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Daniel Taken to Babylon
1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and surrounded it with his army. This happened during the third year that Jehoiakim[a] was king of Judah. 2 The Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar to defeat Jehoiakim king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar took all the dishes and other things from God’s Temple and carried them to Babylon.[b] He put those things in the temple of his gods.
3 Then King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz, the man in charge of his officials, to bring some of the boys into the palace to train them. He was to include boys from among the Israelites,[c] from important Judean families, and from the royal family of Judah. 4 King Nebuchadnezzar wanted only healthy boys who did not have any bruises, scars, or anything wrong with their bodies. He wanted handsome, smart young men who were able to learn things quickly and easily to serve in his palace. He told Ashpenaz to teach these young men the language and writings of the Chaldeans.
5 King Nebuchadnezzar gave the young men a certain amount of food and wine every day. This was the same kind of food that he ate. He wanted them to be trained for three years. After that they would become servants of the king of Babylon. 6 Among those young men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the tribe of Judah. 7 Ashpenaz gave them Babylonian names. Daniel’s new name was Belteshazzar, Hananiah’s was Shadrach, Mishael’s was Meshach, and Azariah’s was Abednego.
8 Daniel did not want to eat the king’s rich food and wine because it would make him unclean. So he asked Ashpenaz for permission not to make himself unclean in this way.
9 God caused Ashpenaz, the man in charge of the officials, to be kind and loyal to Daniel. 10 But Ashpenaz told Daniel, “I am afraid of my master, the king. He ordered me to give you this food and drink. If you don’t eat this food, you will begin to look weak and sick. You will look worse than other young men your age. The king will see this, and he will become angry with me. He might cut off my head. And it would be your fault.”
11 Then Daniel talked to the guard who had been put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by Ashpenaz. 12 He said, “Please give us this test for ten days: Don’t give us anything but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then after ten days, compare us with the other young men who eat the king’s food. See for yourself who looks healthier, and then decide how you want to treat us, your servants.”
14 So the guard agreed to test Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah for ten days. 15 After ten days, Daniel and his friends looked healthier than all the young men who ate the king’s food. 16 So the guard continued to take away the king’s special food and wine and to give only vegetables to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
17 God gave these four young men the wisdom and ability to learn many different kinds of writing and science. Daniel could also understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the three years of training, Ashpenaz brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked to them and found that none of the young men were as good as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So these four young men became the king’s servants. 20 Every time the king asked them about something important, they showed great wisdom and understanding. The king found they were ten times better than all the magicians and wise men in his kingdom. 21 So Daniel served the king until the first year that Cyrus[d] was king.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 During Nebuchadnezzar’s second year as king, he had dreams. They bothered him, and he could not sleep. 2 So the king called his wise men to come to him. They used magic and watched the stars. They did this to try to interpret dreams and to learn what would happen in the future. The king wanted them to tell him what he had dreamed, so they came in and stood in front of him.
3 Then the king said to them, “I had a dream that bothers me. I want to know what it means.”
4 Then the Chaldeans answered the king. They spoke Aramaic[e] and said, “King, live forever! Please tell your dream to us, your servants, and then we will tell you what it means.”
5 Then King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “No, you must tell me the dream, and then you must tell me what it means. If you don’t, I will give an order for you to be cut into pieces. And I will order your houses to be destroyed until they are nothing but piles of dust and ashes. 6 But if you tell me my dream and explain its meaning, I will give you gifts, rewards, and great honor. So tell me about my dream and what it means.”
7 Again the wise men said to the king, “Please, Sir, tell us about the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
8 Then King Nebuchadnezzar answered, “I know that you are trying to get more time. You know that I meant what I said. 9 You know that you will be punished if you don’t tell me about my dream. So you have all agreed to lie to me. You are hoping for more time so that I will forget what I want you to do. Now tell me the dream. If you can tell me the dream, I will know that you can tell me what it really means.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king. They said, “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king is asking! No king has ever asked the wise men, the men who do magic, or the Chaldeans to do something like this. Not even the greatest and most powerful king has ever asked his wise men to do such a thing. 11 The king is asking something that is too hard to do. Only the gods could tell the king his dream and what it means. But the gods don’t live with people.”
12 When the king heard that, he became very angry. So he gave an order for all the wise men of Babylon to be killed. 13 King Nebuchadnezzar’s order to kill all the wise men was announced. The king’s men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
14 Arioch was the commander of the king’s guards. He was going to kill the wise men of Babylon, but Daniel talked to him. Daniel spoke politely to Arioch 15 and said, “Why did the king order such a severe punishment?”
Then Arioch explained the whole story about the king’s dreams, and Daniel understood. 16 When Daniel heard the story, he went to King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel asked the king to give him some more time. Then he would tell the king what the dream meant.
17 So Daniel went to his house. He explained the whole story to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 18 Daniel asked his friends to pray to the God of heaven that God would be kind to them and help them understand this secret. Then Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the other wise men of Babylon.
19 During the night, God explained the secret to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20 He said,
“Praise God’s name forever and ever!
Power and wisdom belong to him.
21 He changes the times and seasons.
He gives power to kings,
and he takes their power away.
He gives wisdom to people, so they become wise.
He lets people learn things and become wise.
22 He knows hidden secrets that are hard to understand.
Light lives with him,
so he knows what is in the dark and secret places.
23 God of my ancestors, I thank you and praise you.
You gave me wisdom and power.
You told us what we asked for.
You told us about the king’s dream.”
Suffering for Doing Right
8 So all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other like brothers and sisters. Be kind and humble. 9 Don’t do wrong to anyone to pay them back for doing wrong to you. Or don’t insult anyone to pay them back for insulting you. But ask God to bless them. Do this because you yourselves were chosen to receive a blessing. 10 The Scriptures say,
“If you want to enjoy true life
and have only good days,
then avoid saying anything hurtful,
and never let a lie come out of your mouth.
11 Stop doing what is wrong, and do good.
Look for peace, and do all you can to help people live peacefully.
12 The Lord watches over those who do what is right,
and he listens to their prayers.
But he is against those who do evil.” (A)
13 If you are always trying to do good, no one can really harm you. 14 But you may suffer for doing right. If that happens, you have God’s blessing. “Don’t be afraid of the people who make you suffer; don’t be worried.”[a] 15 But keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have. 16 But answer them in a gentle way with respect. Keep your conscience clear. Then people will see the good way you live as followers of Christ, and those who say bad things about you will be ashamed of what they said.
17 It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better if that is what God wants.
18 Christ himself suffered when he died for you,
and with that one death he paid for your sins.
He was not guilty,
but he died for people who are guilty.
He did this to bring all of you to God.
In his physical form he was killed,
but he was made alive by the Spirit.[b]
19 And by the Spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison. 20 Those were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for people while Noah was building the big boat. And only a few—eight in all—were saved in the boat through the floodwater. 21 And that water is like baptism, which now saves you. Baptism is not the washing of dirt from the body. It is asking God for a clean conscience. It saves you because Jesus Christ was raised from death. 22 Now he has gone into heaven. He is at God’s right side and rules over angels, authorities, and powers.
Changed Lives
4 Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same kind of thinking Christ had. The one who accepts suffering in this life has clearly decided to stop sinning. 2 Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not the evil things that people want to do. 3 In the past you wasted too much time doing what those who don’t know God like to do. You were living immoral lives, doing the evil things you wanted to do. You were always getting drunk, having wild drinking parties, and doing shameful things in your worship of idols.
4 Now those “friends” think it is strange that you no longer join them in all the wild and wasteful things they do. And so they say bad things about you. 5 But they will have to face God to explain what they have done. He is the one who will soon judge everyone—those who are still living and those who have died. 6 Some were told the Good News before they died. They were criticized by others in their life here on earth. But it was God’s plan that they hear the Good News so that they could have a new life through the Spirit.[c]
Teth
65 Lord, you did good things for me, your servant.
You did what you promised to do.
66 Give me the knowledge to make wise decisions.
I trust your commands.
67 Before I suffered, I did many wrong things.
But now I carefully obey everything you say.
68 You are good, and you do good things.
Teach me your laws.
69 People full of pride made up lies about me.
But I keep obeying your instructions with all my heart.
70 Those people are so stupid that they care for nothing,
but I enjoy studying your teachings.
71 Suffering was good for me;
I learned your laws.
72 Your teachings are worth more to me
than a thousand pieces of silver and gold.
Yod
73 With your hands you made me and helped me become what I am.
Now help me learn and understand your commands.
74 Your followers will see me and be happy,
because I trust in your word.
75 Lord, I know that your decisions are fair,
and you were right to punish me.
76 Now comfort me with your faithful love,
as you promised.
77 Comfort me and let me live.
I enjoy your teachings.
78 Bring shame on those proud people who lied about me.
All I want to do is study your instructions.
79 Let your followers come back to me
so that they may learn your rules.
80 Let me obey your laws perfectly
so that I will not be ashamed.
14 People who respect others will be blessed, but stubborn people will have plenty of troubles.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International