Daniyel, starting at chapter 1
{1:1} In the third year of the reign of Yehoiakim king of Yehudah
came Nevukhadnetztzar king of Bavel to Yerushalayim, and besieged it.
{1:2} The Lord gave Yehoiakim king of Yehudah into his hand, with part
of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land
of Shin`ar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into
the treasure-house of his god. {1:3} The king spoke to Ashpenaz the
master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in [certain] of the
children of Yisra'el, even of the seed royal and of the nobles; {1:4}
youths in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skillful in all
wisdom, and endowed with knowledge, and understanding science, and
such as had ability to stand in the king's palace; and that he should
teach them the learning and the language of the Kasdim. {1:5} The king
appointed for them a daily portion of the king's dainties, and of the
wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years;
that at the end of it they should stand before the king. {1:6} Now
among these were, of the children of Yehudah, Daniyel, Hananyah,
Misha'el, and `Azaryah. {1:7} The prince of the eunuchs gave names to
them: to Daniyel he gave [the name of] Belteshatztzar; and to
Hananyah, [of] Shadrakh; and to Misha'el, [of] Meshakh; and to
`Azaryah, [of] `Aved-Nego. {1:8} But Daniyel purposed in his heart
that he would not defile himself with the king's dainties, nor with
the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the
eunuchs that he might not defile himself. {1:9} Now God made Daniyel
to find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the
eunuchs. {1:10} The prince of the eunuchs said to Daniyel, I fear my
lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink: for why
should he see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your
own age? so would you endanger my head with the king. {1:11} Then said
Daniyel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed
over Daniyel, Hananyah, Misha'el, and `Azaryah: {1:12} Prove your
servants, I beg you, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and
water to drink. {1:13} Then let our faces be looked on before you, and
the face of the youths who eat of the king's dainties; and as you see,
deal with your servants. {1:14} So he listened to them in this matter,
and proved them ten days. {1:15} At the end of ten days their faces
appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths
who ate of the king's dainties. {1:16} So the steward took away their
dainties, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.
{1:17} Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill
in all learning and wisdom: and Daniyel had understanding in all
visions and dreams. {1:18} At the end of the days which the king had
appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them
in before Nevukhadnetztzar. {1:19} The king talked with them; and
among them all was found none like Daniyel, Hananyah, Misha'el, and
`Azaryah: therefore stood they before the king. {1:20} In every matter
of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of
them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and
enchanters who were in all his realm. {1:21} Daniyel continued even to
the first year of king Koresh.
{2:1} In the second year of the reign of Nevukhadnetztzar,
Nevukhadnetztzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his
sleep went from him. {2:2} Then the king commanded to call the
magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Kasdim, to
tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
{2:3} The king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is
troubled to know the dream. {2:4} Then spoke the Kasdim to the king in
the Arammian language, O king, live forever: tell your servants the
dream, and we will show the interpretation. {2:5} The king answered
the Kasdim, The thing is gone from me: if you don't make known to me
the dream and the interpretation of it, you shall be cut in pieces,
and your houses shall be made a dunghill. {2:6} But if you show the
dream and the interpretation of it, you shall receive of me gifts and
rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the
interpretation of it. {2:7} They answered the second time and said,
Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the
interpretation. {2:8} The king answered, I know of a certainty that
you would gain time, because you see the thing is gone from me. {2:9}
But if you don't make known to me the dream, there is but one law for
you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me,
until the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall
know that you can show me the interpretation of it. {2:10} The Kasdim
answered before the king, and said, There is not a man on the
[1>]eretz[<1] who can show the king's matter, because no king, lord,
or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or
Kasdai. {2:11} It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is
no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose
dwelling is not with flesh. {2:12} For this cause the king was angry
and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Bavel.
{2:13} So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain;
and they sought Daniyel and his companions to be slain. {2:14} Then
Daniyel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Aryokh the
captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men
of Bavel; {2:15} he answered Aryokh the king's captain, Why is the
decree so urgent from the king? Then Aryokh made the thing known to
Daniyel. {2:16} Daniyel went in, and desired of the king that he would
appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.
{2:17} Then Daniyel went to his house, and made the thing known to
Hananyah, Misha'el, and `Azaryah, his companions: {2:18} that they
would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that
Daniyel and his companions should nor perish with the rest of the wise
men of Bavel. {2:19} Then was the secret revealed to Daniyel in a
vision of the night. Then Daniyel blessed the God of heaven. {2:20}
Daniyel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for
wisdom and might are his. {2:21} He changes the times and the seasons;
he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and
knowledge to those who have understanding; {2:22} he reveals the deep
and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light
dwells with him. {2:23} I thank you, and praise you, you God of my
fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known
to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king's
matter. {2:24} Therefore Daniyel went in to Aryokh, whom the king had
appointed to destroy the wise men of Bavel; he went and said thus to
him: Don't destroy the wise men of Bavel; bring me in before the king,
and I will show to the king the interpretation. {2:25} Then Aryokh
brought in Daniyel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I
have found a man of the children of the captivity of Yehudah, who will
make known to the king the interpretation. {2:26} The king answered
Daniyel, whose name was Belteshatztzar, Are you able to make known to
me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation of it? {2:27}
Daniyel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king
has demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor
soothsayers, show to the king; {2:28} but there is a God in heaven who
reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nevukhadnetztzar
what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your
head on your bed, are these: {2:29} as for you, O king, your thoughts
came [into your mind] on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and
he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall happen. {2:30}
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I
have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation
may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of
your heart. {2:31} You, O king, saw, and, behold, a great image. This
image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood
before you; and the aspect of it was awesome. {2:32} As for this
image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver,
its belly and its thighs of brass, {2:33} its legs of iron, its feet
part of iron, and part of clay. {2:34} You saw until a stone was cut
out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of
iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. {2:35} Then was the iron, the
clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together,
and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind
carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone
that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
[2>]eretz[<2]. {2:36} This is the dream; and we will tell the
interpretation of it before the king. {2:37} You, O king, are king of
kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and
the strength, and the glory; {2:38} and wherever the children of men
dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given
into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the
head of gold. {2:39} After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to
you; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over
all the [3>]eretz[<3]. {2:40} The fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as
iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.
{2:41} Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and
part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it
of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry
clay. {2:42} As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of
clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. {2:43}
Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cling to one
another, even as iron does not mingle with clay. {2:44} In the days of
those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty of it be left to another
people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,
and it shall stand forever. {2:45} Because you saw that a stone was
cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the
iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has
made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is
certain, and the interpretation of it sure. {2:46} Then the king
Nevukhadnetztzar fell on his face, and worshiped Daniyel, and
commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.
{2:47} The king answered to Daniyel, and said, Of a truth your God is
the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
seeing you have been able to reveal this secret. {2:48} Then the king
made Daniyel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to
rule over the whole province of Bavel, and to be chief governor over
all the wise men of Bavel. {2:49} Daniyel requested of the king, and
he appointed Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego, over the affairs of
the province of Bavel: but Daniyel was in the gate of the king.
{3:1} Nevukhadnetztzar the king made an image of gold, whose height
was sixty cubits, and the breadth of it six cubits: he set it up in
the plain of Dura, in the province of Bavel. {3:2} Then
Nevukhadnetztzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the
deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the
counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come
to the dedication of the image which Nevukhadnetztzar the king had set
up. {3:3} Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the
judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the
rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of
the image that Nevukhadnetztzar the king had set up; and they stood
before the image that Nevukhadnetztzar had set up. {3:4} Then the
herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and
languages, {3:5} that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute,
zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and
worship the golden image that Nevukhadnetztzar the king has set up;
{3:6} and whoever doesn't fall down and worships shall the same hour
be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. {3:7} Therefore at
that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute,
zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the
nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image
that Nevukhadnetztzar the king had set up. {3:8} Therefore at that
time certain Kasdim came near, and brought accusation against the
Yehudim. {3:9} They answered Nevukhadnetztzar the king, O king, live
for ever. {3:10} You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that
shall hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and
all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;
{3:11} and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall be cast into
the midst of a burning fiery furnace. {3:12} There are certain Yehudim
whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Bavel:
Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego; these men, O king, have not
regarded you: they don't serve your gods, nor worship the golden image
which you have set up. {3:13} Then Nevukhadnetztzar in [his] rage and
fury commanded to bring Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego. Then they
brought these men before the king. {3:14} Nevukhadnetztzar answered
them, Is it on purpose, Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego, that you
don't serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
{3:15} Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn,
flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to you fall
down and worship the image which I have made, [well]: but if you don't
worship, you 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? {3:16} Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego answered the king,
Nevukhadnetztzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. {3:17}
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 your hand, O
king. {3:18} But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not
serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.
{3:19} Then was Nevukhadnetztzar full of fury, and the form of his
visage was changed against Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego:
[therefore] he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace
seven times more than it was wont to be heated. {3:20} He commanded
certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrakh, Meshakh, and
`Aved-Nego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. {3:21}
Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their
mantles, and their [other] garments, and were cast into the midst of
the burning fiery furnace. {3:22} Therefore because the king's
[1>]mitzvah[<1] was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame
of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrakh, Meshakh, and
`Aved-Nego. {3:23} These three men, Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego,
fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. {3:24}
Then Nevukhadnetztzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste:
he spoke and said to his counselors, Didn't we cast three men bound
into the midst of the fire? They answered the king, True, O king.
{3:25} He answered, Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst
of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is
like a son of the gods. {3:26} Then Nevukhadnetztzar came near to the
mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spoke and said, Shadrakh,
Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego, you servants of [2>]Ha`Elyon[<2] God, come
forth, and come here. Then Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego came
forth out of the midst of the fire. {3:27} The satraps, the deputies,
and the governors, and the king's counselors, being gathered together,
saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the
hair of their head singed, neither were their pants changed, nor had
the smell of fire passed on them. {3:28} Nevukhadnetztzar spoke and
said, Blessed be the God of Shadrakh, Meshakh, and `Aved-Nego, who has
sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and
have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they
might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. {3:29}
Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language,
which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrakh, Meshakh, and
`Aved-Nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a
dunghill; because there is no other god who is able to deliver after
this sort. {3:30} Then the king promoted Shadrakh, Meshakh, and
`Aved-Nego in the province of Bavel.
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Footnotes:
[1] {2:10} earth
[2] {2:35} earth
[3] {2:39} earth
[1] {3:22} commandment
[2] {3:26} the Most High
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