Daniel:1-4
Seeker Overlay ON
*
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem ,
and besieged it .
*
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand ,
with part of the vessels of the house of God :
which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god ;
and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god .
*
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs ,
that he should bring certain of the children of Israel ,
and of the king '
s seed ,
and of the princes ;
*
Children in whom was no blemish ,
but well favoured ,
and skilful in all wisdom ,
and cunning in knowledge ,
and understanding science ,
and such as had ability in them to stand in the king '
s palace ,
and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans .
*
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king '
s meat ,
and of the wine which he drank :
so nourishing them three years ,
that at the end thereof they might stand before the king .
*
Now among these were of the children of Judah ,
Daniel ,
Hananiah ,
Mishael ,
and Azariah :
*
Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names :
for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar ;
and to Hananiah ,
of Shadrach ;
and to Mishael ,
of Meshach ;
and to Azariah ,
of Abednego .
*
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king '
s meat ,
nor with the wine which he drank :
therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself .
*
Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs .
*
And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel ,
I fear my lord the king ,
who hath appointed your meat and your drink :
for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort ?
then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king .
*
Then said Daniel to Melzar ,
whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel ,
Hananiah ,
Mishael ,
and Azariah ,
*
Prove thy servants ,
I beseech thee ,
ten days ;
and let them give us pulse to eat ,
and water to drink .
*
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee ,
and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king '
s meat :
and as thou seest ,
deal with thy servants .
*
So he consented to them in this matter ,
and proved them ten days .
*
And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king '
s meat .
*
Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat ,
and the wine that they should drink ;
and gave them pulse .
*
As for these four children ,
God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom :
and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams .
*
Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in ,
then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar .
*
And the king communed with them ;
and among them all was found none like Daniel ,
Hananiah ,
Mishael ,
and Azariah :
therefore stood they before the king .
*
And in all matters of wisdom and understanding ,
that the king enquired of them ,
he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm .
*
And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus .
*
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams ,
wherewith his spirit was troubled ,
and his sleep brake from him .
*
Then the king commanded to call the magicians ,
and the astrologers ,
and the sorcerers ,
and the Chaldeans ,
for to shew the king his dreams .
So they came and stood before the king .
*
And the king said unto them ,
I have dreamed a dream ,
and my spirit was troubled to know the dream .
*
Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack ,
O king ,
live for ever :
tell thy servants the dream ,
and we will shew the interpretation .
*
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans ,
The thing is gone from me :
if ye will not make known unto me the dream ,
with the interpretation thereof ,
ye shall be cut in pieces ,
and your houses shall be made a dunghill .
*
But if ye shew the dream ,
and the interpretation thereof ,
ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour :
therefore shew me the dream ,
and the interpretation thereof .
*
They answered again and said ,
Let the king tell his servants the dream ,
and we will shew the interpretation of it .
*
The king answered and said ,
I know of certainty that ye would gain the time ,
because ye see the thing is gone from me .
*
But if ye will not make known unto me the dream ,
there is but one decree for you :
for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me ,
till the time be changed :
therefore tell me the dream ,
and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof .
*
The Chaldeans answered before the king ,
and said ,
There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king '
s matter :
therefore there is no king ,
lord ,
nor ruler ,
that asked such things at any magician ,
or astrologer ,
or Chaldean .
*
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth ,
and there is none other that can shew it before the king ,
except the gods ,
whose dwelling is not with flesh .
*
For this cause the king was angry and very furious ,
and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon .
*
And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain ;
and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain .
*
Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king '
s guard ,
which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon :
*
He answered and said to Arioch the king '
s captain ,
Why is the decree so hasty from the king ?
Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel .
*
Then Daniel went in ,
and desired of the king that he would give him time ,
and that he would shew the king the interpretation .
*
Then Daniel went to his house ,
and made the thing known to Hananiah ,
Mishael ,
and Azariah ,
his companions :
*
That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret ;
that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon .
*
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision .
Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven .
*
Daniel answered and said ,
Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever :
for wisdom and might are his :
*
And he changeth the times and the seasons :
he removeth kings ,
and setteth up kings :
he giveth wisdom unto the wise ,
and knowledge to them that know understanding :
*
He revealeth the deep and secret things :
he knoweth what is in the darkness ,
and the light dwelleth with him .
*
I thank thee ,
and praise thee ,
O thou God of my fathers ,
who hast given me wisdom and might ,
and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee :
for thou hast now made known unto us the king '
s matter .
*
Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch ,
whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon :
he went and said thus unto him ;
Destroy not the wise men of Babylon :
bring me in before the king ,
and I will shew unto the king the interpretation .
*
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste ,
and said thus unto him ,
I have found a man of the captives of Judah ,
that will make known unto the king the interpretation .
*
The king answered and said to Daniel ,
whose name was Belteshazzar ,
Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen ,
and the interpretation thereof ?
*
Daniel answered in the presence of the king ,
and said ,
The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men ,
the astrologers ,
the magicians ,
the soothsayers ,
shew unto the king ;
*
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets ,
and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days .
Thy dream ,
and the visions of thy head upon thy bed ,
are these ;
*
As for thee ,
O king ,
thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed ,
what should come to pass hereafter :
and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass .
*
But as for me ,
this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living ,
but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king ,
and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart .
*
Thou ,
O king ,
sawest ,
and behold a great image .
This great image ,
whose brightness was excellent ,
stood before thee ;
and the form thereof was terrible .
*
This image '
s head was of fine gold ,
his breast and his arms of silver ,
his belly and his thighs of brass ,
*
His legs of iron ,
his feet part of iron and part of clay .
*
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands ,
which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay ,
and brake them to pieces .
*
Then was the iron ,
the clay ,
the brass ,
the silver ,
and the gold ,
broken to pieces together ,
and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors ;
and the wind carried them away ,
that no place was found for them :
and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain ,
and filled the whole earth .
*
This is the dream ;
and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king .
*
Thou ,
O king ,
art a king of kings :
for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom ,
power ,
and strength ,
and glory .
*
And wheresoever the children of men dwell ,
the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand ,
and hath made thee ruler over them all .
Thou art this head of gold .
*
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee ,
and another third kingdom of brass ,
which shall bear rule over all the earth .
*
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron :
forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things :
and as iron that breaketh all these ,
shall it break in pieces and bruise .
*
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes ,
part of potters '
clay ,
and part of iron ,
the kingdom shall be divided ;
but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron ,
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay .
*
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron ,
and part of clay ,
so the kingdom shall be partly strong ,
and partly broken .
*
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay ,
they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men :
but they shall not cleave one to another ,
even as iron is not mixed with clay .
*
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom ,
which shall never be destroyed :
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people ,
but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms ,
and it shall stand for ever .
*
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands ,
and that it brake in pieces the iron ,
the brass ,
the clay ,
the silver ,
and the gold ;
the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter :
and the dream is certain ,
and the interpretation thereof sure .
*
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face ,
and worshipped Daniel ,
and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him .
*
The king answered unto Daniel ,
and said ,
Of a truth it is ,
that your God is a God of gods ,
and a Lord of kings ,
and a revealer of secrets ,
seeing thou couldest reveal this secret .
*
Then the king made Daniel a great man ,
and gave him many great gifts ,
and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon ,
and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon .
*
Then Daniel requested of the king ,
and he set Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
over the affairs of the province of Babylon :
but Daniel sat in the gate of the king .
*
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold ,
whose height was threescore cubits ,
and the breadth thereof six cubits :
he set it up in the plain of Dura ,
in the province of Babylon .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes ,
the governors ,
and the captains ,
the judges ,
the treasurers ,
the counsellors ,
the sheriffs ,
and all the rulers of the provinces ,
to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up .
*
Then the princes ,
the governors ,
and captains ,
the judges ,
the treasurers ,
the counsellors ,
the sheriffs ,
and all the rulers of the provinces ,
were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up ;
and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up .
*
Then an herald cried aloud ,
To you it is commanded ,
O people ,
nations ,
and languages ,
*
That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
dulcimer ,
and all kinds of musick ,
ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up :
*
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace .
*
Therefore at that time ,
when all the people heard the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
and all kinds of musick ,
all the people ,
the nations ,
and the languages ,
fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up .
*
Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near ,
and accused the Jews .
*
They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar ,
O king ,
live for ever .
*
Thou ,
O king ,
hast made a decree ,
that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
and dulcimer ,
and all kinds of musick ,
shall fall down and worship the golden image :
*
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth ,
that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace .
*
There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon ,
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ;
these men ,
O king ,
have not regarded thee :
they serve not thy gods ,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego .
Then they brought these men before the king .
*
Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them ,
Is it true ,
O Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
do not ye serve my gods ,
nor worship the golden image which I have set up ?
*
Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet ,
flute ,
harp ,
sackbut ,
psaltery ,
and dulcimer ,
and all kinds of musick ,
ye fall down and worship the image which I have made ;
well :
but if ye worship not ,
ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace ;
and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands ?
*
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
answered and said to the king ,
O Nebuchadnezzar ,
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter .
*
If it be so ,
our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace ,
and he will deliver us out of thine hand ,
O king .
*
But if not ,
be it known unto thee ,
O king ,
that we will not serve thy gods ,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up .
*
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury ,
and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego :
therefore he spake ,
and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated .
*
And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace .
*
Then these men were bound in their coats ,
their hosen ,
and their hats ,
and their other garments ,
and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace .
*
Therefore because the king '
s commandment was urgent ,
and the furnace exceeding hot ,
the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego .
*
And these three men ,
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied ,
and rose up in haste ,
and spake ,
and said unto his counsellors ,
Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire ?
They answered and said unto the king ,
True ,
O king .
*
He answered and said ,
Lo ,
I see four men loose ,
walking in the midst of the fire ,
and they have no hurt ;
and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace ,
and spake ,
and said ,
Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
ye servants of the most high God ,
come forth ,
and come hither .
Then Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
came forth of the midst of the fire .
*
And the princes ,
governors ,
and captains ,
and the king '
s counsellors ,
being gathered together ,
saw these men ,
upon whose bodies the fire had no power ,
nor was an hair of their head singed ,
neither were their coats changed ,
nor the smell of fire had passed on them .
*
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake ,
and said ,
Blessed be the God of Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
who hath sent his angel ,
and delivered his servants that trusted in him ,
and have changed the king '
s word ,
and yielded their bodies ,
that they might not serve nor worship any god ,
except their own God .
*
Therefore I make a decree ,
That every people ,
nation ,
and language ,
which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
shall be cut in pieces ,
and their houses shall be made a dunghill :
because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort .
*
Then the king promoted Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abednego ,
in the province of Babylon .
*
Nebuchadnezzar the king ,
unto all people ,
nations ,
and languages ,
that dwell in all the earth ;
Peace be multiplied unto you .
*
I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me .
*
How great are his signs !
and how mighty are his wonders !
his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom ,
and his dominion is from generation to generation .
*
I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house ,
and flourishing in my palace :
*
I saw a dream which made me afraid ,
and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me .
*
Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me ,
that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream .
*
Then came in the magicians ,
the astrologers ,
the Chaldeans ,
and the soothsayers :
and I told the dream before them ;
but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof .
*
But at the last Daniel came in before me ,
whose name was Belteshazzar ,
according to the name of my god ,
and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods :
and before him I told the dream ,
saying ,
*
O Belteshazzar ,
master of the magicians ,
because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee ,
and no secret troubleth thee ,
tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen ,
and the interpretation thereof .
*
Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed ;
I saw ,
and behold a tree in the midst of the earth ,
and the height thereof was great .
*
The tree grew ,
and was strong ,
and the height thereof reached unto heaven ,
and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth :
*
The leaves thereof were fair ,
and the fruit thereof much ,
and in it was meat for all :
the beasts of the field had shadow under it ,
and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof ,
and all flesh was fed of it .
*
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed ,
and ,
behold ,
a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven ;
*
He cried aloud ,
and said thus ,
Hew down the tree ,
and cut off his branches ,
shake off his leaves ,
and scatter his fruit :
let the beasts get away from under it ,
and the fowls from his branches :
*
Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth ,
even with a band of iron and brass ,
in the tender grass of the field ;
and let it be wet with the dew of heaven ,
and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth :
*
Let his heart be changed from man '
s ,
and let a beast '
s heart be given unto him ;
and let seven times pass over him .
*
This matter is by the decree of the watchers ,
and the demand by the word of the holy ones :
to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men ,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will ,
and setteth up over it the basest of men .
*
This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen .
Now thou ,
O Belteshazzar ,
declare the interpretation thereof ,
forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation :
but thou art able ;
for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee .
*
Then Daniel ,
whose name was Belteshazzar ,
was astonied for one hour ,
and his thoughts troubled him .
The king spake ,
and said ,
Belteshazzar ,
let not the dream ,
or the interpretation thereof ,
trouble thee .
Belteshazzar answered and said ,
My lord ,
the dream be to them that hate thee ,
and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies .
*
The tree that thou sawest ,
which grew ,
and was strong ,
whose height reached unto the heaven ,
and the sight thereof to all the earth ;
*
Whose leaves were fair ,
and the fruit thereof much ,
and in it was meat for all ;
under which the beasts of the field dwelt ,
and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation :
*
It is thou ,
O king ,
that art grown and become strong :
for thy greatness is grown ,
and reacheth unto heaven ,
and thy dominion to the end of the earth .
*
And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven ,
and saying ,
Hew the tree down ,
and destroy it ;
yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth ,
even with a band of iron and brass ,
in the tender grass of the field ;
and let it be wet with the dew of heaven ,
and let his portion be with the beasts of the field ,
till seven times pass over him ;
*
This is the interpretation ,
O king ,
and this is the decree of the most High ,
which is come upon my lord the king :
*
That they shall drive thee from men ,
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field ,
and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen ,
and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven ,
and seven times shall pass over thee ,
till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men ,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will .
*
And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots ;
thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee ,
after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule .
*
Wherefore ,
O king ,
let my counsel be acceptable unto thee ,
and break off thy sins by righteousness ,
and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor ;
if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity .
*
All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar .
*
At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon .
*
The king spake ,
and said ,
Is not this great Babylon ,
that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power ,
and for the honour of my majesty ?
*
While the word was in the king '
s mouth ,
there fell a voice from heaven ,
saying ,
O king Nebuchadnezzar ,
to thee it is spoken ;
The kingdom is departed from thee .
*
And they shall drive thee from men ,
and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field :
they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen ,
and seven times shall pass over thee ,
until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men ,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will .
*
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar :
and he was driven from men ,
and did eat grass as oxen ,
and his body was wet with the dew of heaven ,
till his hairs were grown like eagles '
feathers ,
and his nails like birds '
claws .
*
And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven ,
and mine understanding returned unto me ,
and I blessed the most High ,
and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever ,
whose dominion is an everlasting dominion ,
and his kingdom is from generation to generation :
*
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing :
and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven ,
and among the inhabitants of the earth :
and none can stay his hand ,
or say unto him ,
What doest thou ?
*
At the same time my reason returned unto me ;
and for the glory of my kingdom ,
mine honour and brightness returned unto me ;
and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me ;
and I was established in my kingdom ,
and excellent majesty was added unto me .
*
Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven ,
all whose works are truth ,
and his ways judgment :
and those that walk in pride he is able to abase .
*
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords ,
and drank wine before the thousand .
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