The Proclamation of Cyrus

^22 (A)Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(B)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, ^(C)the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: ²³ “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

The Proclamation of Cyrus

1 ^(A)In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^(B)that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so ^(C)that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:

² “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and ^(D)he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. ³ Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—^(E)he is the God who is in Jerusalem. ⁴ And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

⁵ Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, ^(F)everyone whose spirit ^(G)God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem. ⁶ And all who were about them ^(H)aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. ^7 (I)Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that ^(J)Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. ⁸ Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in the charge of ^(K)Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to ^(L)Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹ And this was the number of them: ^(M)30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, ¹⁰ 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; ¹¹ all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

Cyrus, God's Instrument

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.

The Handwriting on the Wall

5 ^(A)King Belshazzar ^(B)made a great feast for a thousand of his ^(C)lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

^2 (D)Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that ^(E)the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father^[a] had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought in ^(F)the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine and ^(G)praised the ^(H)gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

^5 (I)Immediately ^(J)the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw ^(K)the hand as it wrote. ^6 (L)Then the king's color changed, ^(M)and his thoughts alarmed him; ^(N)his limbs gave way, and ^(O)his knees knocked together. ^7 (P)The king called loudly to bring in ^(Q)the enchanters, the ^(R)Chaldeans, and ^(S)the astrologers. The king declared^[b] to the wise men of Babylon, ^(T)“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and ^(U)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Then all the king's wise men came in, but ^(V)they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(W)alarmed, and his ^(X)color changed, and his ^(Y)lords were perplexed.

¹⁰ The queen,^[c] because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, ^(Z)“O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you ^(AA)or your color change. ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom ^(AB)in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.^[d] In the days of your father, ^(AC)light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—^(AD)made him chief of the magicians, ^(AE)enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, ^12 (AF)because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and ^(AG)understanding ^(AH)to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and ^(AI)solve problems were found in this Daniel, ^(AJ)whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of ^(AK)the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. ¹⁴ I have heard of you that ^(AL)the spirit of the gods^[e] is in you, and that ^(AM)light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now ^(AN)the wise men, the ^(AO)enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but ^(AP)they could not show the interpretation of the matter. ^16 (AQ)But I have heard that you can give interpretations and ^(AR)solve problems. ^(AS)Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, ^(AT)you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and ^(AU)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ^(AV)“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the ^(AW)Most High God ^(AX)gave ^(AY)Nebuchadnezzar your father ^(AZ)kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. ¹⁹ And because of the greatness that he gave him, ^(BA)all peoples, nations, and languages ^(BB)trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. ²⁰ But ^(BC)when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, ^(BD)he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. ^21 (BE)He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^(BF)until he knew that the ^(BG)Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. ²² And you his son,^{[f] (BH)}Belshazzar, ^(BI)have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³ but you have lifted up yourself against ^(BJ)the Lord of heaven. And ^(BK)the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. ^(BL)And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, ^(BM)but the God in whose hand is your breath, and ^(BN)whose are all your ways, ^(BO)you have not honored.

²⁴ “Then from his presence ^(BP)the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered^[g] the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷ Tekel, ^(BQ)you have been weighed^[h] in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸ Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^(BR)the Medes and ^(BS)Persians.”^[i]

²⁹ Then ^(BT)Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel ^(BU)was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

^30 (BV)That very night ^(BW)Belshazzar the ^(BX)Chaldean king was killed. ^31 [j] And ^(BY)Darius ^(BZ)the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and ^(A)the reign of ^(B)Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel's Terrifying Vision of a Man

10 ^(A)In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, ^(B)who was named Belteshazzar. And ^(C)the word was true, and it was a great conflict.^[a] And ^(D)he understood the word and ^(E)had understanding of the vision.