Daniel 6:16-24

Living Bible

¹⁶ So at last the king gave the order for Daniel’s arrest, and he was taken to the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you worship continually, deliver you.” And then they threw him in. ¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with that of his government, so that no one could rescue Daniel from the lions.

¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and went to bed without dinner. He refused his usual entertainment and didn’t sleep all night. ¹⁹ Very early the next morning he hurried out to the lions’ den ²⁰ and called out in anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the Living God, was your God, whom you worship continually, able to deliver you from the lions?”

²¹ Then he heard a voice! “Your Majesty, live forever!” It was Daniel! ²² “My God has sent his angel,” he said, “to shut the lions’ mouths so that they can’t touch me, for I am innocent before God; nor, sir, have I wronged you.”

²³ The king was beside himself with joy and ordered Daniel lifted from the den. And not a scratch was found on him because he believed in his God.

²⁴ Then the king issued a command to bring the men who had accused Daniel and throw them into the den along with their children and wives, and the lions leaped upon them and tore them apart before they even hit the bottom of the den.