12. At this, the king exploded in a furious rage and ordered that all Babylon’s sages be wiped out.
13. So the command went out: The sages were to be killed. Daniel and his friends too were hunted down; they were to be killed as well.
14. Then Daniel, with wisdom and sound judgment, responded to Arioch the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to kill Babylon’s sages.
15. He said to Arioch the king’s royal officer, "Why is the king’s command so unreasonable?" After Arioch explained the situation to Daniel,
16. Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time so he could explain the dream’s meaning to him.
17. Then Daniel went to his house and explained the situation to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah
18. so that they would ask the God of heaven for help about this mystery, in hopes that Daniel and his friends wouldn’t die with the rest of Babylon’s sages.
19. Then, in a vision by night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel! Daniel praised the God of heaven: