign of Cyrus the Persian.