Daniel’s Training in Babylon

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim^(A) king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar^(B) king of Babylon^(C) came to Jerusalem and besieged it.^{(D) 2} And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried^(E) off to the temple of his god in Babylonia^[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.^(F)

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility^(G)— ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome,^(H) showing aptitude for every kind of learning,^(I) well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language^(J) and literature of the Babylonians.^{[b] 5} The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine^(K) from the king’s table.^(L) They were to be trained for three years,^(M) and after that they were to enter the king’s service.^(N)

⁶ Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel,^(O) Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.^{(P) 7} The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar;^(Q) to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.^(R)

⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile^(S) himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor^(T) and compassion^(U) to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your^[c] food and drink.^(V) Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² “Please test^(W) your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”^{(X) 14} So he agreed to this and tested^(Y) them for ten days.

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.^{(Z) 16} So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.^(AA)

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding^(AB) of all kinds of literature and learning.^(AC) And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.^(AD)

¹⁸ At the end of the time^(AE) set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.^{(AF) 20} In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians^(AG) and enchanters in his whole kingdom.^(AH)

²¹ And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.^(AI)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams;^(A) his mind was troubled^(B) and he could not sleep.^{(C) 2} So the king summoned the magicians,^(D) enchanters, sorcerers^(E) and astrologers^[a](F) to tell him what he had dreamed.^(G) When they came in and stood before the king, ³ he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles^(H) me and I want to know what it means.^[b]”

⁴ Then the astrologers answered the king,^[c](I) “May the king live forever!^(J) Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

⁵ The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided:^(K) If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces^(L) and your houses turned into piles of rubble.^{(M) 6} But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor.^(N) So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

⁷ Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

⁸ Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: ⁹ If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty^(O) for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”^(P)

¹⁰ The astrologers^(Q) answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.^{(R) 11} What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods,^(S) and they do not live among humans.”

¹² This made the king so angry and furious^(T) that he ordered the execution^(U) of all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.^(V)

¹⁴ When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. ¹⁵ He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. ¹⁶ At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

¹⁷ Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.^{(W) 18} He urged them to plead for mercy^(X) from the God of heaven^(Y) concerning this mystery,^(Z) so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ During the night the mystery^(AA) was revealed to Daniel in a vision.^(AB) Then Daniel praised the God of heaven^{(AC) 20} and said:

Daniel Interprets the Dream

²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch,^(AQ) whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles^(AR) from Judah^(AS) who can tell the king what his dream means.”

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),^(AT) “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

²⁷ Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,^{(AU) 28} but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.^(AV) He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.^(AW) Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind^(AX) as you were lying in bed^(AY) are these:^(AZ)

²⁹ “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.^{(BA) 30} As for me, this mystery has been revealed^(BB) to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,^(BC) awesome^(BD) in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.^(BE) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed^(BF) them.^{(BG) 35} Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away^(BH) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain^(BI) and filled the whole earth.^(BJ)

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.^{(BK) 37} Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.^(BL) The God of heaven has given you dominion^(BM) and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.^(BN) You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.^{(BO) 40} Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.^{(BP) 41} Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush^(BQ) all those kingdoms^(BR) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.^{(BS) 45} This is the meaning of the vision of the rock^(BT) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands^(BU)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.^(BV) The dream is true^(BW) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate^(BX) before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering^(BY) and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods^(BZ) and the Lord of kings^(CA) and a revealer of mysteries,^(CB) for you were able to reveal this mystery.^(CC)”

⁴⁸ Then the king placed Daniel in a high^(CD) position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.^{(CE) 49} Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon,^(CF) while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.^(CG)

Daniel in the Den of Lions

6 ^[a]It pleased Darius^(A) to appoint 120 satraps^(B) to rule throughout the kingdom, ² with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel.^(C) The satraps were made accountable^(D) to them so that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.^{(E) 4} At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges^(F) against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. ⁵ Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”^(G)

⁶ So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever!^{(H) 7} The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors^(I) have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.^{(J) 8} Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”^{(K) 9} So King Darius put the decree in writing.

¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward^(L) Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees^(M) and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.^{(N) 11} Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.^{(O) 12} So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”^(P)

¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah,^(Q) pays no attention^(R) to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed;^(S) he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

¹⁵ Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”^(T)

¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den.^(U) The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue^(V) you!”

¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed^(W) it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating^(X) and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.^(Y)

¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”^(Z)

²¹ Daniel answered, “May the king live forever!^{(AA) 22} My God sent his angel,^(AB) and he shut the mouths of the lions.^(AC) They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.^(AD) Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound^(AE) was found on him, because he had trusted^(AF) in his God.

²⁴ At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den,^(AG) along with their wives and children.^(AH) And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.^(AI)

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language^(AJ) in all the earth:

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus^[b](AT) the Persian.^(AU)

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar^(A) king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions^(B) passed through his mind^(C) as he was lying in bed.^(D) He wrote^(E) down the substance of his dream.

² Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven^(F) churning up the great sea. ³ Four great beasts,^(G) each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

⁴ “The first was like a lion,^(H) and it had the wings of an eagle.^(I) I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’^(J)

⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.^(K) And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

⁷ “After that, in my vision^(L) at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron^(M) teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled^(N) underfoot whatever was left.^(O) It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.^(P)

⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little^(Q) one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being^(R) and a mouth that spoke boastfully.^(S)

⁹ “As I looked,

¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.^(AB) I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.^{(AC) 12} (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,^[a](AD) coming^(AE) with the clouds of heaven.^(AF) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority,^(AG) glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.^(AH) His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom^(AI) is one that will never be destroyed.^(AJ)

The Interpretation of the Dream

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.^{(AK) 16} I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation^(AL) of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people^(AM) of the Most High will receive the kingdom^(AN) and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’^(AO)

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns^(AP) on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.^{(AQ) 21} As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them,^{(AR) 22} until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.^(AS)

²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.^{(AT) 24} The ten horns^(AU) are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High^(AV) and oppress his holy people^(AW) and try to change the set times^(AX) and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^[b](AY)

²⁶ “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed^(AZ) forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms^(BA) under heaven will be handed over to the holy people^(BB) of the Most High.^(BC) His kingdom will be an everlasting^(BD) kingdom, and all rulers will worship^(BE) and obey him.’

²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled^(BF) by my thoughts,^(BG) and my face turned pale,^(BH) but I kept the matter to myself.”