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.

And at the end of ten days their appearances appeared better and [they were] healthier of body than all the young men who were eating the fine food of 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 the decree was issued, and the wise men {were on the verge of being executed}, and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed.

"You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue [was] huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing [there] before you, and its appearance [was] frightening.

You were looking on {until} a stone was chiseled out--that not by hands--and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces.

And [as] the toes of the feet [were] partly iron and partly clay, [so] part of the kingdom will be strong {and partly brittle}.

Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province [were] assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king [had] set up, and [were] standing {before} the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

{Therefore}, {at that time}, {as soon as} all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, {the nations and people of all languages} [were] falling down [and] were worshiping the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

[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."

And he commanded {the strongest men of the guards} who [were] in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to throw [them] into the furnace of blazing fire.

Then these men were bound with their garments, their trousers and their turbans and their [other] clothing, and they were thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

But these men, the three of them, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, fell down into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, [and they] were bound.

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 a decree was {sent out}, [ordering that] all [the] wise men of Babylon [were] to be brought in before me [so] that they may make known to me [the] explanation of the dream.

Now [these were] the visions of my head [as I was lying] on my bed: I was {gazing} and, look, a tree [was] in the midst of the earth, and its height [was] exalted.

Its foliage [was] beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it [was] provision for all. Under it the animals of the field sought shade, and in its branches the birds of heaven nested, and from it all the living beings were fed.

" 'This [is] the dream [that] I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its explanation, {for} all of [the] wise men of my kingdom were not able to make the explanation known to me, but you are able because [the] spirit of holy gods [is] in you.'

[While] the words [were] still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, [saying], 'To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, [it] is declared that the kingdom has departed from you,

Then all the wise men of the king came in, but they were not able to read the writing or to make known its explanation.

Then the king, Belshazzar, became greatly terrified, and {his facial features} changed upon him, and his lords were perplexed.

And now the wise men [and] the conjurers were brought in before me [so] that they could read this writing [in order to] make its explanation known to me, but they were not able to disclose the explanation of the matter.

{It pleased Darius}, and he set up one hundred and twenty satraps over the kingdom, that they were {throughout the whole kingdom},

and over them [were] three administrators, [of] whom Daniel [was] one, [so] that these satraps were giving account to them, and the king would not be suffering loss.

Then the [other] administrators and satraps {began to seek} to find pretext against Daniel {in connection with the kingdom}, but they were not able to find any pretext and {corruption} {because} he was trustworthy, and no negligence or {corruption} {could be found in him}.

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}.

The king then commanded, and these men were brought {who had accused Daniel}, and they threw them and their children and their wives into {the lion pit}, and they had not reached the floor of the pit {before} the lions had overpowered them and they had crushed all of their bones.

Daniel {explained} and said, "I was looking in my vision in the night, and look, the four winds of heaven were stirring [up] the great sea.

And four great beasts [were] coming up from the sea, differing {from one another}.

The first [was] like lion and {had} [the] wings of an eagle. I was watching until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and it was raised on [its] feet like a human, and a human heart was given to it.

And look, another beast, a second one, looking like a bear. And it was raised up on one side and three tusks [were] in its mouth between its teeth, and so {it was told}, "Arise, eat much flesh!"

I was considering the horns, and look, another little horn came up {among} them, and three of the earlier horns {were rooted out} from before it, and there were eyes like the eyes of human in this horn and [also] a mouth [that was] speaking boastfully.

"{I continued watching} until thrones were placed and an Ancient of Days sat; his clothing [was] like white snow and the hair of his head [was] like pure wool and his throne [was] a flame of fire and its wheels [were] burning fire.

A stream of fire issued forth and flowed {from his presence}; thousands [upon] thousands served him and ten thousand [upon] ten thousand stood before him. The judge sat, and [the] books were opened.

and concerning the horns that [were] on its head, and [concerning] [the] other [horn] that came up and {before which three horns fell}, and this horn {had eyes} and mouth speaking {boastfully}, and its appearance [was] larger than its companions.

And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and look! A ram standing {before} the stream, and {it had} two horns, and the horns [were] long, but the one [was] longer than the second, and the longer [one] came up {after the other one}.

in [the] first year [of] his kingship I, Daniel, observed in the scrolls the number of the years that it was [that were] to be fulfilled [according to] [the] word of Yahweh to Jeremiah the prophet for the devastation of Jerusalem--seventy years.

Now his body [was] like turquoise, and his face [was] like [the] appearance of lightning, and his eyes [were] like torches of fire, and his arms and his legs [were] like [the] gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words [was] like [the] sound of a multitude.

And I saw, I, Daniel {alone}, the vision; and the people who were with me {did not see} the vision; nevertheless, a great trembling fell upon them and they fled [in order] to hide themselves.

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.

Then I looked, I myself, Daniel, and look, there were two others standing: {one on this bank of the stream and one on the other}.