The Choice Young Men

1 In the third year of the reign of ^(A)Jehoiakim king of Judah, ^(B)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the ^(C)Lord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the ^(D)vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of ^(E)Shinar, to the house of his ^[a]god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his ^[b](F)god.

³ Then the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his ^[c]officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ^[d]royal ^(G)family and of the nobles, ⁴ youths in whom there was ^(H)no impairment, who were good-looking, suitable for ^(I)instruction in every kind of expertise, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to ^[e]serve in the king’s ^[f]court; and he ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the ^[g]literature and ^(J)language of the ^(K)Chaldeans. ⁵ The king also allotted for them a daily ration from the ^(L)king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and ordered that they be educated for three years, at the end of which they were to ^[h](M)enter the king’s personal service. ⁶ Now among them from the sons of Judah were ^(N)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷ Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name ^(O)Belteshazzar, to Hananiah ^(P)Shadrach, to Mishael ^(Q)Meshach, and to Azariah ^(R)Abed-nego.

Daniel’s Resolve

⁸ But Daniel ^[i]made up his mind that he would not ^(S)defile himself with the ^(T)king’s choice food or with the ^(U)wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. ⁹ Now God granted Daniel ^(V)favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. ¹⁰ The commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has allotted your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking gaunt in comparison to the youths who are your own age? Then you would ^[j]make me forfeit my head to the king.” ¹¹ But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be ^(W)given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance be ^[k]examined in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and put them to the test for ten days. ¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed ^(X)better, and ^[l]they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. ¹⁶ So the overseer continued to ^[m]withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept ^(Y)giving them vegetables.

¹⁷ And as for these four youths, ^(Z)God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every kind of ^[n]literature and expertise; Daniel even understood all kinds of ^(AA)visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Then at the end of the days which the king had ^[o]specified ^[p]for presenting them, the commander of the officials ^[q]presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like ^(AB)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they ^[r](AC)entered the king’s personal service. ²⁰ As for every matter of ^(AD)expertise ^[s]and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ^(AE)ten times ^(AF)better than all the ^(AG)soothsayer priests and conjurers who were in all his realm. ²¹ And Daniel ^[t]continued until the ^(AH)first year of Cyrus the king.

The King’s Dream

2 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar ^[u](AI)had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his ^(AJ)sleep ^[v]left him. ² Then the king ^[w]gave orders to call in the ^(AK)soothsayer priests, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the ^[x]Chaldeans, to ^[y]tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. ³ The king said to them, “I ^[z](AL)had a dream, and my spirit ^[aa]is anxious to ^[ab]understand the dream.”

⁴ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in ^[ac](AM)Aramaic: “^(AN)O king, live forever! ^(AO)Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” ⁵ The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command ^[ad]from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be ^[ae](AP)torn limb from limb and your houses will be turned into a rubbish heap. ⁶ But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me ^(AQ)gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time and said, “Let the king ^(AR)tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” ⁸ The king replied, “I know for certain that you are trying to buy time, because you have perceived that the command ^[af]from me is firm, ⁹ that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only ^(AS)one ^[ag]decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt ^[ah]words before me until the ^[ai]situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, so that I may ^(AT)know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” ¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered ^[aj]the king and said, “There is no person on earth who could declare the matter ^[ak]to the king, because no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any ^(AU)soothsayer priest, sorcerer, or Chaldean. ¹¹ Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it ^[al]to the king except ^(AV)gods, whose ^(AW)dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”

¹² Because of this, the king became ^(AX)angry and extremely furious, and he gave orders to kill all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the ^[am]decree was issued that the wise men be killed; and they looked for ^(AY)Daniel and his friends, to ^[an]kill them.

¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to ^(AZ)Arioch, the captain of the king’s ^[ao]bodyguard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; ¹⁵ he said to Arioch, the king’s officer, “For what reason is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch informed Daniel of the matter. ¹⁶ So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him a grace period, so that he might declare the interpretation to the king.

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, ^(BA)Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, ¹⁸ so that they might ^(BB)request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his friends would not be ^(BC)killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel

¹⁹ Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night ^(BD)vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; ²⁰ Daniel said,

²⁴ Thereupon, Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to kill the wise men of Babylon; he went and said this to him: “^(BP)Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me ^[aq]into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”

²⁵ Then Arioch hurriedly ^(BQ)brought Daniel ^[ar]into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the ^[as](BR)exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” ²⁶ The king said to Daniel, whose name was ^(BS)Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the secret about which the king has inquired, neither ^(BT)wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. ²⁸ However, there is a ^(BU)God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the ^[at](BV)latter days. This was your dream and the ^(BW)visions ^[au]in your mind while on your bed. ²⁹ As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts ^[av]turned to what would take place ^[aw]in the future; and ^(BX)He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. ³⁰ But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me ^[ax]for any ^(BY)wisdom ^[ay]residing in me more than in any other living person, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the ^(BZ)thoughts of your ^[az]mind.

The King’s Dream

³¹ “You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and ^[ba]of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was ^[bb](CA)awesome. ³² The ^(CB)head of that statue was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ You ^[bc]continued watching until a ^(CC)stone was broken off ^(CD)without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and ^(CE)crushed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces ^[bd]all at the same time, and they were ^(CF)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that ^(CG)not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great ^(CH)mountain and filled the entire earth.

The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom

³⁶ “This was the dream; and now we will tell ^(CI)its interpretation before the king. ³⁷ You, O king, are the ^(CJ)king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the ^[be]kingdom, the ^(CK)power, the strength, and the honor; ³⁸ and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the ^(CL)animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed them over to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.

Medo-Persia and Greece

³⁹ And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.

Rome

⁴⁰ Then there will be a ^(CM)fourth kingdom as strong as iron; just as iron smashes and crushes everything, so, like iron that crushes, it will smash and crush all these things. ⁴¹ And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have within it some of the toughness of iron, since you saw the iron mixed with ^[bf]common clay. ⁴² And just as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile. ⁴³ In that you saw the iron mixed with ^[bg]common clay, they will combine with one another ^[bh]in ^[bi]their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery.

The Divine Kingdom

⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings the ^(CN)God of heaven will ^(CO)set up a ^(CP)kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be ^[bj]left for another people; it will ^(CQ)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ Just as you saw that a ^(CR)stone was broken off from the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the ^(CS)great God has made known to the king what ^(CT)will take place ^[bk]in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

Daniel Promoted

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid ^(CU)humble respect to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and ^(CV)incense. ⁴⁷ The king responded to Daniel and said, “^(CW)Your God truly is a ^(CX)God of gods and a Lord of kings and a ^(CY)revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” ⁴⁸ Then the king ^[bl](CZ)promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire ^(DA)province of Babylon, and chief ^[bm]prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ And Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^(DB)appointed ^(DC)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s ^[bn](DD)court.

Giving Thanks for Faith and Perseverance

1 ^(A)Paul, ^(B)Silvanus, and ^(C)Timothy,

To the ^(D)church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: ^2 (E)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ We ought always ^(F)to give thanks to God for you, ^(G)brothers and sisters, as is only fitting, because your faith is increasing abundantly, and the ^(H)love of each and every one of you toward one another grows ever greater. ⁴ As a result, we ourselves ^(I)speak proudly of you among ^(J)the churches of God for your ^[a]perseverance and faith ^[b](K)in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure. ⁵ This is ^[c]a ^(L)plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be ^(M)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you indeed are suffering. ^6 [d]For after all ^(N)it is only right ^[e]for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to give relief to you who are afflicted, along with us, ^[f](O)when the Lord Jesus will be revealed ^(P)from heaven ^(Q)with ^[g]His mighty angels ^8 (R)in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who ^(S)do not know God, and to those who ^(T)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ These people will pay the penalty of ^(U)eternal destruction, ^(V)away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ¹⁰ when He comes to be ^(W)glorified among His ^[h]saints on that ^(X)day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—because our ^(Y)testimony to you was believed. ¹¹ To this end also we ^(Z)pray for you always, that our God will ^(AA)consider you worthy of your ^(AB)calling, and fulfill every desire for ^(AC)goodness and the ^(AD)work of faith with power, ¹² so that the ^(AE)name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, in accordance with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Man of Lawlessness

2 Now we ask you, ^(AF)brothers and sisters, regarding the ^[i](AG)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(AH)gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken from your ^[j]composure or be disturbed either by a ^(AI)spirit, or a ^[k](AJ)message, or a ^(AK)letter as if from us, to the effect that ^(AL)the day of the Lord ^(AM)has come. ^3 (AN)No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the ^[l](AO)apostasy comes first, and the ^(AP)man of lawlessness is revealed, the ^(AQ)son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above ^[m](AR)every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(AS)displaying himself as being God. ⁵ Do you not remember that ^(AT)while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? ⁶ And you know ^(AU)what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. ⁷ For ^(AV)the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only ^[n](AW)He who now restrains will do so until ^[o]He is ^[p]removed. ⁸ Then that lawless one ^(AX)will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate ^(AY)with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the ^(AZ)appearance of His ^[q]coming; ⁹ that is, the one whose ^[r]coming is in accord with the activity of ^(BA)Satan, with all power and false ^[s](BB)signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with ^[t]all the deception of wickedness for ^(BC)those who perish, because they did not accept the love of ^(BD)the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹ For this reason ^(BE)God ^[u]will send upon them ^[v]a ^(BF)deluding influence so that they will believe ^[w]what is false, ¹² in order that they all may be ^[x]judged who ^(BG)did not believe the truth, but ^[y](BH)took pleasure in wickedness.

Stand Firm

^13 (BI)But we should always give thanks to God for you, ^(BJ)brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because ^(BK)God has chosen you ^[z]from the beginning ^(BL)for salvation ^[aa](BM)through sanctification ^[ab]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. ¹⁴ It was for this He ^(BN)called you through ^(BO)our gospel, ^[ac]that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, brothers and sisters, ^(BP)stand firm and ^(BQ)hold on to the traditions which you were taught, whether ^(BR)by word of mouth or ^(BS)by letter ^[ad]from us.

^16 (BT)Now may our Lord Jesus Christ ^(BU)Himself and God our Father, who has ^(BV)loved us and given us eternal comfort and ^(BW)good hope by grace, ^17 (BX)comfort and ^(BY)strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

Request for Prayer

3 ^(BZ)Finally, brothers and sisters, ^(CA)pray for us that ^(CB)the word of the Lord will ^[ae]spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it was also with you; ² and that we will be ^(CC)rescued from troublesome and evil people; for not all have the faith. ³ But ^(CD)the Lord is faithful, ^[af]and He will strengthen and protect you ^[ag]from ^(CE)the evil one. ⁴ We have ^(CF)confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you ^(CG)are doing, and will do, what we command. ⁵ May the Lord ^(CH)direct your hearts to the love of God and to the perseverance of Christ.

⁶ Now we command you, brothers and sisters, ^(CI)in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you ^[ah](CJ)keep away from every brother or sister who ^[ai]leads a ^[aj](CK)disorderly life and not one in accordance with ^(CL)the tradition which ^[ak]you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to ^[al](CM)follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined way among you, ⁸ nor did we ^(CN)eat ^[am]anyone’s bread ^[an]without paying for it, but with ^(CO)labor and hardship we kept ^(CP)working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; ⁹ not because we do not have ^(CQ)the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves ^(CR)as a role model for you, so that you would ^[ao]follow our example. ¹⁰ For even ^(CS)when we were with you, we used to give you this order: ^(CT)if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you are ^(CU)leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like ^(CV)busybodies. ¹² Now we command and ^(CW)exhort such persons in the Lord Jesus Christ to ^(CX)work ^[ap]peacefully and eat their own bread. ¹³ But as for you, ^(CY)brothers and sisters, ^(CZ)do not grow weary of doing good.

¹⁴ If anyone does not obey our ^[aq]instruction ^[ar](DA)in this letter, take special note of that person so as ^(DB)not to associate with him, so that he will be ^(DC)put to shame. ¹⁵ And yet ^(DD)do not regard that person as an enemy, but ^[as](DE)admonish that one as a ^(DF)brother or sister.

¹⁶ Now ^(DG)may the Lord of peace ^(DH)Himself continually grant you peace in every ^[at]circumstance. ^(DI)The Lord be with you all!

^17 [au]I, Paul, write this greeting ^(DJ)with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. ^18 (DK)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.