⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

⁶ So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: ^(A)“King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have ^(B)consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸ Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the ^(C)law of the Medes and Persians, which ^[a]does not alter.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.

Daniel in the Lions’ Den

¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open ^(D)toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees ^(E)three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

¹¹ Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. ^12 (F)And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”

The king answered and said, “The thing is true, ^(G)according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which ^[b]does not alter.”

¹³ So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, ^(H)who is ^[c]one of the captives from Judah, ^(I)does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

¹⁴ And the king, when he heard these words, ^(J)was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he ^[d]labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. ¹⁵ Then these men ^[e]approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is ^(K)the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”

¹⁶ So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” ^17 (L)Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, ^(M)and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.

Daniel Saved from the Lions

¹⁸ Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no ^[f]musicians were brought before him. ^(N)Also his sleep ^[g]went from him. ¹⁹ Then the ^(O)king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰ And when he came to the den, he cried out with a ^[h]lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, ^(P)has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, ^(Q)“O king, live forever! ^22 (R)My God sent His angel and ^(S)shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”

²³ Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, ^(T)because he believed in his God.

Darius Honors God

²⁴ And the king gave the command, ^(U)and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, ^(V)their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.

^25 (W)Then King Darius wrote:

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius ^(AC)and in the reign of ^(AD)Cyrus the Persian.

Fasting to Be Seen Only by God

¹⁶ “Moreover, ^(A)when you fast, do not be like the ^[a]hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. ¹⁷ But you, when you fast, ^(B)anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you ^[b]openly.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven^(C)

^19 (D)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ^20 (E)but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Lamp of the Body^(F)

^22 (G)“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is ^[c]good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eye is ^[d]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

You Cannot Serve God and Riches

^24 (H)“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. ^(I)You cannot serve God and ^[e]mammon.

Do Not Worry^(J)

²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, ^(K)do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ^26 (L)Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one ^[f]cubit to his ^[g]stature?

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not ^[h]arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But ^(M)seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

The Promise Granted Through Faith

¹³ For the promise that he would be the ^(A)heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For ^(B)if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, ¹⁵ because ^(C)the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

¹⁶ Therefore it is of faith that it might be ^(D)according to grace, ^(E)so that the promise might be ^[a]sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, ^(F)who is the father of us all ¹⁷ (as it is written, ^(G)“I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, ^(H)who gives life to the dead and calls those ^(I)things which do not exist as though they did; ¹⁸ who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, ^(J)“So shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹ And not being weak in faith, ^(K)he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), ^(L)and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰ He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully convinced that what He had promised ^(M)He was also able to perform. ²² And therefore ^(N)“it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

²³ Now ^(O)it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, ²⁴ but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe ^(P)in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ^25 (Q)who was delivered up because of our offenses, and ^(R)was raised because of our justification.