Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the opening of the burning fiery furnace; he spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came forth from the midst of the fire.

And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the advisors of the king [were] assembling, [and] they saw these men, that the fire had no power over their bodies, and the hair of their heads was not singed, and their garments were not harmed, and the smell of fire did not come from them.

And from me {is set forth} a decree that any people, nation, or language that [may] utter criticism against their God--[the God of] Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--will be broken into pieces and their house will be made like ruins. {For} there is not another God who is able to rescue like this [God]."

AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE KING To the people of all nations and languages who live on earth. Peace and prosperity to you!

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.

And an edict being set from me to bring up before me to all the wise of Babel, that they shall make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

"O Balteshazzar, thou prince of soothsayers: Forsomuch as I know that thou hast the spirit of the holy gods, and no secret is hid from thee. Tell me therefore, what the vision of my dream that I have seen may signify.

And the tree became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven, and to be seen from the ends of the earth:

The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was food for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in the branches thereof, and all flesh was fed from 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:

But leave the stump with its roots in the ground,
and with a band of iron and bronze around it,
in the tender grass of the field.
Let him be drenched with dew from the sky
and share the plants of the earth
with the animals.

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 word is by decree of the observers;
the matter is a command from the holy ones.
This is so the living will know
that the Most High is ruler
over the kingdom of men.
He gives it to anyone He wants
and sets the lowliest of men over it.

The tree which you saw, which became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven and seen from the ends of the earth;

whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which there was food available for all, under whose branches wild animals used to live, and in whose branches birds of the sky used to nest --

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.

Moreover, whereas it was said that the root of the tree should be left still in the ground: it betokeneth that thy kingdom shall remain whole unto thee, after thou hast learned to know that the power cometh from heaven.

Therefore, O king, let my advice to you be [considered and found] acceptable; break away now from your sins and exhibit your repentance by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by showing mercy to the poor, so that [if you repent] there may possibly be a continuance of your prosperity and tranquility and a healing of your error.’

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:

Belshazzar hath said -- while tasting the wine -- to bring in the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple that is in Jerusalem, that drink with them may the king, and his great men, his wives, and his concubines.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.

At that moment fingers of a man's hand came out and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace across from the lampstand. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then the colour went from the king's face, and he was troubled by his thoughts; strength went from his body, and his knees were shaking.

Then King Belshazzar was greatly perplexed, his face became even paler, and his nobles were bewildered and alarmed.

The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the house of the feast: the queen made answer and said, O King, have life for ever; do not be troubled by your thoughts or let the colour go from your face:

Then Daniel was brought in before the king, [and] the king {spoke} and said to Daniel, "You [are] Daniel {who are one of the exiles} of Judah whom my {predecessor}, the king, brought from Judah.

and, for the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, races and tongues, used to tremble and to withdraw falteringly from before him, - Whom he would, he slew, and, whom he would, he kept alive, and, whom he would, he set up, and, whom he would, he put down.

But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

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.

And you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not kept your heart free from pride, though you had knowledge of all this;

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 from 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.

Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

along with three chief administrators from them, one of which was Daniel. The regional authorities reported to these three administrators, so that the king would experience no losses.

Then the presidents and satraps were seeking to find a pretext against Daniel from the part of the kingdom; and they will not be able to find any pretext and corruption, because that he was faithful, and any error and corruption was not found upon him.

All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellers, 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.

And Daniel as soon as he knew that the writing was signed, went up into his house; and the windows being opened to him in his upper chambers before Jerusalem, three times in the day he kneeled upon his knees, and praying and praising before his God, for the cause that he did from before this

then they have come near, yea, they are saying before the king concerning the king's interdict: 'Hast thou not signed an interdict, that any man who seeketh from any god and man until thirty days, save of thee, O king, is cast into a den of lions?' Answered hath the king, and said, 'The thing is certain as a law of Media and Persia, that doth not pass away.'

Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, does not pay any attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you have signed, but keeps praying [to his God] three times a day.”

Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

Then the king was exceedingly glad over it and commanded [that] Daniel be lifted up from the pit; and [there] was not any wound found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

From before me is made a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom they are trembling and fearing before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God, and abiding to the ages, and His kingdom that which is not destroyed, and His dominion is unto the end.

He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

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 was considering about the horns, and lo, another horn, a little one, hath come up between them, and three of the first horns have been eradicated from before it, and lo, eyes as the eyes of man are in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

I was seeing at that time from the voice of the great words that the horn was speaking: I was seeing even till that the beast was killed and its body destroyed, and it was given to the burning fire.

Now as to the other animals, their authority was removed, but they were granted a reprieve from execution for an appointed period of time."

I have drawn near unto one of those standing, and the certainty I seek from him of all this; and he hath said to me, yea, the interpretation of the things he hath caused me to know:

These great beasts, that are four, are four kings, they rise up from the earth;

Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

also concerning the ten horns, which were in his head, and the other, which came up, and there fell - from among them that were before it - three, - and this horn which had, eyes, and, a mouth, speaking great things, and, his look, was more proud than his fellows:

Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

But the judgment shall be kept, so that his power shall be taken from him: for he shall be destroyed, and perish at the last.

Here is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, I was greatly troubled by my thoughts, and the colour went from my face: but I kept the thing in my heart.

I saw the ram (Medo-Persia) charging westward and northward and southward; no beast could stand before him, nor was there anyone who could rescue [anything] from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself.

And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

[In my vision] I saw him come close to the ram (Medo-Persia), and he was filled with rage toward him; and the goat (Greece) struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to stand before him. So the goat threw him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.

And from the one of them come forth hath a little horn, and it exerteth itself greatly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauteous land;

And it will be great even to the army of the heavens; and it will cast to the earth from the army, and from the stars, and it will tread them down.

Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual burnt-offering , and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

And it came about that when I, Daniel, had seen this vision, I had a desire for the sense of it to be unfolded; and I saw one before me in the form of a man.

I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

and that being broken, stand up do four in its place, four kingdoms from the nation do stand up, and not in its power.

Mighty will be his skills, but not from his own abilities. He'll be remarkably destructive, will succeed, and will do whatever he wants, destroying mighty men and the holy people.

The vision of the evenings and mornings that was told to you is correct. But you should seal up the vision, for it refers to a time many days from now."

In [the] first year [of] Darius, [the] son of Ahasuerus, from [the] offspring of [the] Medes, who became king over [the] kingdom of [the] Chaldeans--

in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books the number of years which, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the desolations [which had been] pronounced on Jerusalem would end; and it was seventy years.

We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:

But unto thee O LORD our God, pertaineth mercy and forgiveness. As for us, we are gone back from him,

And all Israel flouted your Law, turning aside from it and not obeying your voice. Because we've sinned against him, the curse has been poured upon us, along with the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought forth Thy people from the land of Egypt by a strong hand, and dost make for Thee a name as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

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.

And while I was still saying these words in prayer, and putting my sins and the sins of my people Israel before the Lord, and requesting grace from the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;

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 he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations'shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.

I looked up, and there was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist.

So I was by myself, and I saw this great vision, and all my strength went from me; and the colour went from my face.

Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

Then look, there was {one in the form of a human}; he touched my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and I said to the [one] standing {before me}, "My lord, because of the vision my anxieties fell upon me and I [have] not retained [my] strength.

For how may this servant of my lord have talk with my lord? for, as for me, straight away my strength went from me and there was no breath in my body.

And {he again touched} me, {the one in the form of a human}, and he strengthened me.

And I in the one year to Darius the Mede, standing to make firm and to strengthen for him.

And a strong king stood up, and he ruled from much dominion, and he did according to his will.

and according to his standing is his kingdom broken, and divided to the four winds of the heavens, and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion that he ruled, for his kingdom is plucked up -- and for others apart from these.

But a king of the south, will become strong, even from among his rulers, - and will prevail against him, and have authority, a great authority, shall his authority be.

After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father, and the one who supported her during those times.

But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come unto the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.

And also their gods, with their molten images, and with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall refrain some years from the king of the north.

But he (Syria) who comes against him (Egypt) will do exactly as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand against him; he (Antiochus III the Great) will also stay for a time in the Beautiful and Glorious Land [of Israel], with destruction in his hand.

And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom and will form an agreement; and he will {act}, and the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it, but [the ploy] will not succeed {and she will not support him}.