Daniel Taken to Babylon

1 In the third year of ^(A)the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of ^(B)the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to ^(C)the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, ^(D)and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. ³ Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ^(E)his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family^[a] and of ^(F)the nobility, ⁴ youths without ^(G)blemish, of good appearance and ^(H)skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to ^(I)teach them the literature and language of the ^(J)Chaldeans. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily portion of ^(K)the food that the king ate, and of ^(L)the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for ^(M)three years, and at the end of that time they were to ^(N)stand before the king. ⁶ Among these were ^(O)Daniel, ^(P)Hananiah, ^(Q)Mishael, and ^(R)Azariah of the tribe of Judah. ⁷ And ^(S)the chief of the eunuchs ^(T)gave them names: ^(U)Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Daniel's Faithfulness

⁸ But Daniel ^(V)resolved that he would not ^(W)defile himself with ^(X)the king's food, or with ^(Y)the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to ^(Z)defile himself. ^9 (AA)And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, ¹⁰ and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” ¹¹ Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Test your servants for ^(AB)ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat ^(AC)the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” ¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate ^(AD)the king's food. ^16 (AE)So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them ^(AF)vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four youths, ^(AG)God gave them learning and ^(AH)skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had ^(AI)understanding in all visions and dreams. ¹⁸ At the end of ^(AJ)the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore ^(AK)they stood before the king. ²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all ^(AL)the magicians and ^(AM)enchanters that were in all his kingdom. ²¹ And Daniel ^(AN)was there until the first year of ^(AO)King Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^(AP)his spirit was troubled, and ^(AQ)his sleep left him. ² Then the king commanded that ^(AR)the magicians, ^(AS)the enchanters, the ^(AT)sorcerers, and ^(AU)the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and ^(AV)stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and ^(AW)my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” ⁴ Then ^(AX)the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^{[b] (AY)}“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to ^(AZ)the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ^(BA)torn limb from limb, ^(BB)and your ^(BC)houses shall be laid in ruins. ⁶ But if you show the dream and its interpretation, ^(BD)you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. ^(BE)Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” ⁸ The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to ^(BF)gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— ⁹ if you do not make the dream known to me, ^(BG)there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till ^(BH)the times change. ^(BI)Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” ^10 (BJ)The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or ^(BK)Chaldean. ¹¹ The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except ^(BL)the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² Because of this the king was angry and ^(BM)very furious, and ^(BN)commanded that all ^(BO)the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^(BP)Daniel and his companions, to kill them. ¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ^(BQ)Arioch, the ^(BR)captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He declared^[c] to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king ^(BS)so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. ¹⁶ And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ^(BT)Hananiah, ^(BU)Mishael, and ^(BV)Azariah, his companions, ^18 (BW)and told them to seek mercy from the ^(BX)God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ^(BY)be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ^(BZ)a vision of the night. Then Daniel ^(CA)blessed the ^(CB)God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went in to ^(CP)Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then ^(CQ)Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ^(CR)in haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^(CS)among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king declared to Daniel, ^(CT)whose name was Belteshazzar, ^(CU)“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^(CV)enchanters, ^(CW)magicians, or ^(CX)astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸ but ^(CY)there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^(CZ)what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^(DA)the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹ To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^(DB)and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But ^(DC)as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ^(DD)you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

³¹ “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. ^32 (DE)The head of this image was of fine gold, ^(DF)its chest and arms of silver, its middle and ^(DG)thighs of bronze, ^33 (DH)its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ As you looked, a stone was cut out ^(DI)by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^(DJ)broke them in pieces. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became ^(DK)like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^(DL)not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became ^(DM)a great mountain ^(DN)and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷ You, O king, ^(DO)the king of kings, to whom ^(DP)the God of heaven ^(DQ)has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, ³⁸ and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ^(DR)the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are ^(DS)the head of gold. ^39 (DT)Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ^(DU)of bronze, ^(DV)which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And ^(DW)there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ^(DX)breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ^(DY)break and crush all these. ⁴¹ And as you saw ^(DZ)the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ^(EA)firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,^[d] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings ^(EB)the God of heaven will set up ^(EC)a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^(ED)It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^(EE)it shall stand forever, ⁴⁵ just as ^(EF)you saw that ^(EG)a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^(EH)it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^(EI)great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar ^(EJ)fell upon his face and ^(EK)paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that ^(EL)an offering and ^(EM)incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your ^(EN)God is God of gods and ^(EO)Lord of kings, and ^(EP)a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸ Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ^(EQ)gifts, and made him ruler over the whole ^(ER)province of Babylon and ^(ES)chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^(ET)appointed ^(EU)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of ^(EV)the province of Babylon. But Daniel ^(EW)remained at the king's court.

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling ^(A)the seven angels, “Go and ^(B)pour out on the earth ^(C)the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

² So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful ^(D)sores came upon the people who bore ^(E)the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and ^(F)it became like the blood of a corpse, and ^(G)every living thing died that was in the sea.

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl into ^(H)the rivers and the springs of water, and ^(I)they became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel in charge of the waters^[a] say,

⁷ And I heard ^(P)the altar saying,

⁸ The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people ^(R)with fire. ⁹ They were scorched by the fierce heat, and ^(S)they cursed^[b] the name of God who had power over these plagues. ^(T)They did not repent ^(U)and give him glory.

¹⁰ The fifth angel poured out his bowl on ^(V)the throne of the beast, and ^(W)its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish ¹¹ and cursed ^(X)the God of heaven for their pain and ^(Y)sores. ^(Z)They did not repent of their deeds.

¹² The sixth angel poured out his bowl on ^(AA)the great river Euphrates, and ^(AB)its water was dried up, ^(AC)to prepare the way for the kings ^(AD)from the east. ¹³ And I saw, coming out of the mouth of ^(AE)the dragon and out of the mouth of ^(AF)the beast and out of the mouth of ^(AG)the false prophet, three ^(AH)unclean spirits like ^(AI)frogs. ¹⁴ For they are ^(AJ)demonic spirits, ^(AK)performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, ^(AL)to assemble them for battle on ^(AM)the great day of God the Almighty. ¹⁵ (“Behold, ^(AN)I am coming like a thief! ^(AO)Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, ^(AP)that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) ¹⁶ And ^(AQ)they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called ^(AR)Armageddon.

The Seventh Bowl

¹⁷ The seventh angel poured out his bowl into ^(AS)the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ^(AT)“It is done!” ¹⁸ And there were ^(AU)flashes of lightning, rumblings,^[c] peals of thunder, and ^(AV)a great earthquake ^(AW)such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. ^19 (AX)The great city ^(AY)was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God ^(AZ)remembered ^(BA)Babylon the great, ^(BB)to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰ And ^(BC)every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. ²¹ And ^(BD)great hailstones, about one hundred pounds^[d] each, fell from heaven on people; and ^(BE)they cursed God for ^(BF)the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.