A Brighter Future: A 5-Day Devotional

When God Says No!

Living With a Strong-Willed Child

The Journey of Yes

God Gives Good Gifts to Everyone

Acts Reading Plan

Pawprints & Prayers: Devotions for Dog Lovers

The Last Half Hour: When Waiting Becomes Glory

Dog Dad Devotions on Leadership, Loyalty and Love

See God’s Peace: 3 Days of Visio Divina

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkDAN">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="DAN.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Daniel in the Den of Lions</div><div class="p"> # In Aramaic texts 6:1-28 is numbered 6:2-29. 1It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5Finally these men said, &#8220;We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: &#8220;May King Darius live forever! 7The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions&#8217; den. 8Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered&#8212;in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.&#8221; 9So King Darius put the decree in writing.</div><div class="p"> 10Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: &#8220;Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions&#8217; den?&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king answered, &#8220;The decree stands&#8212;in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13Then they said to the king, &#8220;Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.&#8221; 14When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.</div><div class="p"> 15Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, &#8220;Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions&#8217; den. The king said to Daniel, &#8220;May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel&#8217;s situation might not be changed. 18Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.</div><div class="p"> 19At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions&#8217; den. 20When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, &#8220;Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21Daniel answered, &#8220;May the king live forever! 22My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.</div><div class="p"> 24At the king&#8217;s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions&#8217; den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.</div><div class="p"> 25Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:</div><div class="pmo">&#8220;May you prosper greatly!</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 26&#8220;I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.</div><div class="qm1">&#8220;For he is the living God</div><div class="qm2">and he endures forever;</div><div class="qm1">his kingdom will not be destroyed,</div><div class="qm2">his dominion will never end.</div><div class="qm1"> 27He rescues and he saves;</div><div class="qm2">he performs signs and wonders</div><div class="qm2">in the heavens and on the earth.</div><div class="qm1">He has rescued Daniel</div><div class="qm2">from the power of the lions.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 28So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus#6:28 Or Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus the Persian.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEST">
 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="EST.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">Haman Impaled</div><div class="p"> 1So the king and Haman went to Queen Esther&#8217;s banquet, 2and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, &#8220;Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Then Queen Esther answered, &#8220;If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life&#8212;this is my petition. And spare my people&#8212;this is my request. 4For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king.#7:4 Or quiet, but the compensation our adversary offers cannot be compared with the loss the king would suffer&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, &#8220;Who is he? Where is he&#8212;the man who has dared to do such a thing?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Esther said, &#8220;An adversary and enemy! This vile Haman!&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 7The king got up in a rage, left his wine and went out into the palace garden. But Haman, realizing that the king had already decided his fate, stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life.</div><div class="p"> 8Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining.</div><div class="p">The king exclaimed, &#8220;Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?&#8221;</div><div class="p">As soon as the word left the king&#8217;s mouth, they covered Haman&#8217;s face. 9Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, &#8220;A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits#7:9 That is, about 75 feet or about 23 meters stands by Haman&#8217;s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king said, &#8220;Impale him on it!&#8221; 10So they impaled Haman on the pole he had set up for Mordecai. Then the king&#8217;s fury subsided.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkEST">
 <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="EST.8">
 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">The King&#8217;s Edict in Behalf of the Jews</div><div class="p"> 1That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. 2The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman&#8217;s estate.</div><div class="p"> 3Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews. 4Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him.</div><div class="p"> 5&#8220;If it pleases the king,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king&#8217;s provinces. 6For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, &#8220;Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled him on the pole he set up. 8Now write another decree in the king&#8217;s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal it with the king&#8217;s signet ring&#8212;for no document written in the king&#8217;s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9At once the royal secretaries were summoned&#8212;on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai&#8217;s orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush.#8:9 That is, the upper Nile region These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language. 10Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the dispatches with the king&#8217;s signet ring, and sent them by mounted couriers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king.</div><div class="p"> 11The king&#8217;s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children,#8:11 Or province, together with their women and children, who might attack them; and to plunder the property of their enemies. 12The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. 13A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.</div><div class="p"> 14The couriers, riding the royal horses, went out, spurred on by the king&#8217;s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa.</div><div class="s1">The Triumph of the Jews</div><div class="p"> 15When Mordecai left the king&#8217;s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. 16For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. 17In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkZEC">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="ZEC.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Four Chariots</div><div class="p"> 1I looked up again, and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains&#8212;mountains of bronze. 2The first chariot had red horses, the second black, 3the third white, and the fourth dappled&#8212;all of them powerful. 4I asked the angel who was speaking to me, &#8220;What are these, my lord?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5The angel answered me, &#8220;These are the four spirits#6:5 Or winds of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world. 6The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west,#6:6 Or horses after them and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, &#8220;Go throughout the earth!&#8221; So they went throughout the earth.</div><div class="p"> 8Then he called to me, &#8220;Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit#6:8 Or spirit rest in the land of the north.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">A Crown for Joshua</div><div class="p"> 9The word of the Lord came to me: 10&#8220;Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak.#6:11 Hebrew Jehozadak, a variant of Jozadak 12Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: &#8216;Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he#6:13 Or there will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.&#8217; 14The crown will be given to Heldai,#6:14 Syriac; Hebrew Helem Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen#6:14 Or and the gracious one, the son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.&#8221;</div>
 </div>
 </div>
</div>

Tough As Nails: DanielSample

Scripture

About this Plan

Related Plans