The Plot against Daniel

¹Now it pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom,

²and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.

³Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

⁴Thus the administrators and satraps sought a charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, but they could find no charge or corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was found in him.

⁵Finally these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”

⁶So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!

⁷All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

⁸Therefore, O king, establish the decree and sign the document so that it cannot be changed—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

⁹Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.

Daniel in the Lions’ Den

¹⁰Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

¹¹Then these men went as a group and found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God.

¹²So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?”The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”

¹³Then they told the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, shows no regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed. He still makes his petition three times a day.”

¹⁴As soon as the king heard this, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel, and he labored until sundown to rescue him.

¹⁵Then the men approached the king together and said to him, “Remember, O king, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or ordinance established by the king can be changed.”

¹⁶So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions.The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

¹⁷A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that nothing concerning Daniel could be changed.

¹⁸Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No entertainment was brought before him, and sleep fled from him.

¹⁹At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions.

²⁰When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

²¹Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!

²²My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”

²³The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den, and when Daniel was lifted out of the den, no wounds whatsoever were found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴At the command of the king, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they and their children and wives. And before they had reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Darius Honors God

²⁵Then King Darius wrote to the people of every nation and language throughout the land: “May your prosperity abound.

²⁶I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:For He is the living God,and He endures forever;His kingdom will never be destroyed,and His dominion will never end.

²⁷He delivers and rescues;He performs signs and wondersin the heavens and on the earth,for He has rescued Danielfrom the power of the lions.”

²⁸So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrusthe Persian.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Statue

¹King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statuesixty cubits high and six cubits wide,and he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

²Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.

³So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

⁴Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “O people of every nation and language, this is what you are commanded:

⁵As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music,you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

⁶And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.”

⁷Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Accused

⁸At this time some astrologerscame forward and maliciously accused the Jews,

⁹saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!

¹⁰You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue,

¹¹and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

¹²But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,

¹⁴and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up?

¹⁵Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

¹⁷If the God whom we serve exists, then He is ableto deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

¹⁸But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

The Fiery Furnace

¹⁹At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,

²⁰and he commanded some mighty men of valor in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing fiery furnace.

²¹So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

²²The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the fiery flames killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

²³And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.

²⁴Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and asked his advisers, “Did we not throw three men, firmly bound, into the fire?”“Certainly, O king,” they replied.

²⁵“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!”So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,

²⁷and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angeland delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

²⁹Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble. For there is no other god who can deliver in this way.”

³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Jephthah Defeats Ephraim

¹Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”

²But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.

³When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”

⁴Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”

⁵The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim would say, “Let me cross over,” the Gileadites would ask him, “Are you an Ephraimite?”If he answered, “No,”

⁶they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.”If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.

⁷Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

⁸After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.

⁹He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years.

¹⁰Then Ibzan died, and he was buried in Bethlehem.

¹¹After Ibzan, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel ten years.

¹²Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

¹³After Elon, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, judged Israel.

¹⁴He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.

¹⁵Then Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, died, and he was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

The Evanescence of Wealth

¹Hear this, all you peoples;listen, all inhabitants of the world,

²both low and high,rich and poor alike.

³My mouth will impart wisdom,and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;I will express my riddle with the harp:

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble,when wicked usurpers surround me?

⁶They trust in their wealthand boast in their great riches.

⁷No man can possibly redeem his brotheror pay his ransom to God.

⁸For the redemption of his soul is costly,and never can payment suffice,

⁹that he should live on foreverand not see decay.

¹⁰For it is clear that wise men die,and the foolish and the senseless both perishand leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their gravesare their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.

¹²But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure;he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the fate of the foolishand their followers who endorse their sayings.Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are destined for Sheol.Death will be their shepherd.The upright will rule them in the morning,and their form will decay in Sheol,far from their lofty abode.

¹⁵But God will redeem my life from Sheol,for He will surely take me to Himself.Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a man grows rich,when the splendor of his house increases.

¹⁷For when he dies, he will carry nothing away;his abundance will not follow him down.

¹⁸Though in his lifetime he blesses his soul—and men praise you when you prosper—

¹⁹he will join the generation of his fathers,who will never see the light of day.

²⁰A man who has riches without understandingis like the beasts that perish.