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 spake unto Ashpenaz the chief chamberlain, that he should bring him certain of the children of Israel, that were come of the king's seed and of princes,

youths who {have no physical defect}, and [who are] {handsome}, and [who are] prudent in all wisdom and {endowed with knowledge}, and [who] understand insight, and who [have] the {ability} in them to serve in the palace of the king. [And the king ordered him] to teach them the literature and the language of [the] Chaldeans.

that he said unto him, "I am afraid of my lord the king, which hath appointed you your meat and drink: lest he spy your faces to be worse liking than the other springaldes of your age, and so ye shall make me lose my head unto the king."

Now when the time was expired, that the king had appointed to bring in these young springaldes unto him: the chief chamberlain brought them before Nebuchadnezzar,

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

So the king gave orders to summon diviners, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to reveal to the king what he had dreamed. When they came and stood before him,

What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

He asked him, "Why such a harsh decree from the king?" Then Arioch informed Daniel,

Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.

Daniel responded, and said, Let the name of God be blessed from age to age, - in that wisdom and might, to him belong;

By him times and years are changed: by him kings are taken away and kings are lifted up: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those whose minds are awake:

He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Therefore Daniel went into Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known to the king the interpretation.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Then Nebuchadnezzar in a cruel wrath and displeasure, commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego should be brought unto him. So these men were brought before the king.

{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.

In that time Nebuchadnezzar being filled with wrath, and the form of the visage was changed to him against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego: he answered and said to heat to the furnace one seven times above that it was seen to be heated.

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.

"Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel to deliver his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king's command and were willing to risk their lives in order not to serve or worship any god except their own God. So I decree that people from any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be destroyed and their house reduced to rubble, because there is no other god who can save like this."

But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,

and cried mightily, saying, 'Hew down the tree, break off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit abroad: that all the beasts may get them away from under him, and the fowls from his branches.

But keep its broken end and its roots still in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass; let him have the young grass of the field for food, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his part be with the beasts.

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 errand of the watcher, is a commandment grounded and sought out, in the counsel of him that is most holy: to learn men for to understand, that the highest hath power over the kingdoms of men; and giveth them to whom it liketh him, and bringeth the very outcasts of men over them.'

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;

This, O king, is the interpretation: yea, it is the very device of him that is highest of all, and it toucheth my lord the king.

Thou shalt be cast out of men's company: thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, so that thou shalt eat grass like as an ox, till seven years be come and gone over thee: even until thou knowest, that the highest hath power upon the kingdoms of men, and that he may give them, unto whom it pleaseth him.'"

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:

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

Belshazzar, while he was overcome with wine, gave orders for them to put before him the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem; so that the king and his lords, his wives and his other women, might take their drink from them.

Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

Wherefore the king cried mightily, that they should bring him the charmers, Chaldeans, and the conjurers of devils. The king spake also to the wise men of Babylon, and said, "Whoso can read this writing, and show me the plain meaning thereof: shall be clothed with purple, have a chain of gold about his neck, and rule the third part of my kingdom."

So all the king’s wise men came in, but none could read the inscription or make its interpretation known to him.

Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.

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;

Because a most special spirit, and knowledge and reason and the power of reading dreams and unfolding dark sayings and answering hard questions, were seen to be in him, even in Daniel (named Belteshazzar by the king): now let Daniel be sent for, and he will make clear the sense of the writing.

Then Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the Judean exiles that my predecessor the king brought from Judah?

Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared 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.

and when his heart was high, and his spirit was strong to act proudly, he hath been caused to come down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory they have caused to pass away from him,

and from the sons of men he is driven, and his heart with the beasts hath been like, and with the wild asses is his dwelling; the herb like oxen they cause him to eat, and by the dew of the heavens is his body wet, till that he hath known that God Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and whom He willeth He raiseth up over it.

and against the Lord of the heavens thou hast lifted up thyself; and the vessels of His house they have brought in before thee, and thou, and thy great men, thy wives, and thy concubines, are drinking wine with them, and gods of silver, and of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, that are not seeing, nor hearing, nor knowing, thou hast praised: and the God in whose hand is thy breath, and all thy ways, Him thou hast not honoured.

'Then from before Him sent is the extremity of the hand, and the writing is noted down;

Then hath Belshazzar said, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.

And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was one: that to them the satraps giving to them account, and the king not for him detriment

Then this Daniel hath been overseer over the presidents and satraps, because that an excellent spirit is in him, and the king hath thought to establish him over the whole kingdom.

Then the presidents and satraps have been seeking to find a cause of complaint against Daniel concerning the kingdom, and any cause of complaint and corruption they are not able to find, because that he is faithful, and any error and corruption have not been found in him.

Then these men are saying, 'We do not find against this Daniel any cause of complaint, except we have found it against him in the law of his God.'

Then these presidents and satraps have assembled near the king, and thus they are saying to him: 'O king Darius, to the ages live!

And Daniel, when he hath known that the writing is signed, hath gone up to his house, and the window being opened for him, in his upper chamber, over-against Jerusalem, three times in a day he is kneeling on his knees, and praying, and confessing before his God, because that he was doing it before this.

So they came to the king, and spake before him concerning his commandment, saying, "O king, hast thou not subscribed the statute, that within thirty days whoso requireth his petition of any god or man, but only of thyself, O king, he shall be cast into the den of the lions?" The king answered, and said, "It is true. It must be as a law of the Medes and Persians, that may not be broken."

Then the king, when he hath heard the matter, is greatly displeased at himself, and on Daniel he hath set the heart to deliver him, and till the going up of the sun he was arranging to deliver him.

Then these men went to the king and said to him, “You as king know it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or ordinance the king establishes can be changed.”

Then the king hath said, and they have brought Daniel, and have cast him into a den of lions. The king hath answered and said to Daniel, 'Thy God, whom thou art serving continually, Himself doth deliver thee.'

Then hath the king gone to his palace, and he hath passed the night fasting, and dahavan have not been brought up before him, and his sleep hath fled from off him.

As he approached where Daniel was in the pit, he cried out to him in a voice filled with anguish, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve constantly, been able to deliver you from the lions?"

my God hath sent His messenger, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and they have not injured me: because that before Him purity hath been found in me; and also before thee, O king, injury I have not done.'

Then was the king very glad for him, and he hath commanded Daniel to be taken up out of the den, and Daniel hath been taken up out of the den, and no injury hath been found in him, because he hath believed in his God.

The first was as a Lion, and yet had he Eagle's wings. I saw, that his wings were plucked from him, and he taken away from the earth: that he stood upon his feet as a man, and that there was given him a man's heart.

Behold, the second beast was like a Bear, and stood upon the one side. Among his teeth in his mouth he had three great long teeth, and it was said unto him, 'Arise, eat up, much flesh.'

Then I looked, and behold, there was another like unto a leopard: this had wings as a fowl, even four upon the back. This beast had four heads, and there was power given him.

"I looked till the seats were prepared, and till the Ancient of Days sat him down. His clothing was white as snow, and the hairs of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as the burning fire.

A flood of fire is proceeding and coming forth from before Him, a thousand thousands do serve Him, and a myriad of myriads before Him do rise up, the Judge is seated, and the books have been opened.

I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, with the clouds of the heavens as a son of man was one coming, and unto the Ancient of Days he hath come, and before Him they have brought him near.

And to him is given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages do serve him, his dominion is a dominion age-during, that passeth not away, and his kingdom that which is not destroyed.

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:

He will speak words against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High. He will intend to change religious festivals and laws, and the holy ones will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half a time.

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.

and the kingdom, and the dominion, even the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, is given to the people -- the saints of the Most High, His kingdom is a kingdom age-during, and all dominions do serve and obey Him.

And I shall lift up mine eyes, and I shall see, and behold, one ram stood before the stream, and horns to him: and the horns high; and the one high above the second, and the high came up at the last.

I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.

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 the male goat magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was [young and] strong, the great horn (Alexander) was [suddenly] broken; and in its place there came up four prominent horns [among whom the kingdom was divided, one] toward [each of] the four winds of heaven.

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

And he said unto him, Until two thousand and three hundred evening-mornings, - then shall the sanctuary, be vindicated.

And his power will be great, and he will be purposing strange things. And all will go well for him and he will do his pleasure; and he will send destruction on the strong ones.

So I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek him by prayer, and supplication, - with fasting, and sackcloth and ashes;

And I prayed to LORD my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, LORD, the great and fearful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments,

"Lord! Great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and gracious love for those who love him and obey his commandments, we've sinned, we've practiced evil, we've acted wickedly, and we've rebelled, turning away from your commands and from your regulations.

With the Lord our God are mercies and pardons, for we have rebelled against him;

And all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside so as not to listen unto thy voice. And the curse hath been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God: for we have sinned against him.

So the Lord kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in all He has done. But we have not obeyed Him.

After these sixty two weeks, shall Christ be slain, and they shall have no pleasure in him. Then shall there come a people with the prince, and destroy the city and the Sanctuary: and his end shall come as the water flood. But the desolation shall continue till the end of the battle.

And he will confirm a covenant to the many, for one week, - but, in the middle of the week, will cause sacrifice and present to cease, and, in his stead, shall be the horrid abomination that astoundeth, even till, a full end, and that a decreed one, shall be poured out on him that astoundeth.

In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a secret was unfolded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, even a hard work: and he had knowledge of it, and the vision was clear to him.

And lifting up my eyes I saw the form of a man clothed in a linen robe, and round him there was a band of gold, of the best gold:

In year one of King Darius the Mede, I arose to fortify and strengthen him.'"

But, the ruler of the kingdom of Persia, withstood me twenty-one days, but lo! Michael, one of the chief rulers, came in to help me, - and, I, left him there, beside the kings of Persia.

And behold, one after the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; and I opened my mouth and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, My lord, by reason of the vision my pains are turned upon me, and I retain no strength.

And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

Now I will tell you the truth."Three more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth king will be unusually rich, more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

Then shall there arise yet a mighty king, that shall rule with great dominion, and do what him list.

And as soon as his kingdom cometh up, it shall be destroyed, and divided toward the four winds of the heaven. They that come after him shall not have such power and dominion as he: but his kingdom shall be scattered: yea, even among others than those.

And the king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his rulers. And he shall be powerful over him, and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion.