12 Then they came near, and spoke 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 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 altereth not.'
And they came and spoke to the king concerning the edict: O king, hast thou not decreed, that every man that should make a request to any of the gods, or men, for thirty days, but to thyself, O king, should be cast into the den of the lions? And the king answered them, saying: The word is true according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, which it is not lawful to violate.