Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a pretext against Daniel with respect to the kingdom; but they could not find any pretext or fault; inasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree: Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask anything of any god or man within thirty days, except 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 may not be revoked.

Then they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. The king spoke and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will save thee.

My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocence was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

Thereupon was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and broke all their bones in pieces ere they came to the bottom of the den.

And behold, another beast, a second, like unto a bear, and it raised up itself on one side; and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and they said thus unto it: Arise, devour much flesh.

I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man, and he came up even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

But the saints of the most high places shall receive the kingdom, and they shall possess the kingdom for ever, even to the ages of ages.

And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most high places, and think to change seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a half time.

And the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

The ram that thou sawest having the two horns: they are the kings of Media and Persia.

Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their unfaithfulness in which they have been unfaithful against thee.

And I Daniel alone saw the vision; and the men that were with me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves.

And after the course of years they shall join affinity; and the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make equitable conditions: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; and she shall be given up, she and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in those times.

And in those times shall many stand up against the king of the south; and the violent of thy people will exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

And in his place shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall engage in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall plan devices against him.

And they that eat of his delicate food shall break him, and his army shall be dissolved; and many shall fall down slain.

And both these kings' hearts shall meditate mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

And they that are wise among the people shall instruct the many; and they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

And when they fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and they that turn the many to righteousness as the stars, for ever and ever.

And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land: for great is the day of Jizreel.

And I will not have mercy upon her children; for they are the children of whoredoms.

And she did not know that I had given her the corn and the new wine and the oil, and had multiplied to her the silver and gold, which they employed for Baal.

for I will take away the names of the Baals out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.

And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith Jehovah, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth;

and the earth shall hear the corn, and the new wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jizreel.

And I will sow her unto me in the land; and I will have mercy upon Lo-ruhamah; and I will say to Lo-ammi, Thou art my people; and they shall say, My God.

And Jehovah said unto me, Go again, love a woman beloved of a friend, and an adulteress, according to the love of Jehovah for the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love raisin-cakes.

Swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out; and blood toucheth blood.

Yet let no man strive, and let no man reprove; for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me: I will change their glory into shame.

They eat the sin of my people, and their soul longeth for their iniquity.

and they shall eat, and not have enough; they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: for they have left off taking heed to Jehovah.

My people ask counsel of their stock, and their staff declareth unto them; for the spirit of whoredoms causeth them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God:

they sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oak and poplar and terebinth, because the shade thereof is good; therefore your daughters play the harlot and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your daughters-in-law for their committing adultery; for they themselves go aside with harlots, and they sacrifice with prostitutes: and the people that doth not understand shall come to ruin.

Their drink is sour; they give themselves up to whoredom; her great men passionately love their shame.

The wind hath wrapped her up in its wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

And they have plunged themselves in the corruption of apostasy, but I will be a chastiser of them all.

Their doings do not allow them to return unto their God; for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they know not Jehovah.

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.

They have dealt treacherously against Jehovah; for they havebegotten strange children: now shall the new moon devour them, with their allotted possessions.

I will go away, I will return to my place, till they acknowledge their trespass, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

And as troops of robbers lie in wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way of Shechem; yea, they commit lewdness.

When I would heal Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim is discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they practise falsehood; and the thief entereth in, and the troop of robbers assaileth without.

And they say not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now do their own doings encompass them; they are before my face.

They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

They all practise adultery, as an oven heated by the baker: he ceaseth from stirring the fire after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

For they have applied their heart like an oven to their lying in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth like a flaming fire.

They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face; and they do not return to Jehovah their God, nor seek him for all this.

And Ephraim is become like a silly dove without understanding: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

When they go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowl of the heavens; I will chastise them, according as their assembly hath heard.

Woe unto them! for they have wandered from me; destruction unto them! for they have transgressed against me. And I would redeem them; but they speak lies against me.

And they cried not unto me in their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble themselves for corn and new wine; they have turned aside from me.

I have indeed trained, I have strengthened their arms, but they imagine mischief against me.

They return, but not to the Most High: they are like a deceitful bow. Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He cometh as an eagle against the house of Jehovah, because they have transgressed my covenant, and rebelled against my law.

They shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee; we, Israel.

They have set up kings, but not by me; they have made princes, and I knew it not; of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will they be incapable of purity?

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; should it sprout, it would yield no meal; if so be it yield, strangers shall swallow it up.

Israel is swallowed up: now are they become among the nations as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

For they are gone up to Assyria as a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

Although they hire among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall begin to be straitened under the burden of the king of princes.

I have prescribed unto him the manifold things of my law: they are counted as a strange thing.

They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; Jehovah hath no delight in them. Now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

They shall not dwell in Jehovah's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria shall they eat that which is unclean.

They shall pour out no offerings of wine to Jehovah, neither shall their sacrifices be pleasing unto him: they shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be defiled: for their bread shall be for themselves; it shall not come into the house of Jehovah.

For behold, they are gone away because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Moph shall bury them: their pleasant things of silver, nettles shall possess them; thorns shall be in their tents.

They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

I found Israel as grapes in the wilderness; as first-ripe fruit on the fig-tree, I saw your fathers at the beginning: they went to Baal-Peor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and became abominations like their lover.

For even should they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that not a man remain: for woe also to them when I shall have departed from them!

Ephraim is smitten: their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit; yea, though they should bring forth, yet will I slay the beloved fruit of their womb.

My God hath rejected them, because they hearkened not unto him; and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Israel is an unpruned vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the abundance of his fruit he hath multiplied altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly statues.

Their heart is divided; now shall they be found guilty: he will break down their altars, he will destroy their statues.

For now they will say, We have no king, for we feared not Jehovah; and a king, what can he do for us?

They speak mere words, swearing falsely in making a covenant; therefore shall judgment spring up as hemlock in the furrows of the fields.

And the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up upon their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us! and to the hills, Fall on us!

From the days of Gibeah hast thou sinned, O Israel: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.

At my pleasure will I chastise them; and the peoples shall be assembled against them, when they are bound for their two iniquities.

As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baals, and burned incense to graven images.

And I it was that taught Ephraim to walk, He took them upon his arms, but they knew not that I healed them.

I drew them with bands of a man, with cords of love; and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I gently caused them to eat.

He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king; for they refused to return to me;

Yea, my people are bent upon backsliding from me: though they call them to the Most High, none at all exalteth him.

They shall walk after Jehovah; he shall roar like a lion; when he shall roar, then the children shall hasten from the west:

they shall hasten as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will cause them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah.

Ephraim feedeth on wind, and pursueth after the east wind: all day long he multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.

And Ephraim saith, Nevertheless I am become rich, I have found me out substance; in all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin.

If Gilead is iniquity, surely they are but vanity: they sacrifice bullocks in Gilgal; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields.

And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.

Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the lattice.