Δανιήλ 6
1 καὶ κατέστησε σατράπας ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ
King Darius decided to divide his kingdom into 120 provinces. He appointed a governor to rule each province.
2 καὶ ἐπ’ αὐτῶν ἄνδρας τρεῖς ἡγουμένους αὐτῶν καὶ Δανιηλ εἷς ἦν τῶν τριῶν ἀνδρῶν
He also appointed me and two other men to be administrators, to supervise the governors and to be sure that they did the king’s work [properly], in order that the king would not have to worry about anything.
3 ὑπὲρ πάντας ἔχων ἐξουσίαν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ καὶ Δανιηλ ἦν ἐνδεδυμένος πορφύραν καὶ μέγας καὶ ἔνδοξος ἔναντι Δαρείου τοῦ βασιλέως καθότι ἦν ἔνδοξος καὶ ἐπιστήμων καὶ συνετός καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ εὐοδούμενος ἐν ταῖς πραγματείαις τοῦ βασιλέως αἷς ἔπρασσε τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐβουλεύσατο καταστῆσαι τὸν Δανιηλ ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς δύο ἄνδρας οὓς κατέστησε μετ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ σατράπας ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἑπτά
I soon showed that I was (more capable/able to do the work better) than all the other administrators and the governors. Because of that, the king planned to appoint me to be in charge of the entire empire.
4 ὅτε δὲ ἐβουλεύσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς καταστῆσαι τὸν Δανιηλ ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ τότε βουλὴν καὶ γνώμην ἐβουλεύσαντο ἐν ἑαυτοῖς οἱ δύο νεανίσκοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες ἐπεὶ οὐδεμίαν ἁμαρτίαν οὐδὲ ἄγνοιαν ηὕρισκον κατὰ τοῦ Δανιηλ περὶ ἧς κατηγορήσουσιν αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα
Then, the [other] administrators and the governors [became jealous. So they began to] try to find something that they could criticize about the way I was working for the king. But I always did my work faithfully and honestly, and was never lazy. So they could not find anything to criticize.
5 καὶ εἶπαν δεῦτε στήσωμεν ὁρισμὸν καθ’ ἑαυτῶν ὅτι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἀξιώσει ἀξίωμα καὶ οὐ μὴ εὔξηται εὐχὴν ἀπὸ παντὸς θεοῦ ἕως ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα ἀλλ’ ἢ παρὰ Δαρείου τοῦ βασιλέως εἰ δὲ μή ἀποθανεῖται ἵνα ἡττήσωσι τὸν Δανιηλ ἐναντίον τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ῥιφῇ εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων ᾔδεισαν γὰρ ὅτι Δανιηλ προσεύχεται καὶ δεῖται κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτοῦ τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας
They concluded, “The only way we can find something for which we can criticize Daniel will be something concerning the laws that his god [his given him].”
6 τότε προσήλθοσαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐκεῖνοι καὶ εἶπαν ἐναντίον τοῦ βασιλέως
So the administrators and governors went as one group to the king and said, “(Your Majesty/O king), we wish that you will live a long time!
7 ὁρισμὸν καὶ στάσιν ἐστήσαμεν ὅτι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἂν εὔξηται εὐχὴν ἢ ἀξιώσῃ ἀξίωμά τι παρὰ παντὸς θεοῦ ἕως ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα ἀλλ’ ἢ παρὰ Δαρείου τοῦ βασιλέως ῥιφήσεται εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων
[We] administrators and governors and district governors and advisors and other officials have all agreed that you should make a law that everyone must obey. We want you to command that for the next thirty days people may pray only to you. If anyone prays to anyone else, either to a human or to a god, he must be thrown into [a pit of] lions.
8 καὶ ἠξίωσαν τὸν βασιλέα ἵνα στήσῃ τὸν ὁρισμὸν καὶ μὴ ἀλλοιώσῃ αὐτόν διότι ᾔδεισαν ὅτι Δανιηλ προσεύχεται καὶ δεῖται τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας ἵνα ἡττηθῇ διὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ῥιφῇ εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων
And because laws made by [our governments of] Media and Persia cannot be changed, [we want] you, [the head of our government], to sign it.”
9 καὶ οὕτως ὁ βασιλεὺς Δαρεῖος ἔστησε καὶ ἐκύρωσεν
So King Darius [wrote] the law and signed it.
10 ἐπιγνοὺς δὲ Δανιηλ τὸν ὁρισμόν ὃν ἔστησε κατ’ αὐτοῦ θυρίδας ἤνοιξεν ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ αὐτοῦ κατέναντι Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἔπιπτεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας καθὼς ἐποίει ἔμπροσθεν καὶ ἐδεῖτο
But when I found out that [the king] had [written and] signed that law, I went home. I knelt down in my upstairs room and prayed. I looked toward Jerusalem, and the windows were open [with the result that everyone could see me while I was praying]. I prayed three times each day, just as I always did, thanking God.
11 καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐτήρησαν τὸν Δανιηλ καὶ κατελάβοσαν αὐτὸν εὐχόμενον τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας καθ’ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν
The officials went together [to my house] and they saw me praying and requesting God to help me.
12 τότε οὗτοι οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐνέτυχον τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ εἶπαν Δαρεῖε βασιλεῦ οὐχ ὁρισμὸν ὡρίσω ἵνα πᾶς ἄνθρωπος μὴ εὔξηται εὐχὴν μηδὲ ἀξιώσῃ ἀξίωμα παρὰ παντὸς θεοῦ ἕως ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα ἀλλὰ παρὰ σοῦ βασιλεῦ εἰ δὲ μή ῥιφήσεται εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ἀκριβὴς ὁ λόγος καὶ μενεῖ ὁ ὁρισμός καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ ὁρκίζομέν σε τοῖς Μήδων καὶ Περσῶν δόγμασιν ἵνα μὴ ἀλλοιώσῃς τὸ πρόσταγμα μηδὲ θαυμάσῃς πρόσωπον καὶ ἵνα μὴ ἐλαττώσῃς τι τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ κολάσῃς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὃς οὐκ ἐνέμεινε τῷ ὁρισμῷ τούτῳ καὶ εἶπεν οὕτως ποιήσω καθὼς λέγετε καὶ ἕστηκέ μοι τοῦτο
So they returned to the king and said to him, “[Do you remember] that you wrote a law stating that for the next thirty days people may pray only to you, and if anyone prays to anyone else, either to a human or to a god, he will be thrown into [a pit of] lions?” The king replied, “[Yes, that is the law that I wrote]. It is a law of [our governments of] Media and Persia, which cannot be canceled.”
13 καὶ εἶπαν ἰδοὺ εὕρομεν Δανιηλ τὸν φίλον σου εὐχόμενον καὶ δεόμενον τοῦ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτοῦ τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας
Then they said to the king, “Well, that [man] Daniel, one of the men who were brought from Judah, is not paying any attention to you or the law that you [signed]. He prays [to his god] three times each day!”
14 καὶ λυπούμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς εἶπεν ῥιφῆναι τὸν Δανιηλ εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων κατὰ τὸν ὁρισμόν ὃν ἔστησε κατ’ αὐτοῦ τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς σφόδρα ἐλυπήθη ἐπὶ τῷ Δανιηλ καὶ ἐβοήθει τοῦ ἐξελέσθαι αὐτὸν ἕως δυσμῶν ἡλίου ἀπὸ τῶν χειρῶν τῶν σατραπῶν
When the king heard that, he was very distressed. He tried to find a way to save me. All the rest of that day he tried to think of a way to rescue me.
15 καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ἐξελέσθαι αὐτὸν ἀπ’ αὐτῶν
[In the evening, many of] [HYP] the officials went together to the king and said, “(Your Majesty/O king), you know that [our governments of] Media and Persia have declared that no law that the king signs can be canceled/changed. [So Daniel must be thrown to the lions!]”
16 ἀναβοήσας δὲ Δαρεῖος ὁ βασιλεὺς εἶπε τῷ Δανιηλ ὁ θεός σου ᾧ σὺ λατρεύεις ἐνδελεχῶς τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας αὐτὸς ἐξελεῖταί σε ἐκ χειρὸς τῶν λεόντων ἕως πρωὶ θάρρει
So the king gave the order, and his servants brought me and threw me into a pit where the lions [were]. [Before they threw me in], the king said to me, “I hope/wish that your God, whom you worship regularly, will rescue you!”
17 τότε Δανιηλ ἐρρίφη εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων καὶ ἠνέχθη λίθος καὶ ἐτέθη εἰς τὸ στόμα τοῦ λάκκου καὶ ἐσφραγίσατο ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν τῷ δακτυλίῳ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς δακτυλίοις τῶν μεγιστάνων αὐτοῦ ὅπως μὴ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀρθῇ ὁ Δανιηλ ἢ ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτὸν ἀνασπάσῃ ἐκ τοῦ λάκκου
They rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the pit. Then the king [fastened a string across the entrance and put wax at each end, and stamped the wax with] the seal from his [ring] and the seals [of the rings] of his officials, in order that no one could [secretly] rescue me.
18 τότε ὑπέστρεψεν ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὰ βασίλεια αὐτοῦ καὶ ηὐλίσθη νῆστις καὶ ἦν λυπούμενος περὶ τοῦ Δανιηλ τότε ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Δανιηλ πρόνοιαν ποιούμενος αὐτοῦ ἀπέκλεισε τὰ στόματα τῶν λεόντων καὶ οὐ παρηνώχλησαν τῷ Δανιηλ
Then the king returned to his palace. That night he refused to eat any food. He would not allow anyone to entertain him [because he did not want to be happy, with the result that he would forget about me. And that night] he was unable to sleep [because he was worried about me].
19 καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς Δαρεῖος ὤρθρισε πρωὶ καὶ παρέλαβε μεθ’ ἑαυτοῦ τοὺς σατράπας καὶ πορευθεὶς ἔστη ἐπὶ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ λάκκου τῶν λεόντων
At dawn the next morning, the king got up and went quickly to the pit where the lions were.
20 τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκάλεσε τὸν Δανιηλ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ λέγων ὦ Δανιηλ εἰ ἄρα ζῇς καὶ ὁ θεός σου ᾧ λατρεύεις ἐνδελεχῶς σέσωκέ σε ἀπὸ τῶν λεόντων καὶ οὐκ ἠχρείωκάν σε
When he came near it, he was very worried. He called out, “Daniel, you who serve the all-powerful God! Was your God, whom you worship regularly, able to save you from the lions?”
21 τότε Δανιηλ ἐπήκουσε φωνῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ εἶπεν βασιλεῦ ἔτι εἰμὶ ζῶν
I answered, “(Your Majesty/O king), I hope that you will live a long time!
22 καὶ σέσωκέ με ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ τῶν λεόντων καθότι δικαιοσύνη ἐν ἐμοὶ εὑρέθη ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐναντίον δὲ σοῦ βασιλεῦ οὔτε ἄγνοια οὔτε ἁμαρτία εὑρέθη ἐν ἐμοί σὺ δὲ ἤκουσας ἀνθρώπων πλανώντων βασιλεῖς καὶ ἔρριψάς με εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων εἰς ἀπώλειαν
[Yes], my God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths, in order that they would not harm me! [He did that] because [he knows that] I have done nothing that he thinks is wrong. And, (Your Majesty/O king), I never did anything wrong to you!”
23 τότε συνήχθησαν πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις καὶ εἶδον τὸν Δανιηλ ὡς οὐ παρηνώχλησαν αὐτῷ οἱ λέοντες
The king was extremely happy, and he commanded [his servants] to lift me out of the pit. [When they did that, they] saw that the lions had not wounded me at all. [God had protected me] because I trusted in him.
24 τότε οἱ δύο ἄνθρωποι ἐκεῖνοι οἱ καταμαρτυρήσαντες τοῦ Δανιηλ αὐτοὶ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῶν ἐρρίφησαν τοῖς λέουσι καὶ οἱ λέοντες ἀπέκτειναν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔθλασαν τὰ ὀστᾶ αὐτῶν
Then the king commanded that the men who had accused me should be seized and be thrown, along with their wives and children, into the pit where the lions were. [When they were thrown into the pit], the lions leaped on them and crushed their bones before they fell onto the bottom of the pit!
25 τότε Δαρεῖος ἔγραψε πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ χώραις καὶ γλώσσαις τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ αὐτοῦ λέγων
Then King Darius wrote [this message and sent it throughout his kingdom] to the people of every people-group and nation and from all language groups: “I wish/hope that everything is going very well with you!
26 πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ ὄντες ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ μου ἔστωσαν προσκυνοῦντες καὶ λατρεύοντες τῷ θεῷ τοῦ Δανιηλ αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστι θεὸς μένων καὶ ζῶν εἰς γενεὰς γενεῶν ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος
I command that everyone in my kingdom should fear and revere the God that Daniel [worships]. He is the all-powerful God, and he will live forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed; he will rule forever.
27 ἐγὼ Δαρεῖος ἔσομαι αὐτῷ προσκυνῶν καὶ δουλεύων πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας μου τὰ γὰρ εἴδωλα τὰ χειροποίητα οὐ δύνανται σῶσαι ὡς ἐλυτρώσατο ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Δανιηλ τὸν Δανιηλ
He rescues and saves [his people]. He performs all kinds of miracles in heaven and on the earth. He rescued Daniel from the power of the lions!”
28 καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς Δαρεῖος προσετέθη πρὸς τὸ γένος αὐτοῦ καὶ Δανιηλ κατεστάθη ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλείας Δαρείου καὶ Κῦρος ὁ Πέρσης παρέλαβε τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ
So I was successful [all] during the time that Darius ruled and during the time that Cyrus, [the King] of Persia, ruled.
