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 For the law, having a shadow of the coming good things, not the image itself of the things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually yearly, perfect those who approach.

² Since, would they not indeed have ceased being offered, on account of the worshippers once purged having no longer any conscience of sins?

³ But in these [there is] a calling to mind of sins yearly.

⁴ For blood of bulls and goats [is] incapable of taking away sins.

⁵ Wherefore coming into the world he says, Sacrifice and offering thou willedst not; but thou hast prepared me a body.

⁶ Thou tookest no pleasure in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin.

⁷ Then I said, Lo, I come (in [the] roll of the book it is written of me) to do, O God, thy will.

⁸ Above, saying Sacrifices and offerings and burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou willedst not, neither tookest pleasure in (which are offered according to the law);

⁹ then he said, Lo, I come to do thy will. He takes away the first that he may establish the second;

¹⁰ by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

¹¹ And every priest stands daily ministering, and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

¹² But *he*, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down in perpetuity at [the] right hand of God,

¹³ waiting from henceforth until his enemies be set [for the] footstool of his feet.

¹⁴ For by one offering he has perfected in perpetuity the sanctified.

¹⁵ And the Holy Spirit also bears us witness [of it]; for after what was said:

¹⁶ This [is] the covenant which I will establish towards them after those days, saith [the] Lord: Giving my laws into their hearts, I will write them also in their understandings;

¹⁷ and their sins and their lawlessnesses I will never remember any more.

¹⁸ But where there [is] remission of these, [there is] no longer a sacrifice for sin.

¹⁹ Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the [holy of] holies by the blood of Jesus,

²⁰ the new and living way which he has dedicated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh,

²¹ and [having] a great priest over the house of God,

²² let us approach with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience, and washed as to our body with pure water.

²³ Let us hold fast the confession of the hope unwavering, (for he [is] faithful who has promised;)

²⁴ and let us consider one another for provoking to love and good works;

²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom [is] with some; but encouraging [one another], and by so much the more as ye see the day drawing near.

²⁶ For where we sin wilfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains any sacrifice for sins,

²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and heat of fire about to devour the adversaries.

²⁸ Any one that has disregarded Moses' law dies without mercy on [the testimony of] two or three witnesses:

²⁹ of how much worse punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and esteemed the blood of the covenant, whereby he has been sanctified, common, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

³⁰ For we know him that said, To me [belongs] vengeance; *I* will recompense, saith the Lord: and again, The Lord shall judge his people.

³¹ [It is] a fearful thing falling into [the] hands of [the] living God.

³² But call to mind the earlier days in which, having been enlightened, ye endured much conflict of sufferings;

³³ on the one hand, when ye were made a spectacle both in reproaches and afflictions; and on the other, when ye became partakers with those who were passing through them.

³⁴ For ye both sympathised with prisoners and accepted with joy the plunder of your goods, knowing that ye have for yourselves a better substance, and an abiding one.

³⁵ Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense.

³⁶ For ye have need of endurance in order that, having done the will of God, ye may receive the promise.

³⁷ For yet a very little while he that comes will come, and will not delay.

³⁸ But the just shall live by faith; and, if he draw back, my soul does not take pleasure in him.

³⁹ But *we* are not drawers back to perdition, but of faith to saving [the] soul.