¹ It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be in all the kingdom;

² and over these, three presidents -- of whom Daniel was one -- to whom these satraps should render account, and that the king should suffer no loss.

³ Now this Daniel surpassed the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to appoint him over the whole realm.

⁴ Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a pretext against Daniel with respect to the kingdom; but they could not find any pretext or fault; inasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

⁵ Then said these men, We shall not find any pretext against this Daniel, unless we find [it] against him touching the law of his God.

⁶ Then these presidents and satraps came in a body to the king, and said thus unto him: King Darius, live for ever!

⁷ All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, the counsellors, and the governors 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, except of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.

⁸ 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 may not be revoked.

⁹ Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.

¹⁰ And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and, his windows being open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

¹¹ But those men came in a body, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.

¹² Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree: Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask [anything] of any god or man within thirty days, except 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 may not be revoked.

¹³ Then they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, who 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.

¹⁴ Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore distressed thereby, and set his heart on Daniel to save him; and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.

¹⁵ Then these men came in a body 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.

¹⁶ Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast [him] into the den of lions. The king spoke and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will save thee.

¹⁷ 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 nobles, that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were concubines brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.

¹⁹ Then the king arose with the light at break of day, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

²⁰ And when he came near unto the den, he cried with a mournful voice unto Daniel: the king spoke and said unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy God whom thou servest continually been able to save thee from the lions?

²¹ Then Daniel spoke unto the king, O king, live for ever!

²² My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocence was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

²³ Thereupon was the king exceeding glad, 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.

²⁴ And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces ere they came to the bottom of the den.

²⁵ Then king Darius wrote unto all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.

²⁶ 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 steadfast for ever, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.

²⁷ He saveth and delivereth, and he worketh signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth: who hath saved Daniel from the power of the lions.

²⁸ And this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

¹ This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,

² who testified to God's word, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.

³ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.

⁴ John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;

⁶ and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷ Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.

⁸ "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

⁹ I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet

¹¹ saying, "What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

¹² I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.

¹³ And among the lampstands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.

¹⁴ His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.

¹⁵ His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters.

¹⁶ He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, "Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last,

¹⁸ and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.

¹⁹ Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter;

²⁰ the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lampstands are seven assemblies.