<p class="bodytext">Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,p>

Daniel then spoke to the warden<n id="1" /> whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

As it turned out,<n id="1" /> among these young men<n id="2" /> were some from Judah:<n id="3" /> Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.<n id="4" />

Now Daniel lived on until the first<n id="1" /> year of Cyrus the king.p>

So a decree went out, and the wise men were about<n id="1" /> to be executed. They also sought<n id="2" /> Daniel and his friends so that they could be executed.p>

<p class="bodytext">from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom;p> <p class="bodytext">from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel;p> <p class="bodytext">from the descendants of David, Hattush

Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel.<n id="1" />

Then Daniel went to his home and informed his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the matter.

Then in a night vision the mystery was revealed to Daniel. So Daniel praised<n id="1" /> the God of heaven,

<p class="bodytext">Then Daniel spoke to<n id="1" /> the king, &#8220;O king, live forever!

<t /><p class="bodytext">&#8220;As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed,<n id="1" /> and the visions of my mind<n id="2" /> were alarming me.

He spoke with me, instructing me as follows:<n id="1" /> &#8220;Daniel, I have now come to impart understanding to you.

<p class="bodytext">In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three whole weeks.<n id="1" />

He said, &#8220;Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.

<p class="bodytext">So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, &#8220;Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

<t /><p class="bodytext">These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron:p> <p class="bodytext">The firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel;p> <p class="bodytext">the second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel;p>

Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel,<n id="1" /> and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign <sc>Lordsc>.p>

<p class="bodytext">But Daniel made up his mind<n id="1" /> that he would not defile<n id="2" /> himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine.<n id="3" /> He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

<p class="bodytext">Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel<n id="1" /> to Arioch, who was in charge of the king&#8217;s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he<n id="1" /> and his friends would not be destroyed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.