Daniel in the Pit of Lions
1 Darius decided to appoint a hundred and twenty governors to hold office throughout his empire. 2 In addition, he chose Daniel and two others to supervise the governors and to look after the king's interests. 3 Daniel soon showed that he could do better work than the other supervisors or the governors. Because he was so outstanding, the king considered putting him in charge of the whole empire. 4 Then the other supervisors and the governors tried to find something wrong with the way Daniel administered the empire, but they couldn't, because Daniel was reliable and did not do anything wrong or dishonest. 5 They said to each other, “We are not going to find anything of which to accuse Daniel unless it is something in connection with his religion.”
6 So they went to see the king and said, “King Darius, may Your Majesty live forever! 7 All of us who administer your empire—the supervisors, the governors, the lieutenant governors, and the other officials—have agreed that Your Majesty should issue an order and enforce it strictly. Give orders that for thirty days no one be permitted to request anything from any god or from any human being except from Your Majesty. Anyone who violates this order is to be thrown into a pit filled with lions. 8 So let Your Majesty issue this order and sign it, and it will be in force, a law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.” 9 And so King Darius signed the order. 10 When Daniel learned that the order had been signed, he went home. In an upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced toward Jerusalem. There, just as he had always done, he knelt down at the open windows and prayed to God three times a day.
11 When Daniel's enemies observed him praying to God, 12 all of them went together to the king to accuse Daniel. They said, “Your Majesty, you signed an order that for the next thirty days anyone who requested anything from any god or from any human being except you, would be thrown into a pit filled with lions.”
The king replied, “Yes, that is a strict order, a law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”
13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, does not respect Your Majesty or obey the order you issued. He prays regularly three times a day.”
14 When the king heard this, he was upset and did his best to find some way to rescue Daniel. He kept trying until sunset. 15 Then Daniel's enemies came back to the king and said to him, “Your Majesty knows that according to the laws of the Medes and Persians no order which the king issues can be changed.”
16 So the king gave orders for Daniel to be taken and thrown into the pit filled with lions. He said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve so loyally, rescue you.” 17 A stone was put over the mouth of the pit, and the king placed his own royal seal and the seal of his noblemen on the stone, so that no one could rescue Daniel. 18 Then the king returned to the palace and spent a sleepless night, without food or any form of entertainment.
19 At dawn the king got up and hurried to the pit. 20 When he got there, he called out anxiously, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was the God you serve so loyally able to save you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “May Your Majesty live forever! 22 God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions so that they would not hurt me. He did this because he knew that I was innocent and because I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”
23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders for Daniel to be pulled up out of the pit. So they pulled him up and saw that he had not been hurt at all, for he trusted God. 24 Then the king gave orders to arrest all those who had accused Daniel, and he had them thrown, together with their wives and children, into the pit filled with lions. Before they even reached the bottom of the pit, the lions pounced on them and broke all their bones.
25 Then King Darius wrote to the people of all nations, races, and languages on earth:
“Greetings! 26 I command that throughout my empire everyone should fear and respect Daniel's God.
“He is a living God,
and he will rule forever.
His kingdom will never be destroyed,
and his power will never come to an end.
27 He saves and rescues;
he performs wonders and miracles
in heaven and on earth.
He saved Daniel from being killed by the lions.”
28 Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Daniel mekololo leenghoshi
1 Ndele osha wapalela Darius okutumbila oshilongo shaye omalenga efele limwe nomilongo mbali, va kale moshilongo ashishe. 2 Ndele okwe va pangelififa komalenga akula atatu, limwe lomuvo oDaniel. Omalenga ova li ve noku a valela evalulo, ohamba iha mone oshiponga. 3 Ndele Daniel okwa li e dule omalenga makwao aa akula nomalenga, osheshi ye okwa li e yadi omhepo yomayele mahapu. Ndele ohamba oya hala oku mu tumba elenga ekulunhu loshilongo ashishe. 4 Opo nee omalenga makwao aa akula nomalenga ova kongela Daniel etimba loku mu popya omolwouteku woshilongo. Ndelenee vo ova nyengwa okumona sha eshi tashi mu kaulifa onyanga ile shimwe inashi yuka, osheshi ye okwa li omudiinini, ndele muye inamu monika oshileda ile oshilonga inashi yuka. 5 Opo ovalumenhu venya va kundafana tava ti: “Daniel ou itatu mu monene sha shoku mu kaulifa onyanga, ngeenge itatu mu monene sha showii mokulongela Kalunga kwaye. 6 Ndele omalenga makula nomalenga ova endelela va ya kohamba, tava ti: Ohamba Darius, kala alushe u nomwenyo! 7 Omalenga aeshe makulu omoshilongo, noongoloneya nookansela novapanguli neekomanda novanambelewa aveshe noovene vomikunda, otwa udafana kutya ohamba oi nokuyandja oshipango nokupameka ondaka yekelelo nokutya, pomafiku omilongo nhatu, ngeenge pe nomunhu ta indile sha kukalunga kamwe ile komunhu mukwao, shapu kwoove akuke ohamba, ye na ekelwe mekololo leenghoshi.” 8 Paife eshi, tatekulu ohamba, pameka ondaka yekelelo, ove u shangife oshipango shihe shii kulundululwa konghedi yomhango yOvamedia noyOvapersia ya pamenena.
9 Omolwaashi ohamba Darius oya shanga oshipango nondaka yekelelo moshinima eshi. 10 Opo tuu Daniel eshi a uda oshipango eshi sha shangwa, okwa ya keumbo laye. Ndele mondjuwo yaye yokombada mwa kala omakende a yeuluka a taalela kuJerusalem. Ndele lutatu mefiku ye a twa eengolo pekende ndele ta ilikana Kalunga noku mu hambelela, ngaashi a kala ha ningi shito. 11 Opo nee ovalumenhu ava va pumina mo, ndele va hanga Daniel ta ilikana, ndele te liindilile onghenda koshipala shaKalunga. 12 Ndele vo ova ya kohamba ndele tave i dimbulukifa ondaka yohamba yekelelo, tava ti: “Tatekulu, hamba ino yandja oshipango tashi ti: ‘Pomafiku omilongo nhatu shamha ou ta ilikana kalunga kamwe ile omunhu mukwao, shapu oove auke, ohamba, ye na ekelwe mekololo leenghoshi?’ Ohamba oya nyamukula ndele tai ti: Oshipango osha pama, konghedi yomhango yOvamedia noyOvapersia, itashi dulu okulundululwa.” 13 Opo vo ova nyamukula ohamba tava ti: “Tatekulu ohamba, Daniel oye umwe womovapika Ovajuda ke na ko nasha naave noshipango shoye, eshi wa shanga, ndelenee oye ha ilikana lutatu keshe efiku.” 14 Ndele ohamba eshi ye shi uda, oya nyika oluhodi shili, ndele ya diladila nhumbi a xupife Daniel. Oye lihepeka fiyo etango la ningina, i mu mangulule. 15 Opo ovalumenhu venya va endelela ve uya kohamba, ndele tave i lombwele: “Tatekulu ohamba, kala u shi shii, omhango yOvamedia noyOvapersia tai ti, kutya ondaka yekelelo ile oshipango shimwe, sha yandjwa kohamba, itashi lundululwa vali.” 16 Opo nee ohamba ya lombwela, ndele vo va eta Daniel, ndele ve mu ekela mekololo leenghoshi. Ndele ohamba oya popifa Daniel tai ti: Kalunga koye, ou ho mu fimaneke alushe, ye ne ku xupife.
17 Ndele emanya ola etwa ndele tali idile oshivelo shekololo, ndele ohamba oye li hakifa noshihako shayo nonoshihako shomalenga aye, opo metokolo laDaniel muha holoke elunduluko. 18 Ohamba oya shuna mouhamba wayo, yo inai lya sha ndele inai hala i etelwe oikumbu, ndele eemhofi de i londoka. 19 Ndele eluwa eshi la tenda, ohamba oya pita mo nokweendelela ya yuka kekololo leenghoshi. 20 Ndele yo eshi ya ehena kekololo, oya ifana Daniel nondaka youfiye. Ohamba oya popifa Daniel tai ti: “Daniel, omupiya waKalunga omunamwenyo. Kalunga koye ho mu longele alushe, okwa shiiva tuu oku ku xupifa keenghoshi?” 21 Opo nee Daniel okwa nyamukula ohamba ta ti: “Tatekulu ohamba, kala alushe u nomwenyo! 22 Kalunga kange okwa tuma omweengeli waye, ndele ta kwata omilungu deenghoshi diha kume nge, osheshi onda monika koshipala shaye ndihe netimba, nokoshipala shoye yo, ohamba, inandi nyona sha.” 23 Opo ohamba oya hafa unene, ndele tai yandje elombwelo, Daniel a shilwe mo mekololo. Osho ngaha Daniel okwa shilwa mo mekololo ndele kuye inaku monika nande oshipute. Osheshi a li e lineekela Kalunga kaye.
24 Ndele ohamba oya lombwela, ndele vo ova eta ovalumenhu ava va popya ko Daniel ndele va ekelwa mekololo leenghoshi, ovo vene novalikadi vavo. Ndele fimbo inava fika poshi mekololo, eenghoshi ode va yakela ndele tadi nyanyaula omakipa avo aeshe. 25 Opo ohamba Darius ya shangela ovanhu aveshe noiwana aishe nomalaka aeshe kombada yedu alishe, tai ti: “Ombili yeni nai kale inene! 26 Ame nda yandja ondaka nokutya, monhele aishe yomepangelo lange ovanhu ve nokutila nokukakama koshipala shaKalunga kaDaniel.
Osheshi Oye Kalunga omunamwenyo,
ndele ota kala fiyo alushe.
Noshilongo shaye kashi shii okuhanaunwa po,
nepangelo laye kali na apa tali xulu po.”
27 Oye ta xupifa ndele ta mangulula,
Ye ta ningi omadidiliko noikumwifa
meulu nokombada yedu.
Oye ou a xupifa Daniel komakasha eenghoshi.
28 Ndele Daniel ou a kala e nefimano mounyuni waDarius nomounyuni waKores Omupersia.
