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 lyoonime
1 Darius okwa tokola, a langeke oongoloneya ethele nomilongo mbali ya andjagana noshilongo she ashihe. 2 Daniel naantu yalwe yaali oya li aatonateli yawo, opo eliko lyomukwaniilwa lyaa hepe. 3 Daniel okwe shi holola mbala kutya ota longo nawa e vule aatonateli yalwe nenge oongoloneya. Oshoka okwa li a pita ooyakwawo miilonga, omukwaniilwa okwe mu tala a gwana okulengwa elenga lyoshilongo ashihe. 4 Nena aatonateli yalwe noongoloneya oya kambadhala, ya monene Daniel ombedhi yepuko melelo lyoshilongo, ihe inaa shi vula, oshoka Daniel okwa li omwiinekelwa noina longa sha shuusama nenge sha puka. 5 Oya lombwelathana ya ti: “Itatu ka mona epuko lyasha okugandja oombedhi, okulopota Daniel, shila otatu li mono melongelokalunga lye.”
6 Nena oya yi komukwaniilwa noya ti: “Omukwaniilwa Darius, kala u na omwenyo sigo aluhe! 7 Atuhe mba hatu lele oshilongo shoye — aatonateli, aaleli, oongoloneya, aagandjimayele nookomufala — otu uvathana kutya Nkeyama na gandje oshipango shi na oonkondo tadhi dhengele. Lombwela ano aantu ayehe kutya momasiku omilongo ndatu itaa pitikwa, yi indile sha kukalunga kalwe nenge komuntu gulwe, shila okungoye awike, omukwaniilwa. Shaa ngoka ta taaguluka elaka ndika, oku na okuumbilwa melambo lyu udha oonime. 8 Nkeyama, gandja ano oshipango noku shi shainina, opo shi kale sha kola pampango yokwaalunduluka yAamedia nAapersia.” 9 Osho ngaaka omukwaniilwa Darius okwa shaina oshipango shoka. 10 Daniel sho a koneke kutya oshipango osha shainwa, okwa yi kaandjawo. Mondunda yopombanda mongulu ye omwa li omakende ga taalela lwokuJerusalem. Omo moka a tsu oongolo pomakende ge eguluka nokwa galikana Kalunga lutatu mesiku, ngaashi a li ha ningi shito.
11 Aatondi yaDaniel sho ye mu dhimbulula ta galikana Kalunga, 12 ayehe oya yi komukwaniilwa oku ka lya ko Daniel. Oya ti: “Nkeyama, ndishi owa shaina oshipango kutya momasiku omilongo ndatu taga landula shaa ngoka ti indile sha kukalunga kalwe nenge komuntu gulwe kee shi kungoye, nu umbilwe melambo lyu udha oonime?”
Omukwaniilwa okwa yamukula a ti: “Eeno, oshipango sha kola pampango yokwaalunduluka yAamedia nAapersia.”
13 Nena oya ti komukwaniilwa: “Daniel, gumwe gwomaapongekwa Aajuda, ine ku simaneka, Nkeyama, nenge a vulike koshipango we shi gandja. Oha galikana lutatu mesiku.”
14 Omukwaniilwa sho e shi uvu, okwa li u uvite uudhigu nokwa kambadhala okuhupitha Daniel. Okwi ipyakidhile nasho, sigo etango lya toko. 15 Nena aalumentu oya galukile komukwaniilwa e taa ti kuye: “Nkeyama, oto tseya ndishi kutya pampango yAamedia nAapersia kape na shipango sha gandjwa komukwaniilwa tashi vulu okulundululwa.”
16 Omukwaniilwa sho kwa li kee na sho ta vulu, okwa gandja elaka, Daniel a kwatwe noku umbilwe melambo lyu udha oonime. Okwa ti kuDaniel: “Kalunga koye ho mu longele nuudhiginini, ne ku hupithe.” 17 Emanya olya li lya galangatithilwa kokana kwelambo, nomukwaniilwa okwa tula ko oshihako she, osho wo oshihako shoomvalekele dhe, opo Daniel kaa hupithwe nando okulye. 18 Nena omukwaniilwa okwa shuna kuuwa, i idhilike iikulya nokwa londokwa koomposi uusiku auhe.
19 Petendo lyeluwa omukwaniilwa okwa meneka nokwa yi nokweendelela kelambo. 20 Sho a thiki ko, okwi ithana noluhodhi ta ti: “Daniel, mumati gwaKalunga omunamwenyo! Kalunga ngoka ho mu longele nuudhiginini, okwa vulu tuu oku ku hupitha koonime?”
21 Daniel okwa yamukula a ti: “Nkeyama, kala u na omwenyo sigo aluhe! 22 Kalunga okwa tumu omuyengeli gwe, a mutike omakana goonime, opo dhaa lye ndje po. Okwe shi ningi, oshoka oku shi shi kutya ngame kandi na mbedhi noinandi yona kungoye, Nkeyama.”
23 Omukwaniilwa okwa tuntua kenyanyu nokwa gandja elaka, Daniel a hilwe mo melambo. Oyo noye mu hili mo noya mono, ina lumatwa nando okuli, oshoka okwi inekela Kalunga. 24 Nena omukwaniilwa okwa gandja elaka lyokukwatitha aantu ayehe mbeyaka ya lile ko Daniel, noyu umbilwa melambo lyu udha oonime pamwe naakadhi noyana. Manga inaa thika kondaandelo yelambo, oonime odhe ya ndjombokele e tadhi mokotola po omasipa gawo agehe.
25 Omukwaniilwa Darius okwa nyolele aantu yomiigwana ayihe, yomomaludhi agehe noyomomalaka agehe kombanda yevi elaka tali ti: “Kundweni! 26 Otandi popi te ti, moshilongo shandje ashihe shaa ngoka na tile ye a simaneke Kalunga kaDaniel.
Oye Kalunga omunamwenyo,
oye nota lele aluhe sigo aluhe.
Oshilongo she kashi na mpo nashi ka teka po,
noonkondo dhe kadhi na mpoka nadhi hulu po.
27 Oye ta hupitha e ta kanyutulula;
ota longo iilongakumithi niilongandhindhiliko
megulu nokombanda yevi.
Okwa hupitha Daniel
moshiponga shokuliwa po koonime.”
28 Daniel okwa kala e na esimano mepangelo lyaDarius nosigo omuuyuni waKores, omukwaniilwa gwaPersia.
