² Then the king said to call in the ^[a](A)magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the ^[b]Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

⁴ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in ^[a](A)Aramaic: “^(B)O king, live forever! ^(C)Say the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be ^[b](D)torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.

¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered ^[a]the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who is able to declare the matter ^[b]for the king, inasmuch as no great king or powerful ruler has ever asked about a matter like this of any ^[c](A)magician, conjurer, or Chaldean.

We Will Not Serve Your Gods

⁸ For this reason at that time certain ^(A)Chaldeans came near and ^[a](B)brought charges against the Jews.

⁷ Then the ^[a](A)magicians, the conjurers, the ^[b]Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I said the dream ^[c]to them, but they could not make its ^(B)interpretation known to me.

⁷ The king called out loudly to bring in the ^(A)conjurers, the ^[a]Chaldeans, and the diviners. The king answered and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this writing and declare its interpretation to me shall be ^(B)clothed with purple and have a ^(C)necklace of gold around his neck and rule with power as ^[b](D)third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹¹ There is a ^(A)man in your kingdom in whom is ^[a]a ^(B)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 ^[b](C)the king, set him as chief of the ^[c]magicians, conjurers, ^[d]Chaldeans, and diviners.

³⁰ That same night ^(A)Belshazzar the Chaldean king was ^(B)killed.

Daniel’s Prayer of Supplication

9 In the first year of ^(A)Darius the son of Ahasuerus, from the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—