And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand and {some of} of the utensils of the temple of God, and he brought them [to] the land of Shinar [to] the temple of his gods, and he brought the utensils to {the treasury} of his gods.

And God gave Daniel favor and compassion {before} the commander of the court officials,

{And as for these four young men}, God gave to them knowledge and insight into all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had insight into all visions and dreams.

and [told them] to seek mercy {from the God of heaven} concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.

Then in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel; then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Daniel {said}: "Let his name, [the name] of God, be blessed {throughout the ages}, for the wisdom and the power {are his}.

To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and I give praises, for the wisdom and the power you gave to me, and now you have made known to me what we have asked from you, for you have made known to us the matter of the king."

But there is a God in heaven [who] reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what [it is] that will be at the end of days. This [is] your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.

You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory,

And {in the day of those kings}, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will {never} be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation, and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand {forever}.

{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."

The king answered Daniel and said, "{Truly} your God [is] the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and he reveals mysteries, for you are able to reveal this mystery."

[However] there are Judean men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--these men, O king, {pay you no heed} [and] [were] not serving your god, and the statue of gold that you set up they are not worshiping."

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "[Is it] true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, [that] you are not serving my god, and [you are] not worshiping the statue of gold that I have set up?

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 is so}, our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us.

{He answered}, saying, "Look, I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire and there is no damage to them, and the appearance of the fourth [man] resembles the son of a god."

Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire, [and] he called out, saying, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, {servants} of the Most High God, come out and come here!"

Nebuchadnezzar {responded}, saying, "Blessed be their God, [the God] of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him, and the command of the king they disobeyed, and they gave their bodies so that they [did] not serve and [did] not worship any god except their God.

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]."

It is pleasing to me to recount the signs and wonders that the Most High God worked for me.

Then {at last} Daniel came before me {whose name was} Belteshazzar, {according to} the name of my god, [and] {in whom was the spirit of the holy gods}, {and I related the dream to him}.

He cried {aloud} and so he said: "Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

And [inasmuch] that the king saw [the] watcher, a holy [one] coming down from heaven and he said, "Cut down the tree and destroy it, but the stump of its root in the earth leave with a band of iron and bronze in the grass of the field, and let it be watered with the dew of heaven and [let] his lot [be] with [the] animals of the field {until seven times have passed over him}."

Then they brought in the vessels of gold that they took from the temple, the house of God that [was] in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

{O king}, the Most High God gave the kingdom and the greatness and the glory and the majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your {predecessor}.

And he was driven away {from human society} and his mind was made like the animals and his dwelling [was] with the wild asses; [and] {he was given} grass like oxen to eat, and with the dew of heaven his body was bathed, until he acknowledged that the Most High God [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and {whoever} he wants he sets over it.

And [now] you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that [do] not see and [do] not hear and [do] not know, but the God {who holds your life in his hand} and all of your ways {come from him}, you have not honored.

"This [is] the explanation of the matter: 'Mene'--God has numbered your kingdom and brought an end [to] it.

Then these men {said}, "We will not find any pretext against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."

All of [the] administrators of the kingdom, and the prefects, the satraps, the counselors and the governors took counsel [and have] agreed to establish an edict of the king and to enforce a decree that {whoever} will seek a prayer from any god or human except from you [for] up to thirty days will be thrown into {the lion pit}.

Now {when} Daniel realized that the document was signed, he went to his house ({now he had windows in his upper room that were open} toward Jerusalem), and three times {daily} he knelt on his knees and prayed and [gave] praise before his God, {just as} he had been doing {previously}.

Then these men came as a group and they found Daniel praying and pleading for mercy before his God.

Then they approached {and spoke with the king} concerning the edict of the king, "{Did you not sign an edict} that any person who would seek [anything] from any God or human within thirty days except from you, O king, would be thrown into {the lion pit}?" The king answered and said, "The matter [as you have just stated] is certain according to [the] law of [the] Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked."

Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought in and they threw [him] into {the lion pit}. {The king said} to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve {faithfully}, may he rescue you!"

Then the king got up at daybreak, at first light, and he went {in haste} to {the lion pit}.

And {when he came near} to the pit, he cried out to Daniel with distressed voice, [and] the king {spoke} and said to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God whom you serve faithfully, was he able to rescue you from the lions?"

My God sent his angel and he shut the mouth of the lions and they did not hurt me, {because} before him {I was found} blameless, and also before you, O king, I have not done [any] wrong."

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.

{I make a decree} that in all the dominion of my kingdom [people] will be trembling and fearing before the God of Daniel, for he [is] the living God and endures {forever} and his kingdom [is] one that will not be destroyed and his {dominion has no end}.

And I was considering [this], and look, a he-goat coming from the west across the face of the whole earth, and [it] was not touching the ground; and the he-goat [had] {a conspicuous horn} between its eyes.

And the he-goat grew {exceedingly great}, and {at the height of its power} the great horn was broken, and four conspicuous horns came up in place of it toward the four winds of heaven.

"And the hairy he-goat [is] the {kingdom} of Greece, and the great horn that [is] between his eyes--he [is] the first king.

Then I turned my face to the Lord God to seek [him] [by] prayer and pleas for mercy, in fasting and [in] sackcloth and ashes.

And I prayed to Yahweh my God, and I made confession and I said, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and loyal love with [those who] love him and with [those who] keep his commandments,

{Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord, our God}, for we have rebelled against him,

and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law {which he placed before us} by [the] hand of his servants the prophets.

"And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside [so as] not to listen to your voice, and [so] the curse and the oath which [was] written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

Just as [it is] written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and {we have not implored} the face of Yahweh our God [so as] to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.

So Yahweh [has] kept watch over the calamity, and [now] he [has] brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God [is] righteous concerning all his works that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice.

"And now, Lord our God, who have brought your people out from [the] land of Egypt with a strong hand, and you [have] made for yourself a name [until] this day--we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.

Incline your ear, my God, and listen; open your eyes and look at our desolation and the city that is called [by] your name, for we [are] not presenting our pleas for mercy {before you} because of our righteousness, but [rather] because of your great compassion.

Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, pay heed and act! You must not delay {for your sake}, my God; because {your city and your people are called by your name}."

Now I [was] still speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea {before} Yahweh my God, on behalf {of the holy mountain of my God}.

"And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one shall be cut off, and {he shall have nothing}, and [the] people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end [will be] with the flood and [on] to [the] end [there shall be] war; [these] desolations are determined.

And he said to me, "You must not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself {before} your God, your words were heard, and I [myself] have come because of your words.

And now I will reveal [the] truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance [and] great wealth, [even] more than all [of them], and {when he becomes strong} through his wealth, [then] he will stir up {everyone} against [the] kingdom of Javan.

"And those who violate [the] covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God will stand firm and will take action.

"Then the king will do {as he pleases}, and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things {against} [the] God of gods, yet he will succeed until [the period] of anger is finished, for [what] is determined will be done.

He will not pay respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to [the] darling of women, and not to any god will he pay respect, for he will consider himself great over all [gods].

But {instead} he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors did not know. He will honor [him] with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones and with costly gifts.

And he will deal with [the] {fortified strongholds} with [the help of] {a foreign god}; and he will increase wealth for whoever will acknowledge [him], and he will cause them to rule over the many, and he will distribute land for a price.