6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be throughout the whole kingdom; ² and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account unto them, and that the king should have no damage. ³ Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

⁴ Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. ⁵ 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. ⁶ Then these presidents and satraps ^[a]assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. ⁷ All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counsellors and the governors, have consulted together ^[b]to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong interdict, 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. ⁸ Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which ^[c]altereth not. ⁹ Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.

¹⁰ And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem); and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. ¹¹ Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. ¹² Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s interdict: Hast thou not signed an interdict, that every man that shall make petition unto any god or man within thirty days, save unto 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 ^[d]altereth not. ¹³ Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the interdict that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. ¹⁴ Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to rescue him. ¹⁵ Then these men assembled together unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no interdict 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. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver 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 lords; ^[e]that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. ¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were ^[f]instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.

¹⁹ Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. ²⁰ And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; 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? ²¹ Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. ²² My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, and 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. ²³ Then 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 had trusted in his God.

²⁴ And the king commanded, and they brought those men that 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, before they came to the bottom of the den.

²⁵ Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you. ²⁶ I make a decree, that in all the 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. ²⁷ 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.

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

9 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.

³ And I set my face unto the Lord God, ^[a]to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy precepts and from thine ordinances; ⁶ neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, that spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. ⁸ O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. ⁹ To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; ^[b]for we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ neither have we obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside, that they should not obey thy voice: therefore hath the curse been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God; for we have sinned against him. ¹² And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet have we not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and ^[c]have discernment in thy truth. ¹⁴ Therefore hath Jehovah watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, and we have not obeyed his voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. ¹⁶ O Lord, according to all thy ^[d]righteousness, let thine anger and thy wrath, I pray thee, be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are round about us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. ¹⁸ O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not ^[e]present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies’ sake. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

²⁰ And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God; ²¹ yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, ^[f]being caused to fly swiftly, ^[g]touched me about the time of the evening oblation. ²² And he ^[h]instructed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding. ²³ At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou art ^[i]greatly beloved: therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.

²⁴ Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, ^[j]to finish ^[k]transgression, and ^[l]to make an end of sins, and to ^[m]make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and ^[n]prophecy, and to anoint ^[o]the most holy. ²⁵ Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto ^[p]the anointed one, the prince, shall be ^[q]seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. ²⁶ And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and ^[r]shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the ^[s]oblation to cease; and ^[t]upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.

²² Now in the first year of ^[a]Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, ²³ Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.

1 Now in the first year of ^[a]Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, ² Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel ^[b](he is God), which is in Jerusalem. ⁴ And whosoever is left, in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill-offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.

⁵ Then rose up the heads of fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred to go up to build the house of Jehovah which is in Jerusalem. ⁶ And all they that were round about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. ⁷ Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put in the house of his gods; ⁸ even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah. ⁹ And this is the number of them: thirty platters of gold, a thousand platters of silver, nine and twenty knives, ¹⁰ thirty bowls of gold, silver bowls of a second sort four hundred and ten, and other vessels a thousand. ¹¹ All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand and four hundred. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when they of the captivity were brought up from Babylon unto Jerusalem.

¹⁷ And the sons of Jeconiah, ^[a]the captive: Shealtiel his son, ¹⁸ and Malchiram, and Pedaiah, and Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah. ¹⁹ And the sons of Pedaiah: Zerubbabel, and Shimei. And the ^[b]sons of Zerubbabel: Meshullam, and Hananiah; and Shelomith was their sister;