Daniel 13 New Revised Standard Version Catholic confessed their lust.

Then together they arranged for

Edition (NRSVCE)
a time when they could find her alone.
Susanna’s Beauty Attracts Two Elders
The Elders Attempt to Seduce Susanna
13 There was a man living in Babylon whose name
15 Once, while they were watching for an opportune
was Joakim. 2 He married the daughter of Hilkiah,
day, she went in as before with only two maids, and
named Susanna, a very beautiful woman and one
wished to bathe in the garden, for it was a hot
who feared the Lord. 3 Her parents were righteous,
day. 16 No one was there except the two elders, who
and had trained their daughter according to the law of
had hidden themselves and were watching her. 17 She
Moses. 4 Joakim was very rich, and had a fine garden
said to her maids, “Bring me olive oil and ointments,
adjoining his house; the Jews used to come to him
and shut the garden doors so that I can
because he was the most honored of them all.
bathe.” 18 They did as she told them: they shut the
5 That year two elders from the people were appointed doors of the garden and went out by the side doors to
as judges. Concerning them the Lord had said: bring what they had been commanded; they did not
“Wickedness came forth from Babylon, from elders see the elders, because they were hiding.
who were judges, who were supposed to govern the
19 When the maids had gone out, the two elders got
people.” 6 These men were frequently at Joakim’s
up and ran to her. 20 They said, “Look, the garden
house, and all who had a case to be tried came to
doors are shut, and no one can see us. We are
them there.
burning with desire for you; so give your consent, and
7 When the people left at noon, Susanna would go lie with us. 21 If you refuse, we will testify against you
into her husband’s garden to walk. 8 Every day the that a young man was with you, and this was why you
two elders used to see her, going in and walking sent your maids away.”
about, and they began to lust for her. 9 They
22 Susanna groaned and said, “I am completely
suppressed their consciences and turned away their
trapped. For if I do this, it will mean death for me; if I
eyes from looking to Heaven or remembering their
do not, I cannot escape your hands. 23 I choose not to
duty to administer justice. 10 Both were overwhelmed
do it; I will fall into your hands, rather than sin in the
with passion for her, but they did not tell each other of
sight of the Lord.”
their distress, 11 for they were ashamed to disclose
their lustful desire to seduce her. 12 Day after day they 24 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the
watched eagerly to see her. two elders shouted against her. 25 And one of them

13 One
ran and opened the garden doors. 26 When the people
day they said to each other, “Let us go home,
in the house heard the shouting in the garden, they
for it is time for lunch.” So they both left and parted
rushed in at the side door to see what had happened
from each other. 14 But turning back, they met again;
to her. 27 And when the elders told their story, the
and when each pressed the other for the reason, they
servants felt very much ashamed, for nothing like this 42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said,
had ever been said about Susanna. “O eternal God, you know what is secret and are
aware of all things before they come to be; 43 you
The Elders Testify against Susanna
know that these men have given false evidence
28 The next day, when the people gathered at the against me. And now I am to die, though I have done
house of her husband Joakim, the two elders came, none of the wicked things that they have charged
full of their wicked plot to have Susanna put to death. against me!”
In the presence of the people they said, 29 “Send for 44 The Lord heard her cry. 45 Just as she was being led
Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of
off to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a
Joakim.” 30 So they sent for her. And she came with
young lad named Daniel, 46 and he shouted with a
her parents, her children, and all her relatives.
loud voice, “I want no part in shedding this woman’s
31 Now Susanna was a woman of great refinement blood!”
and beautiful in appearance. 32 As she was veiled, the
Daniel Rescues Susanna
scoundrels ordered her to be unveiled, so that they
might feast their eyes on her beauty. 33 Those who 47 All the people turned to him and asked, “What is
were with her and all who saw her were weeping. this you are saying?” 48 Taking his stand among them

34 Then
he said, “Are you such fools, O Israelites, as to
the two elders stood up before the people and
condemn a daughter of Israel without examination
laid their hands on her head. 35 Through her tears she
and without learning the facts? 49 Return to court, for
looked up toward Heaven, for her heart trusted in the
these men have given false evidence against her.”
Lord. 36 The elders said, “While we were walking in
the garden alone, this woman came in with two 50 So all the people hurried back. And the rest of
maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed the the[a] elders said to him, “Come, sit among us and
maids. 37 Then a young man, who was hiding there, inform us, for God has given you the standing of an
came to her and lay with her. 38 We were in a corner elder.” 51 Daniel said to them, “Separate them far from
of the garden, and when we saw this wickedness we each other, and I will examine them.”
ran to them. 39 Although we saw them embracing, we 52 When they were separated from each other, he
could not hold the man, because he was stronger
summoned one of them and said to him, “You old relic
than we, and he opened the doors and got
of wicked days, your sins have now come home,
away. 40 We did, however, seize this woman and
which you have committed in the past, 53 pronouncing
asked who the young man was, 41 but she would not
unjust judgments, condemning the innocent and
tell us. These things we testify.”
acquitting the guilty, though the Lord said, ‘You shall
Because they were elders of the people and judges, not put an innocent and righteous person to
the assembly believed them and condemned her to death.’ 54 Now then, if you really saw this woman, tell
death. me this: Under what tree did you see them being
intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under a Footnotes:
mastic tree.”[b] 55 And Daniel said, “Very well! This lie
a. Daniel 13:50 Gk lacks rest of the
has cost you your head, for the angel of God has b. Daniel 13:54 The Greek words for mastic
received the sentence from God and will immediately tree and cut are similar, thus forming an
ironic wordplay
cut[c] you in two.” c. Daniel 13:55 The Greek words for mastic
56 Then,
tree and cut are similar, thus forming an
putting him to one side, he ordered them to ironic wordplay
bring the other. And he said to him, “You offspring of d. Daniel 13:58 The Greek words for evergreen
oak and split are similar, thus forming an
Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has beguiled you
ironic wordplay
and lust has perverted your heart. 57 This is how you e. Daniel 13:59 The Greek words for evergreen
have been treating the daughters of Israel, and they oak and split are similar, thus forming an
ironic wordplay
were intimate with you through fear; but a daughter of
Judah would not tolerate your wickedness. 58 Now
then, tell me: Under what tree did you catch them History of Due Process
being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under
Due process of law is a constitutional guarantee that
an evergreen oak.”[d] 59 Daniel said to him, “Very well! prevents governments from impacting citizens in an
This lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of abusive way. In its modern form, due process
includes both procedural standards that courts must
God is waiting with his sword to split[e] you in two, so
uphold in order to protect peoples’ personal liberty
as to destroy you both.” and a range of liberty interests that statutes and
regulations must not infringe. It traces its origins to
60 Then the whole assembly raised a great shout and Chapter 39 of King John’s Magna Carta, which
blessed God, who saves those who hope in provides that no freeman will be seized, dispossessed
him. 61 And they took action against the two elders, of his property, or harmed except “by the law of the
land,” an expression that referred to customary
because out of their own mouths Daniel had practices of the court. The phrase “due process of
convicted them of bearing false witness; they did to law” first appeared as a substitute for Magna Carta’s
them as they had wickedly planned to do to their “the law of the land” in a 1354 statute of King Edward
III that restated Magna Carta’s guarantee of the liberty
neighbor. 62 Acting in accordance with the law of of the subject.
Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the
was spared that day. Constitution, which guarantee that no person shall “be
63 Hilkiah
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
and his wife praised God for their daughter
process of law,” incorporated the model of the rule of
Susanna, and so did her husband Joakim and all her law that English and American lawyers associated
relatives, because she was found innocent of a most closely with Magna Carta for centuries. Under
this model, strict adherence to regular procedure was
shameful deed. 64 And from that day onward Daniel
the most important safeguard against tyranny. Over
had a great reputation among the people. time, courts in the United States have ruled that due
process also limits legislation and protects certain
areas of individual liberty from regulation.
During the rule of King Edward III (reigned 1327– serves as the means whereby the Bill of Rights has
1377), Parliament enacted six statutes to clarify the become binding on state governments as well as on
meaning and scope of the liberties that Magna Carta the federal government.
guarantees. The statutes interpreted the expression
Origins and History
“the law of the land,” which appears in Chapter 29, as
the judicial procedures that protect a subject’s The concept of due process originated in English
liberties. One of the laws, enacted in 1354, introduced common law. The rule that individuals shall not be
the term “due process of law”—the first appearance of deprived of life, liberty, or property without notice and
that phrase in Anglo-American law—to describe an opportunity to defend themselves predates written
Magna Carta’s procedural guarantees. The Fifth constitutions and was widely accepted in England.
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution evokes this The Magna Carta, an agreement signed in 1215 that
language in its Due Process Clause. defined the rights of English subjects against the king,
is an early example of a constitutional guarantee of
The due process of law is a fundamental,
due process. That document includes a clause that
constitutional guarantee that all legal proceedings will
declares, "No free man shall be seized, or imprisoned
be fair and that one will be given notice of the
… except by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by
proceedings and an opportunity to be heard before
the law of the land" (ch. 39). This concept of the law
the government acts to take away one's life, liberty, or
of the land was later transformed into the phrase "due
property. Also, a constitutional guarantee that a law
process of law." By the seventeenth century,
shall not be unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.
England's North American colonies were using the
The constitutional guarantee of due process of law, phrase "due process of law" in their statutes.
found in the Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibits all
levels of government from arbitrarily or unfairly
depriving individuals of their basic constitutional rights
to life, liberty, and property.
Overview
The Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment,
ratified in 1791, asserts that no person shall "be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law." This amendment restricts the powers
of the federal government and applies only to actions
by it.
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment, ratified in 1868, declares,"[N]or shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law" (§ 1). This clause limits
the powers of the states, rather than those of the
federal government.
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment has also been interpreted by the U.S.
Supreme Court in the twentieth century to incorporate
protections of the bill of rights, so that those
protections apply to the states as well as to the
federal government. Thus, the Due Process Clause