If integrated into the book of Daniel: 13.61-62.

These two verses have the following complex series of ideas:

A. And they rose against the two elders,
B. for out of their own mouths Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness;
C. and they did to them as they had wickedly planned to do to their neighbor;
D. acting in accordance with the law of Moses,
E. they put them to death.

Restructuring this series could clarify things. One possibility is:

B. Daniel had tricked the two men and proved that they had lied under oath,
A. so the people turned on them
E. and put them to death.
D. This is what the Law of Moses required,
C. since they had plotted against the life of another person.

They rose against the two elders: The Greek verb here definitely suggests violent action, which “turned against” (Good News Translation) or “condemned” (Contemporary English Version) does not convey. “Turned on” (New English Bible) or “took action against” (New Revised Standard Version) is better.

And they did to them as they had wickedly planned to do to their neighbor; acting in accordance with the law of Moses, they put them to death: The people carry out the death sentences entrusted to the angel of God in verses 55 and 59. The passage in the Law referred to here is Deut 19.16-21. A masculine form of the word for neighbor is used in Greek; the writer is probably referring to the legal principle stated in Deut 19.16-21 rather than to Susanna. This explains Good News Translation‘s lengthy rewording here: “The Law of Moses states that people who give false testimony shall receive the same punishment that the accused person would have received. And so the two judges were put to death.” However, the restructuring suggested above may explain what the Law of Moses has to do with the people’s action without requiring any insertions.

Thus innocent blood was saved that day: This is a concluding sentence in Greek. Innocent blood refers, of course, to Susanna’s life. Good News Translation omits that day, but it is in the Greek, and helps sum up the passage. Other possible renderings for this sentence are “The life of an innocent person was saved that day” and “And that day they saved the life of an innocent person [or, woman].”

An alternative translation model combining verses 61 and 62 is the following:

• Daniel had tricked the two men and proved that they had lied under oath [or, in court]. Since the Law of Moses required that they be punished the same way they would have treated those whom they falsely accused, the people turned on [or, took action against] them and had them executed. And so they saved the life of an innocent woman.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.