Daniel, by Divine Revelation,

DANIEL, II. and very furious, and commanded to de- B. C. 608. stroy all a the wise men of Babylon.

13 And the decree went forth that the a Mat.2.16.

wise men should be slain; and they 1 wast seeing. sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. 2 returned." 14 Then Daniel 2 answered with coun- 3 chief of the Eel and wisdom to Arioch the 3 captain executioners, of the king's guard, which was gone forth or slaughter to slay the wise men of Babylon: 15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

16 Then Daniel went in,and desired of the king that he would give him time,and that be would shewthe king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions; 18 Thatd they would desire mercies 6 of the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. h Then Danielje blessed the God of heaven.

20 Daniel answered and said, j Blessed De the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are bis:

men, or chief marshall, Ge.37.36. Je.52.12,14. or, sides. 5 or, which was not in his hands. b Zec.4.6. Jno.1.13. c Ps.1.4. Hos. 13.3. d 1Sa. 17.37. c.3.17. 2Ti.4.17,18. from before. Ps.37.36. or, they should not destroy Daniel.

6

21 And he changeth the times m and f Is. 2.2,3. the seasons: hen removeth kings, and g 1Co.15.25. setteth up kings: hep giveth wisdom h Nu.12.6. unto the wise, and knowledge to them i Ezr.7.12. that know understanding. Is.47.5.

22 He revealeth q the deep and secret Eze.26.7. things: he knoweths what is in the dark- Hos.8.10. ness, and the light u dwelleth with him. j Ps.50.23. 23 I thank thee, and praise thee, Ok Ezr.1.2. thou God of my fathers, who last given 1 Je.32.19 me wisdom and might, and hast made m Ps.31.14,15 known unto me now what we desired of n Ps.75.6,7. thee: for thou hast now made known o Je.27.6. unto us the king's matter. p Pr.2.6,7. 24 Therefore Daniel went in unto q Ps.25.14. Arioch, whom the king had ordained tor c.5.28. destroy the wise men of Babylon: hes Ps. 139.11,12 went and said thus unto him, Destroy He.4.13. not the wise men of Babylon: bring me t c.7.7,23. in before the king, and I will shew unto u 1Ti.6.16. the king the interpretation. 1Jno.1.5.

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel be-8 brittle. fore the king in haste, and said thus unto 9 That I. him, I have found a man of the cap. 1 children of tives of Judah that will make known the captivity unto the king the interpretation. 2 this with 26 The king answered, and said to this. Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, 3 their. Art thou able to make known unto me v Mi.4.7. the dream which I have seen, and the Lu.1.32,33. interpretation thereof? kingdom thereof. w Ps.2.9. 5 which was not in hand. x Is.47.13,14. y Ge.40.8.

4

27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, cannot x the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the Soothsayers, shew unto the king; 28 Buty there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and 6 maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be 6 hath made. in the latter days. Thy dream, and the after this. visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; 8 up.

41.16.

29 (As for thee, O king, thy thoughts z Am.4.13. came 8 into thy mind upon thy bed, what a Ac.3.12. should come to pass hereafter; and z he 9 or, the inthat revealeth secrets maketh known to tent that the thee what shall come to pass: interpreta30 But as for me, this secret is not re- tion may be vealed to me for any wisdom a that I have made more than any living, but for 9 their sakes known.

retraces Nebuchadnezzar's Dreams. that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart;)

31 Thou, O king, 1 sawest, and, behold, a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his 4 thighs of brass,

33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out 5 without b hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together,and became like the c chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no e place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, f and filled g the whole earth.

36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a kingi of kings: fork the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven, hath he given o into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all, Thou art this head of gold. 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferiorr to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet. aud toes part of potter's clay and part of iron; the kingdom shall be divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay; so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly 8 broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave 2 one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 And in 3 the days of these kings shalt the God v of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and the 4 kingdom shall not be left to other peo ple, but it shall break w in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shali stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain 5 without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and

3.2.

set up:

1

3

21.24.

27.3.4.

strength. with might, c.4.14. 4 they com5 That at what time ye hear the sound mand. of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psal-p c.4.1. 6.25. tery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, or, mantles. ye fall down and worship the golden 6 or, turbans. image that Nebuchadnezzar the khug hath symphony, or, singing. 6 And whoso q falleth not down and 8 word. worshippeth, shall the same hcur be cast 9 or, spark. into the midst of a burning fiery s furnace. q Re.13.15. 7 Therefore at that time, when all the c.6.24. people heard the sound of the cornet, s Je.29.22. dute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds 1 governors. of music, all the people, the nations, and t Is.43.2. the languages, fell down and worshipped u c.2.4. the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

6.21. Ro.13.7. ver.4,5.

3 there is no hurt in them.

v Pr.30.4. Lu.1.35.

S Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near and accused the Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live u for ever. 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psal- Ro.1.4. tery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of 3 door. music, shall fall down and worship the w Ga.1.10. golden image; x Ge.14.18. 11 And whoso falleth not down and y c.2.49. worshippeth, that he should be cast into 4 set no rethe midst of a burning fiery furnace. gard upon. 12 There are certain Jews, whom thou z Is.43.2. hast sety over the affairs of the province He.11.34. of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and a c.6.13. Abed-nego; these men, O king, have b ver.19. not regarded a thee; they serve not thy c Ge.19.15,16. gods, nor worship the golden image Ps.34.7,8. which thou hast set up. 103.20. 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, in his brage He.1.14. and fury, commanded to bring Shadrach, d Je. 17.7. Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they c.6.22,23. brought these men before the king. e Ro. 12.1. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said unto He.11.37. them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, 5 of purpose, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, as Ex.21.13. 550

Daniel's Companions preserved. nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

15 Now, if ye be ready, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dul cimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall downc and worship the image which I have made, well: d but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a fiery furnace: and f who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebu chadnezzar, we are not careful to an swer thee in this matter.

17 If it be so, our God, whom k we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us ou of thine hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not servem thy gods, nor worship thy golden image which thou hast set up.

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar 1 full of fury, n and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, an Abed nego: therefore he spake, and com mandedo that they should heat the fur nace one seven times more than it war wont to be heated.

20 And he commanded the 2 most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shad rach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: and te cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their 5 coats, their hosen, and their 6 hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22 Therefore because the king's 8 commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew thoser men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unt the king, True, O king.

25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking t in the midst of the fire, and 2 they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son v of God.

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the 3 mouth of the burning fiery fur nace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye w servants of the most high x God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

27 And the princes, governors, and cap tains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had z no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.

28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, c and delivered his servants that trusted d in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their e bodies, that they might not serve nor worship

Nebuchadnezzar's second Dream.

any god except their own God.

CHAP. IV.

fc.2.5.

g Ps.75.6,7. NEBUCHADNEZZAR the king, unto kh Ex.9.16. all people, nations, and languages, 1Ki.21.25. that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.

2 12 thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high n God hath wrought toward me.

2Ki.21.6,&c. 2Ch.28.22. made to prosper. i ver.8. k c.3.4. 6.25.27. 1Pe.1.2. 5 It was seemly be fore me. m ver.9.

3 How great are his signs!o and how mighty are his wonders!p his kingdom is an everlasting r kingdom, and his dominions is from generation to generation. 4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and then c.3.26. visions of my head troubled me.

o De.4.34. Ps. 105.27. He.2.4.

6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto mep Ps.72.18. the interpretation of the dream.

86.10.

28.29.

7 Then u came in the magicians, the Is.25.1. astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before q 28a. 18.32. them, but they did not make known Je.29.7. unto me the interpretation thereof. r c.2.44.

8 But at the last Daniel came in before Re.11.15. me, (whose name y was Belteshazzar, ac-s Job 25.2. cording to the name of my god, and in 1Pe.4.11. whom is the spirit z of the holy Gods,) t ver. 10-12. and before him I told the dream, saying, u c.2.1,2. 90 Belteshazzar, master of the magi- v c.2.38. cians, because I know that the spirit of w Je.27.6-8. the holy Gods is in thee, and no secret ver. 13,14. troubleth a thee, tell me the visions of my y c.1.7. dream that I have seen, and the interpré- Nu.11.17,&c tation thereof. Is.63.11. a is.33.18.

10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed: I saw, and, behold, a b tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.

54.14.

was seeing. b Eze.31.3,

&c.

11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, c ver.33. and the sight thereof to the end of all d Ps. 106.20. e Ps.83.18.

the earth.

12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat f Eze.17.23. for all the beasts f of the field had sha-g La.4.20. dow g under it, and the fowls of the hea-h Mat.5.34. ver dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all Aesh was fed of it.

Lu.15.18,21. i Is.55.7. k ver. 17,23. Mat.25.31. Re. 14.10. m Ps.41.1,2. with might. c.3.4. or, an healing of thine error. n Mat.3.10. Lu.13.7.

13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher k and an holy one came down from heaven. 14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hewn down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from un-8 der it, and the fowls from his branches. 15 Nevertheless, leave the stump o of his roots 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 9 or, upon. heaven, and let his portion be with the o Job 14.7-9. Leasts in the grass of the earth. p Lu.12.19,20 16 Let his heart be changed q from man's, q Is.6.10. and let a beast's heart be given unto him ;r 1Th.5.3.

Daniel interpreteth it.

and let seven times a pass over him.

17 This matter is by the decree c of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know d that the Most High e ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever g he will, and setteth up over it the basest h of men.

is This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof; forasmuch ias all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy Gods is in thee.

19 Than Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar) was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled m 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 q that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.

20 The tree t that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;

21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt. and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation:

22 It is thou, v O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion w to the end of the earth.

23 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;

24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king: 25 That they shall drive c thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass d as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, & seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the Most Higheruleth in the kingdom of men. & giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee,after that thou shalt have known that the heavens h do rule. 27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off i thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if m it may be 8 a lengthening of thy tranquillity. 28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.

29 At the end of twelve months he walked 9 in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

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

31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, 551

The King driven among Beasts. saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee at is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee:

a c.6.2. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, b ver.25,26. and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts brightnesses, of the field: they shall make thee to eat ver.6. grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass c c.4.8,9. over thee, until thou know that the Most 2 or, grandHigh ruleth in the kingdom of men, and father, giveth it to whomsoever he will.

e

Re.4.10. Ps. 10.16. Je. 10.10. c.2.44.

7.14.

ver.2. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled d c.12.7. upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' fea. thers, and his nails like birds' claws. 34 And at the end of the days I Ne- Mi.4.7. buchadnezzar lift up mine eyes unto Lu.1.33. heaven, and mine understanding returned f Ps.90.1. unto me; and I blessed the Most High; g c.6.3. and I praised and honoured him d that h Is.40.15,17. liveth for ever, whose dominion is an 3 or, of an everlasting e dominion, and his kingdom interpreter. is from generation f to generation: i Ps. 115.3.

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

4

5

135.6. or, of a dissolver. knots. j Is.43.13. k Job 9.12. 36 At the same time my reason re- Is.45.9. turned unto me; and, for the glory of Ro.9.20. my kingdom, mine honour and bright-1 Job 42.12. ness returned unto me; and my counsel-m De,32.4. lors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom; and excellent majesty was added I unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works m are truth, and his ways judgments and those that walk in priden he is able to abase.

CHAP. V.

BELSHAZZAR the king made a great feast o to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and sil ver vessels p which his father Nebu-8 chadnezzar had 8 taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his princes, his wives and his concubines, might drink therein.

Ps.33.4. Re.15.3. n Ex.18.11. Job 40.11,12. c.5.20. o Es.1.3. 6 interpret. p Je.52.19. c.1.2.

or, grand father, as Je.27.7. 2Sa.9.7. ver.11,18. brought forth. q Ge.14.23. or, fee, as c.2.6.

3 Then they brought the golden vessels r Ps. 119.46. that were taken out of the temple of the s Re.9.20. house of God which was at Jerusalem;t c.4.31. and the king and his princes, his wives u Je 27.7. and his concubines drank in them. c.4.22,&c.

4 They drank wine and praised the v Is.21.2-4. gods of golds and of silver, of brass, of brightnesses, íron, of wood, and of stone."

ver.9.

another.

7 The king cried 6 aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the oothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be sinthed with 8 scarlet, and have a chain gold about his neck, and shall be the

Belshazzar's Feast and Confusion. third a ruler in the kingdom.

8 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, no. make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

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

10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet-house; and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

11 There c is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and, in the days of thy 2 father, light and understanding, and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy fa ther, 2 the king, I say, thy 2 father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

12 Forasmuch as an excellent g spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, 3 in terpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called,&hewill shewthe interpretation.

13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my 2 father brought out of Jewry?

14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light, and understanding, and excellent wisdom, is found in thee.

15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:

16 And I have heard of thee that thou canst 6 make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now, if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

17 Then Daniel answered and said be fore the king, Let q thy gifts be to thy. self, and give thy 9 rewards to another. yet I will read the writing r unto the king, & make known to him the interpretation. 18 0 thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:

19 And, for the majesty that he gave him, all u 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 h set up, and whom he would he put down 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his mind hardened in pride, was 5 deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: 21 And he was driven from the song men; and his heart was made like th beasts, and his dwelling was with the wi asses: they fed him with grass like oxes and his body was wet with the dew o heaven; till he knew that the most hig God ruled in the kingdom of men,&that In