¹⁶ With his honor at stake, the king had no choice. He gave the order for Daniel to be captured. Before Daniel was thrown into the pit with the lions, the king spoke to him.

¹⁷ Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den and a stone was brought in and placed over the opening to shut the mouth of the den. The king himself sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his nobles. That way no one could tamper with the pit and nothing could happen to change Daniel’s fate. ¹⁸ The king retired to his palace and spent the night fasting. That evening he stayed to himself, turning down his regular evening musical entertainment. When he finally went to bed, he could not sleep.