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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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;
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 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.
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:
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.
Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the
golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken
out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his
princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans,
and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of
Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the
interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a
chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the
kingdom.
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy
gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and
wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king
Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of
the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and
understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences,
and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king
named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the
interpretation.
And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations,
and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make
known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with
scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the
third ruler in the kingdom.
And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made
like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed
him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven;
till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and
that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they
have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy
lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and
thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood,
and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose
hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not
glorified:
All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the
princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to
establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever
shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee,
O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the
king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that
shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of
thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered
and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and
Persians, which altereth not.
And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had
accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their
children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and
brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the
den.
I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men
tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God,
and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,
dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron
teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them
another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns
plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the
eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with
choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and
there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him
down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that
could deliver the ram out of his hand.
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto
that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision
concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation,
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
O LORD, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion
of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far
off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because
of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
O LORD, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let
thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy
holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our
fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that
are about us.
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy
city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to
make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
the most Holy.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but
not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with
a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in
the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and
shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his
posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his
kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for
the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north
to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm;
neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and
they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened
her in these times.
He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the
province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor
his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil,
and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong
holds, even for a time.
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king
of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be
stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall
not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt
himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak
marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be
done.
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at
him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a
whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and
he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which
standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
shall be found written in the book.
And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters
of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto
heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a
time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to
scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be
finished.