The Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.

And the king {ordered} Ashpenaz, the commander of his court officials, to bring {some of the Israelites} from {the royal family} and from the lords,

And the king assigned to them {his daily portion} from the fine food of the king, and from {the wine that he drank}, and [instructed that] {they were to be educated for three years}. And at the end [of] their [training], {they were to be stationed} {before} the king.

Now there was among them {from the Judeans}, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

Now {Daniel resolved} that he would not defile himself with the fine food of the king, and with {the wine that he drank}, and [so] he requested from the commander of the court officials [permission so] that he would not defile himself.

God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,

And the captain of the unsexed servants said to Daniel, I am in fear of my lord the king, who has given orders about your food and your drink; what if he sees you looking less happy than the other young men of your generation? then you would have put my head in danger from the king.

Prove now thy servants, ten days; and they shall give to us from seed herbs, and we will eat, and water, and we will drink.

Then take a look at our faces and the faces of the young men who have food from the king's table; and, having seen them, do to your servants as it seems right to you.

And at the end of ten days their faces seemed fairer and they were fatter in flesh than all the young men who had their food from the king's table.

So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine from their diet and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.

And from the end of the days when the king said to bring them in, and the chief of the eunuchs will bring them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

So then the king, spake with them, and there was not found, from among them all, one like unto Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, - therefore stood they before the king;

And in every matter of wisdom [and] understanding [about] which the king inquired from them, he found them ten times better [than] all [of] the magicians [and] conjurers that {were in his entire kingdom}.

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

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.

and if the dream and its interpretation ye do shew, gifts, and fee, and great glory ye receive from before me, therefore the dream and its interpretation shew ye me.'

The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

The Chaldeans answered the king directly, "There's not a single man on earth who can do what the king has commanded. No king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing from any diviner, enchanter, or Chaldean.

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.

And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he would give him time, and {he would tell the king} the explanation.

and to seek mercies from before the God of the heavens concerning this secret, that they destroy not Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel hath answered and said, 'Let the name of God be blessed from age even unto age, for wisdom and might -- for they are His.

Thee, O God of my fathers, I am thanking and praising, for wisdom and might Thou hast given to me; and now, Thou hast caused me to know that which we have sought from Thee, for the king's matter Thou hast caused us to know.'

Then Arioch quickly took Daniel in before the king, and said to him, Here is a man from among the prisoners of Judah, who will make clear to the king the sense of the dream.

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.

then broken small together have been the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, and they have been as chaff from the summer threshing-floor, and carried them away hath the wind, and no place hath been found for them: and the stone that smote the image hath become a great mountain, and hath filled all the land.

And that thou sawest the feet and toes, part of burnt clay of the potter, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; and from the firmness of iron to be in it, for which cause that thou sawest iron mingled with earthen-ware.

And the toes of the feet, part of iron, and part of burnt clay, from the end of the kingdom shall be strong, and part shall be cut asunder.

{Inasmuch as} you saw that a stone from the mountain was chiseled out [but] not by hands, and [that] it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, [thereby] the great God made known to the king what will be {in the future}, and the dream is certain and its explanation trustworthy."

And Daniel hath sought from the king, and he hath appointed over the work of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and Daniel is in the gate of the king.

Now if you are ready so that {when} you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, [that will be good]. But if you do not worship it, {immediately} you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and {who is the god} who will rescue you from my hands?"

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.

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.

Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was extremely hot, the flame of the fire killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

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 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.