In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it:

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,

Then the king commanded to call together all the soothsayers, charmers, witches and Chaldeans, for to show the king his dream. So they came, and stood before the king.

and then came he home again and showed the thing unto Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

Only God in heaven can open secrets; and he it is, that showeth the king Nebuchadnezzar what is for to come in the latter days. Thy dream, and that which thou hast seen in thine head upon thy bed, is this:

O king, thou didst cast in thy mind, what should come hereafter: So he that is the opener of mysteries, telleth thee what is for to come.

And whereas thou sawest that without any hands there was cut out of the mount a stone, which brake the iron, the copper, the earth, the silver and gold in pieces: by that hath the great God showed the king, what will come after this. This is a true dream, and the interpretation of it is sure."

and sent out to gather together the dukes, lords and nobles, the judges and officers, the deputies and sheriffs, with all the rulers of the land: that they might come to the dedication of the Image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

So the dukes, lords and nobles, the judges and officers, deputies and sheriffs, with all the rulers of the land gathered them together, and came unto the dedicating of the Image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Now when they stood before the Image, which Nebuchadnezzar had set up,

Upon this went Nebuchadnezzar unto the mouth of the hot burning oven: he spake also, and said, "O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the high God: go forth, and come hither." And so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went out of the fire.

Then the dukes, lords and nobles, and the king's counsel came together to see these men, upon whom the fire had no manner of power in their bodies: insomuch that the very hair of their head was not burnt, and their clothes unchanged: Yea, there was no smell of fire felt upon them.

So there came the soothsayers, charmers, Chaldeans and conjurers of devils: to whom I told the dream. But what it betokened, they could not show me:

till at the last, there came one Daniel, otherwise called Balteshazzar, according to the name of my God, which hath the spirit of the holy gods, in him: to whom I told the dream, saying,

I saw in my head a vision upon my bed: and behold, a watcher, and a holy one, came down from heaven

That man's heart of his shall be taken from him, and a beast's heart shall be given him, till seven years be come and gone upon him.

But whereas the king saw a watcher, even a holy angel, that came down from heaven, and said, 'Hew down the tree, and destroy it: yet leave the ground of the root in the earth, and bind him upon the plain field with chains of iron and steel: He shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and his part shall be with the beasts of the field, till seven years be come and gone upon him.'

Thou shalt be cast out from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: with grass shalt thou be fed like an ox. Thou must be wet with the dew of the heaven: yea, seven years shall come and go upon thee, till thou know that the highest hath power upon the kingdoms of men, and giveth them to whom he list.

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.'"

Upon this, came all the king's wise men: but they could neither read the writing, nor show the king what it signified.

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."

Now as he came nigh unto the den, he cried with a piteous voice unto Daniel: Yea, the king spake, and said to Daniel, "O Daniel, thou servant of the living God, is not thy God, whom thou alway servest, able to deliver thee from the lions?"

And as for those men which had accused Daniel, the king commanded to bring them, and to cast them in the Lions' den: them, their children, and their wives. So the Lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones asunder, before they came at the ground.

and four great beasts came up from the sea, one unlike another.

And behold, there came up among them, another like horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked away. Behold, this horn had eyes like a man, and a mouth speaking presumptuous things.

I saw in a vision by night, and behold, there came one in the clouds of heaven like the Son of Man - which went unto the Ancient of Days, before whom they brought him.

I desired also to know the truth, as touching the ten horns that he had upon his head, and this other which came up afterward, before whose face there fell down three: which horn had eyes and a mouth that spake presumptuous things, and looked with a grimmer visage than his fellows.

till the time that the Ancient of Days came, that the judgment was given to the chiefest saints; and till the time that the saints had the kingdom in possession.

Then I looked up, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river, a ram, which had horns: and these horns were high, but one was higher than another, and the highest came up last.

I took heed unto this, and then came there a he goat from the west over the whole earth, and touched not the ground. This goat had a marvelous goodly horn betwixt his eyes,

and came unto the ram, that had the two horns, whom I had seen afore by the river side, and ran fiercely upon him with his might.

Yea out of one of the least of these horns, there came up yet another horn, which waxed marvelous great: toward the south, toward the east, and toward the fair pleasant land.

So he came, and stood by me. But I was afraid at his coming, and fell down upon my face. Then said he unto me, "O thou son of man, mark well, for in the last time shall this vision be fulfilled."

And this vision that is showed unto thee, is as sure as the evening and the morning. Therefore write thou upon this sight, for it will be long before it come to pass."

O LORD righteousness belongeth unto thee; unto us pertaineth nothing but open shame: as it is come to pass this day unto every man of Judah, and to them that dwell at Jerusalem. Yea, unto all Israel, whether they be far or nigh, throughout all lands wherein thou hast strawed them, because of the offenses that they had done against thee.

And he hath performed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us: to bring upon us such a great plague, as never was under heaven, like as it is now come to pass in Jerusalem.

Yea, all this plague, as it is written in the law of Moses, is come upon us. Yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn again from our wickedness, and to be learned in thy verity.

Yea, while I was yet speaking in my prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen afore in the vision, came flying to me, and touched me about the offering time in the evening.

He informed me, and spake unto me, "O Daniel," said he, "I am now come, to make thee understand it:

For as soon as thou begannest to make thy prayer, it was so devised, and therefore am I come to show thee. And why? For thou art a man greatly beloved. Wherefore, ponder the matter well, that thou mayest learn to understand the vision.

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.

so that I had no lust to eat bread: as for flesh and wine, there came none within my mouth: No, I did not once anoint myself, till the whole three weeks were out.

Yet heard I the voice of his words: and as soon as I heard it, faintness came upon me, and I fell down flat to the ground upon my face.

Then said he unto me, "Fear not, Daniel: for why? Since the first day that thou set thine heart to understand, and didst chasten thyself before thy God: thy words have been heard. And I had come unto thee, when thou begannest to speak,

had not the prince over the kingdom of the Persians withstood me twenty one days. But lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; him have I left by the king of Persia,

and am come to show thee what shall happen unto thy people in the latter days: For it will be long yet before the vision be fulfilled."

Then said he, "Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? Now will I go again to fight with the prince of the Persians: As soon as I go forth, lo, the prince of Greekland shall come.

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.

But after certain years they shall be joined together; and the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the North for to make friendship. But she shall not obtain the power of that arm, neither shall she be able to endure through his might: but she, and such as brought her - yea, and he that begat her, and comforted her for his time - shall be delivered up.

And when he is come into the king's realm of the south, he shall be fain to turn again into his own land.

Wherefore his sons shall be displeased, and shall gather together a mighty great host of people: and one of them shall come, and go through like a water flood: then shall he return, and go forth with defying and boasting unto his own land.

Then the king of the south shall be angry, and shall come forth to fight against the king of the north: Yea, he shall bring a great multitude of people together, and a great heap shall be given into his hand.

For the king of the north shall gather, of the new, a greater heap of people than afore, and come forth after a certain time and years with a mighty host and exceeding great goods.

So the king of the north shall come to lay siege, and to take the strong fenced cities: And the power of them of the south shall not be able to abide him, and the best men of the people shall not be so strong as to resist him.

After this shall he set his face unto the Isles, and take many of them. A prince shall stop him, to do him a shame, beside the confusion that else shall come unto him.

so that he that came upon him and did him violence, shall stand in his place, and have a pleasant kingdom: and after few days he shall be destroyed: and that neither in wrath, nor in battle.

"In his stead there shall arise a vile person, not holden worthy of a king's dignity: this shall come in craftily, and obtain the kingdom with fair words.

These two kings shall be minded to do mischief, and talk of deceit at one table: but they shall not prosper. For why? The end shall not come yet, unto the time appointed.

At the time appointed he shall come again, and go toward the south: So shall it happen otherwise then at the first, yet once again.

And why? The ships of Chittim shall come upon him, that he may be smitten and turn again: that he may take indignation against the covenant of holiness, to meddle against it. Yea he shall turn him, and draw such unto him, as leave the holy covenant.

In the latter time, shall the king of the south strive with him; and the king of the north in like manner shall come against him with chariots, horsemen and with a great navy of ships. He shall come into the lands, destroy and go through:

The tents of his palace shall he pitch betwixt the two seas, upon the hill of the noble Sanctuary, for he shall come to the end of it, and then shall no man help him.

The time will come also, that the great prince Michael, which standeth on thy people side, shall arise up, for there shall come a time of trouble, such as never was, since there began to be any people, unto that same time. Then shall thy people be delivered, yea all those that be found written in the book.