and the commander of the court officials said to Daniel, "I [am] afraid [of] my lord, the king, who has determined your food and your drink, for {why should} he see your face having a worse appearance than the young men who {are your age}? Then you will endanger my head with the king."

Then let our appearances and the appearance of the young men who are eating the fine food of the king be compared {before you}, and [then] deal with your servants {according to what you see}."

The king answered and said, "{Certainly} I know that {you are trying to gain time} {because} you have seen {that this matter is firmly decreed by me},

and [told them] to seek mercy {from the God of heaven} concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.

{The king then asked} and said to Daniel, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its explanation?"

{And just as} you saw the feet and the toes, {partly potter's clay} and {partly iron}, it will be a divided kingdom; and {some hardness} of the iron will be [in it], {just as} you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay.

{He answered}, saying, "Look, I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire and there is no damage to them, and the appearance of the fourth [man] resembles the son of a god."

And [now] you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that [do] not see and [do] not hear and [do] not know, but the God {who holds your life in his hand} and all of your ways {come from him}, you have not honored.

Then the [other] administrators and satraps {began to seek} to find pretext against Daniel {in connection with the kingdom}, but they were not able to find any pretext and {corruption} {because} he was trustworthy, and no negligence or {corruption} {could be found in him}.

All of [the] administrators of the kingdom, and the prefects, the satraps, the counselors and the governors took counsel [and have] agreed to establish an edict of the king and to enforce a decree that {whoever} will seek a prayer from any god or human except from you [for] up to thirty days will be thrown into {the lion pit}.

Then they approached {and spoke with the king} concerning the edict of the king, "{Did you not sign an edict} that any person who would seek [anything] from any God or human within thirty days except from you, O king, would be thrown into {the lion pit}?" The king answered and said, "The matter [as you have just stated] is certain according to [the] law of [the] Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked."

Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek [him] [by] prayer and pleas for mercy, in fasting and [in] sackcloth and ashes.

And I [was] still speaking in prayer, and the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision {previously}, {in my weariness touched me} at [the] time of [the] evening offering.

And I saw, I, Daniel {alone}, the vision; and the people who were with me {did not see} the vision; nevertheless, a great trembling fell upon them and they fled [in order] to hide themselves.