Daniel Taken to Babylon

1 In the third year of ^(A)the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of ^(B)the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to ^(C)the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, ^(D)and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. ³ Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ^(E)his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family^[a] and of ^(F)the nobility, ⁴ youths without ^(G)blemish, of good appearance and ^(H)skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to ^(I)teach them the literature and language of the ^(J)Chaldeans. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily portion of ^(K)the food that the king ate, and of ^(L)the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for ^(M)three years, and at the end of that time they were to ^(N)stand before the king. ⁶ Among these were ^(O)Daniel, ^(P)Hananiah, ^(Q)Mishael, and ^(R)Azariah of the tribe of Judah. ⁷ And ^(S)the chief of the eunuchs ^(T)gave them names: ^(U)Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Daniel's Faithfulness

⁸ But Daniel ^(V)resolved that he would not ^(W)defile himself with ^(X)the king's food, or with ^(Y)the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to ^(Z)defile himself. ^9 (AA)And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, ¹⁰ and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” ¹¹ Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Test your servants for ^(AB)ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat ^(AC)the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” ¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate ^(AD)the king's food. ^16 (AE)So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them ^(AF)vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four youths, ^(AG)God gave them learning and ^(AH)skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had ^(AI)understanding in all visions and dreams. ¹⁸ At the end of ^(AJ)the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore ^(AK)they stood before the king. ²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all ^(AL)the magicians and ^(AM)enchanters that were in all his kingdom. ²¹ And Daniel ^(AN)was there until the first year of ^(AO)King Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^(A)his spirit was troubled, and ^(B)his sleep left him. ² Then the king commanded that ^(C)the magicians, ^(D)the enchanters, the ^(E)sorcerers, and ^(F)the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and ^(G)stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and ^(H)my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” ⁴ Then ^(I)the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^{[a] (J)}“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to ^(K)the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ^(L)torn limb from limb, ^(M)and your ^(N)houses shall be laid in ruins. ⁶ But if you show the dream and its interpretation, ^(O)you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. ^(P)Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” ⁸ The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to ^(Q)gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— ⁹ if you do not make the dream known to me, ^(R)there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till ^(S)the times change. ^(T)Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” ^10 (U)The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or ^(V)Chaldean. ¹¹ The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except ^(W)the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² Because of this the king was angry and ^(X)very furious, and ^(Y)commanded that all ^(Z)the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^(AA)Daniel and his companions, to kill them. ¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ^(AB)Arioch, the ^(AC)captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He declared^[b] to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king ^(AD)so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. ¹⁶ And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ^(AE)Hananiah, ^(AF)Mishael, and ^(AG)Azariah, his companions, ^18 (AH)and told them to seek mercy from the ^(AI)God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ^(AJ)be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ^(AK)a vision of the night. Then Daniel ^(AL)blessed the ^(AM)God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went in to ^(BA)Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then ^(BB)Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ^(BC)in haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^(BD)among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king declared to Daniel, ^(BE)whose name was Belteshazzar, ^(BF)“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^(BG)enchanters, ^(BH)magicians, or ^(BI)astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸ but ^(BJ)there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^(BK)what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^(BL)the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹ To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^(BM)and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But ^(BN)as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ^(BO)you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

³¹ “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. ^32 (BP)The head of this image was of fine gold, ^(BQ)its chest and arms of silver, its middle and ^(BR)thighs of bronze, ^33 (BS)its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ As you looked, a stone was cut out ^(BT)by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^(BU)broke them in pieces. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became ^(BV)like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^(BW)not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became ^(BX)a great mountain ^(BY)and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷ You, O king, ^(BZ)the king of kings, to whom ^(CA)the God of heaven ^(CB)has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, ³⁸ and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ^(CC)the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are ^(CD)the head of gold. ^39 (CE)Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ^(CF)of bronze, ^(CG)which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And ^(CH)there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ^(CI)breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ^(CJ)break and crush all these. ⁴¹ And as you saw ^(CK)the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ^(CL)firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,^[c] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings ^(CM)the God of heaven will set up ^(CN)a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^(CO)It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^(CP)it shall stand forever, ⁴⁵ just as ^(CQ)you saw that ^(CR)a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^(CS)it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^(CT)great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar ^(CU)fell upon his face and ^(CV)paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that ^(CW)an offering and ^(CX)incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your ^(CY)God is God of gods and ^(CZ)Lord of kings, and ^(DA)a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸ Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ^(DB)gifts, and made him ruler over the whole ^(DC)province of Babylon and ^(DD)chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^(DE)appointed ^(DF)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of ^(DG)the province of Babylon. But Daniel ^(DH)remained at the king's court.

Daniel and the Lions' Den

6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom ^(A)120 ^(B)satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; ² and over them ^(C)three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these ^(D)satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel became ^(E)distinguished above all ^(F)the other high officials and ^(G)satraps, because ^(H)an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned ^(I)to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ Then ^(J)the high officials and ^(K)the satraps ^(L)sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, ^(M)but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, ^(N)and no error or fault was found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

⁶ Then these ^(O)high officials and ^(P)satraps came by agreement^[a] to the king and said to him, “O ^(Q)King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the ^(R)high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the ^(S)counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an ^(T)injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸ Now, O king, establish ^(U)the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to ^(V)the law of ^(W)the Medes and the Persians, ^(X)which cannot be revoked.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document and ^(Y)injunction.

¹⁰ When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where ^(Z)he had windows in his upper chamber open ^(AA)toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees ^(AB)three times a day and prayed and ^(AC)gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. ¹¹ Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. ¹² Then they ^(AD)came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign ^(AE)an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of ^(AF)the Medes and Persians, ^(AG)which cannot be revoked.” ¹³ Then they answered and said before the king, ^(AH)“Daniel, who is one ^(AI)of the exiles ^(AJ)from Judah, ^(AK)pays no attention to you, O king, or ^(AL)the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition ^(AM)three times a day.”

¹⁴ Then ^(AN)the king, when he heard these words, ^(AO)was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. ¹⁵ Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no ^(AP)injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

¹⁶ Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared^[b] to Daniel, “May ^(AQ)your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” ^17 (AR)And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, ^(AS)and the king sealed it ^(AT)with his own signet and with the signet of his ^(AU)lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. ¹⁸ Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; ^(AV)no diversions were brought to him, and ^(AW)sleep fled from him.

¹⁹ Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰ As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of ^(AX)the living God, ^(AY)has your God, whom you serve continually, ^(AZ)been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, ^(BA)“O king, live forever! ²² My God ^(BB)sent his angel ^(BC)and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless ^(BD)before him; ^(BE)and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” ²³ Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and ^(BF)no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. ²⁴ And the king commanded, and ^(BG)those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all ^(BH)the peoples, nations, and languages ^(BI)that dwell in all the earth: ^(BJ)“Peace be multiplied to you. ^26 (BK)I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion ^(BL)people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and ^(BS)the reign of ^(BT)Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of ^(A)Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^(B)Daniel saw a dream and ^(C)visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. ² Daniel declared,^[a] “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, ^(D)the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³ And four great beasts ^(E)came up out of the sea, different from one another. ⁴ The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. ⁵ And behold, ^(F)another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ ⁶ After this I looked, and behold, another, like a ^(G)leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ^(H)dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^(I)terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^(J)it devoured and broke in pieces ^(K)and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^(L)it had ten horns. ⁸ I considered the horns, and behold, ^(M)there came up among them another horn, a little one, ^(N)before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and ^(O)a mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ “As I looked,

¹¹ “I looked then because of the sound of ^(AB)the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ^(AC)the beast was killed, and its body destroyed ^(AD)and given over to be burned with fire. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, ^(AE)their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

¹³ “I saw in the night visions,

Daniel's Vision Interpreted

¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me^[b] was anxious, and ^(AK)the visions of my head alarmed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. ^17 (AL)‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But ^(AM)the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I desired to know the truth about ^(AN)the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, ^20 (AO)and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. ²¹ As I looked, this horn ^(AP)made war with the saints and prevailed over them, ²² until the ^(AQ)Ancient of Days came, and ^(AR)judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when ^(AS)the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said: ‘As for ^(AT)the fourth beast,

²⁸ “Here is the end of the matter. ^(BD)As for me, Daniel, my ^(BE)thoughts greatly alarmed me, ^(BF)and my color changed, but ^(BG)I kept the matter in my heart.”