of iron, of wood, and of stone, which cannot see nor hear nor
know; and you have not praised the God in whose control are your very
breath and all that you do."

"Then the hand was sent out before him and traced this writing:

_MENE, TEKEL, PERES_

"This is what it means: Mene: God has numbered your kingdom and brought
it to an end. Tekel: you are weighed in the scales and found wanting.
Peres: your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Then at Belshazzar's command Daniel was clothed with purple and a chain
of gold was put about his neck, and he was proclaimed the third ruler
in the kingdom. But on that very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king,
was killed, and Darius, the Mede, received the kingdom.

DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty officers
who ruled the whole kingdom, and over them three chief officials, of
whom Daniel was one, that these officers might report to them and that
the king should lose nothing. Daniel was better than the other chief
officials and the officers, for he had a fine spirit; and the king
intended to set him over the whole empire.

Then the chief officials and the officers tried to find a way to accuse
Daniel of not having done his duty, but they could not find anything
against him, for he was faithful and was not guilty of any mistake or
wrong-doing.

Then these men said, "We shall not find any way to accuse this Daniel
unless we find it in connection with the law of his God." So these chief
officials and officers all went to the king, and said to him, "King
Darius, live forever. All the chief officials of the kingdom, the
counsellors and the officers, the judges and the governors, have
consulted together to have the king make a law and give a strong command
that whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days,
except of you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. Now, O king,
give the command and sign the law that, like the law of the Medes and
Persians, it may not be changed." So King Darius signed the law and the
command.

When Daniel knew that the law was signed, he went into his house. His
windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem, and he knelt upon his
knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks to his God as he had
done before. Then these men rushed in and found Daniel praying and
calling upon his God. So they went before the king and spoke to him
about the ro