And among them were four of the sons of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

to whom the ruler of the eunuchs gave names. For he called Daniel, Belteshazzar; and Hananiah, Shadrach; and Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abednego.

And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has chosen your food and your drink. For why should he see your faces worse looking than the boys who are of your kind? Then you would forfeit my head to the king.

So he listened to them in this matter, and tried them for ten days.

As for these four boys, God gave them knowledge and skill in all writing and wisdom. And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

The king answered and said, For I know that you surely want to gain time, because you see the thing is gone from me.

But if you will not make the dream known to me, there is only one judgment for you. For you have prepared lying and deceiving words to speak before me, until the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can reveal to me its meaning.

For this cause the king was enraged and angered, and commanded all the wise men of Babylon to be destroyed.

that they might pray for the mercies of God in Heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.

I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and have made known to me now what we asked of You. For You have now made known to us the king's matter.

As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen after this. And He who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall happen.

But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living man, but so that the meaning might be known to the king, and that you might know the thoughts of your heart.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces together. And they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of Heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

Then because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was amazed. And he rose up in haste and spoke and said to his advisers, Did we not throw three men bound into the middle of the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, O king.

He answered and said, Behold! I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and there is no harm among them. And the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near the door of the burning fiery furnace. He answered and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come forth and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth from the middle of the fire.

And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's advisers gathered and saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power (and the hair of their head was not scorched, nor were their slippers changed, nor had the smell of fire clung on them).

Its leaves were beautiful, and its fruit plentiful, and in it was food for all. The animals of the field sought shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its boughs, and all flesh was fed by it.

I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen this dream. Now you, O Belteshazzar, declare its meaning, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make the meaning known to me. But you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stunned for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning trouble you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream is to those who hate you, and its meaning to your foes.

whose leaves were fair, and its fruit plentiful, and in it was food for all, under which the animals of the field dwelt, and on whose branches the birds of the heavens had their home;

it is you, O king, for you have become great and strong, for your greatness has grown and reached to the heaven, and your rule to the end of the earth.

The king spoke and said, Is this not great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?

At that time my reason returned to me. And the glory of my kingdom, my honor and brightness returned to me. And my advisers and my lords came for me, and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me.

And for the majesty that He gave him, all people, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed whom he would, and whom he would he kept alive. And whom he would, he set up; and whom he would, he put down.

All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, and the officials and governors, have planned together to establish a royal law, and to make a strong ban that whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except from you, O king, he shall be thrown into the den of lions.

Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of hurt was found on him, because he trusted in his God.

I make a decree that in all the domain of my kingdom, there shall be trembling and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and endures forever, and His kingdom is that which shall not be destroyed, and His rule shall be to the end.

Daniel spoke and said, In my vision by night I was looking: and behold, the four winds of the heavens were stirring up the Great Sea.

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

After this I saw, and lo, another, like a leopard, which had four wings of a bird on its back. The beast also had four heads; and rulership was given to it.

I watched until the thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days sat, whose robe was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like flames of fire, and His wheels like burning fire.

A stream of fire went out and came out from before Him. A thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The judgment was set, and the books were opened.

And the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away. Yet their lives were made longer for a season and time.

These four great beasts are four kings; they shall arise out of the earth.

Here is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts troubled me much, and my face changed on me. But I kept the matter in my heart.

Then the he-goat became very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And in its place came up four outstanding ones towards the four winds of the heavens.

And he said to me, For two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be vindicated.

And it happened when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me the form of a man.

So he came near beside my place. And when he came, I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for the vision is for the time of the end.

And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall happen in the last end of the indignation. For it is for the time appointed for the end.

And as for that being broken, and four stood up in its place; four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in its power.

And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true. But you shall shut up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

And I Daniel fainted, and was sick for days. Afterward I rose up, and did the king's business. And I was amazed at the vision, but there was no understanding.

And He has confirmed His Words which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing on us a great evil. For under all the heavens it has not been done as it has been done to Jerusalem.

Therefore Jehovah has watched over the evil, and has brought it on us. For Jehovah our God is righteous in all His works which He does; for we did not obey His voice.

O Lord, I pray You, according to all Your righteousness let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain. Because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a curse to all those who are around us.

And now, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his holy desires, and cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

O my God, bow down Your ear and hear. Open Your eyes and behold our ruins, and the city which is called by Your name. For we do not present our prayers before You on account of our righteousnesses, but because of Your great mercies.

O Jehovah, hear; O Jehovah, forgive; O Jehovah, listen and do. Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God; for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.

And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my cry before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God;

At the beginning of your prayers the commandment came out, and I have come to explain. For you are greatly beloved; therefore understand the matter, and attend to the vision:

Seventy weeks are decreed as to your people and as to your holy city, to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. And the people of the ruler who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end of it shall be with the flood, and ruins are determined, until the end shall be war.

And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and on a corner of the altar desolating abominations, even until the end. And that which was decreed shall be poured on the desolator.

I ate no food for delight, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, until three whole weeks were fulfilled.

His body also was like the beryl, and his face looked like lightning. And his eyes were like lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet in color were like polished bronze, and the voice of his words like the sound of a multitude.

And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision. For the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great quaking fell on them, so that they fled to hide themselves.

Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me. For my beauty was turned within me to corruption, and I kept no strength.

And he said to me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright. For to you I am now sent. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling.

Then he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel; for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard. And I have come for your words.

Now I have come to make you understand what shall happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is yet for many days.

For how can the servant of my lord talk with my lord? For as for me, immediately there remained no strength in me, nor is there breath left in me.

and said, O man greatly beloved, do not fear. Peace to you; be strong; yes, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was made stronger, and I said, Speak my lord, for you have made me stronger.

And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I was standing for a supporter and for a fortress for him.

And now I will declare to you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia. And the fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken and shall be divided toward the four winds of the heavens. And it shall not be given to his sons, nor according to his power with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be pulled up, even for others besides these.

And in the end of years they shall join together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make a treaty. But she shall not keep the power of the arm. Nor shall he stand, nor his arm. But she shall be given up, and those who brought her in, and her begetter, and he who made her strong in these times.

And he shall also carry their gods captives with their molten images into Egypt, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold. And he shall stand for years away from the king of the north.

For the king of the north shall return, and shall send out a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of times, years, shall come with a great army and with much equipment.

He also shall set his face to enter with the strength of all his kingdom, and upright ones with him. So he shall do. And he shall give the daughter of women to him, to destroy it; but she shall not stand, nor be for him.

And he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a ruler shall make cease his reproach for him, but his reproach will return to him.

And one who sends an exacter shall stand in his place, for the glory of the kingdom. But within few days he shall be broken, not in anger nor in battle.

And after they join him, he will practice deceit. For he will come and be strong with a few people.

He shall enter safely, even into the rich places of the province. And he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers. He shall plunder, and spoil, and scatter goods among them. And he shall devise his plots against the strongholds, even for a time.

And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army, but he shall not stand. For they shall devise plots against him.

And both these kings' hearts shall be to do evil, and they shall speak lies at one table. But it shall not succeed. For still the end comes at the time appointed.

For the ships of Kittim shall come against him. And he shall be grieved and return, and have fury against the holy covenant. So he shall do; he shall even return and give heed to those who forsake the holy covenant.

And those who understand among the people shall teach many; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by exile, and spoil, for days.

And many of those who understand shall stumble, to refine and purge them, and to make white, to the time of the end. Because it is still for the appointed time.

And the king shall do according to his will. And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper until the fury is fulfilled. For that which is decreed shall be done.

He will not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god. For he shall magnify himself above all.

So he shall act in the fortresses of the strongholds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge. He shall multiply in glory, and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.

And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great ruler who stands for the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation; until that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was on the waters of the river, when he held up his right and his left hand to Heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half. And when they have made an end of scattering the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

And He said, Go, Daniel! For the words are closed up and sealed until the end-time.

But you go on to the end, for you shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of the days.