Daniel, Chapters 4-6, verses 4-28: BIBLE, New American Standard Bible == BIBLE-CENTER

Daniel, Chapter 4, verses 4-37

⁴ “^dI, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. ⁵ I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions^ein my mind kept alarming me. ⁶ So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷ Then the^fmagicians, the conjurers, the^gChaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream^hto them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me. ⁸ But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom isⁱa spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream^jto him, saying, ⁹ ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

¹⁰ ‘Now these were the visions^kin my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the^learth and its height was great.

¹¹

‘The tree grew large and became strong
And its height reached to the sky,
And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

¹²

‘Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The beasts of the field found shade under it,
And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches,
And all^mliving creatures fed themselves from it.

¹³ ‘I was looking in the visionsⁿin my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

¹⁴

‘He shouted out and spoke as follows:
Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the beasts flee from under it
And the birds from its branches.

¹⁵

“Yet leave the stump^owith its roots in the ground,
But with a band of iron and bronze around it
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And let^phim share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

¹⁶

“Let his^qmind be changed from that of a man
And let a beast’s^rmind be given to him,
And let seven^speriods of time pass over him.

¹⁷

“This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And bestows it on whom He wishes
And sets over it the lowliest of men.”

¹⁸ This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

¹⁹ “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries! ²⁰ The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth ²¹ and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged— ²² it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your^tmajesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth. ²³ In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump^uwith its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let^vhim share with the beasts of the field until seven^wperiods of time pass over him,” ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven^xperiods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. ²⁶ And in that it was commanded to leave the stump^ywith the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be^zassured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you:^aabreak away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’

²⁸ “All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. ²⁹ Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰ The king^abreflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal^acresidence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ ³¹ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice^adcame from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared:^aesovereignty has been removed from you, ³² and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven^afperiods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ ³³ Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

³⁴ “But at the end of^agthat period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my^ahreason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever;For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

³⁵“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can^aiward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’

³⁶ At that time my^ajreason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were^akrestored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my^alsovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are^amtrue and His ways^anjust, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

Daniel, Chapter 5

¹ Belshazzar the king^aheld a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. ² When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his^bfather had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

⁵ Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the^cback of the hand that did the writing. ⁶ Then the king’s^dface grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together. ⁷ The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the^eChaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as^fthird ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, his^gface grew even paler, and his nobles were perplexed.

¹⁰ The queen entered the banquet^hhall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or yourⁱface be pale. ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom in whom is^ja spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father^kthe king, appointed him chief of the^lmagicians, conjurers,^mChaldeans and diviners. ¹² This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.”

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of theⁿexiles from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴ Now I have heard about you that^oa spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. ¹⁵ Just now the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not declare the interpretation of the^pmessage. ¹⁶ But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the^qthird ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “^rKeep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. ¹⁸ ^sO king, the Most High God granted^tsovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. ¹⁹ Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every^ulanguage feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so^vproud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. ²¹ He was also driven away from^wmankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. ²² Yet you, his^xson, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart,^yeven though you knew all this, ²³ but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the^zhand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.

²⁵ “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘^aaMENĒ,^abMENĒ,^acTEKĒL,^adUPHARSIN.’ ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the^aemessage: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ²⁷ ‘TEKĒL’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. ²⁸ ‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and^afPersians.”

²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the^agthird ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰ That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. ³¹ ^ahSo Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.

Daniel, Chapter 6

¹ ^aIt seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom, ² and over them three commissioners (of whom Daniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself^bamong the commissioners and satraps because^che possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. ⁴ Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to^dgovernment affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”

⁶ Then these commissioners and satraps came^eby agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’^fden. ⁸ Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which^gmay not be revoked.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.

¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God,^has he had been doing previously. ¹¹ Then these men cameⁱby agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. ¹² Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which^jmay not be revoked.” ¹³ Then they answered and spoke before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the^kexiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.”

¹⁴ Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. ¹⁵ Then these men came^lby agreement to the king and said to the king, “Recognize, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”

¹⁶ Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “^mYour God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” ¹⁷ A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. ¹⁸ Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.

¹⁹ Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den. ²⁰ When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel spokeⁿto the king, “O king, live forever! ²² My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as^oI was found innocent before Him; and also^ptoward you, O king, I have committed no crime.” ²³ Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. ²⁴ The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had^qmaliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

²⁵ Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every^rlanguage who were living in all the land: “May your^speace abound! ²⁶ ^tI make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;For He is the living God and enduring forever,
And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be^uforever.

²⁷“He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the^vpower of the lions.”

²⁸ So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.


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