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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 off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god.
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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—
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But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.
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Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel,
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“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.
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At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.
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To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.
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The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.
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And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
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Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.
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The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.
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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:
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If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty 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.”
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The astrologers 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.
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What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”
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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.
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He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.
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He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
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During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven
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and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
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I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
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Daniel Interprets the Dream
Then Daniel went to Arioch, 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.”
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Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,
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but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:
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“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.
