Old/New Testament
Daniel’s Development in the King’s Court
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand and some of[a] of the utensils of the temple of God,[b] and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the temple of his gods, and he brought the utensils to the treasury[c] of his gods.
3 And the king ordered[d] Ashpenaz, the commander of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites[e] from the royal family[f] and from the lords,[g] 4 youths who have no physical defect,[h] and who are handsome,[i] and who are prudent[j] in all wisdom and endowed with knowledge,[k] and who understand insight, and who have the ability[l] in them to serve in the palace of the king. And the king ordered him to teach them the literature and the language of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king assigned to them his daily portion[m] from the fine food of the king, and from the wine that he drank,[n] and instructed that they were to be educated for three years.[o] And at the end of their training, they were to be stationed[p] before[q] the king. 6 Now there was among them from the Judeans,[r] Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 And the commander of the court officials gave them names, and he called Daniel, Belteshazzar; and Hananiah, Shadrach; and Mishael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abednego.
Daniel’s Resolve
8 Now Daniel resolved[s] that he would not defile himself with the fine food of the king, and with the wine that he drank,[t] and so he requested from the commander of the court officials permission so that he would not defile himself. 9 And God[u] gave Daniel favor and compassion before[v] the commander of the court officials, 10 and the commander of the court officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord, the king, who has determined your food and your drink, for why should[w] he see your face having a worse appearance than the young men who are your age?[x] Then you will endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then[y] Daniel asked the guard[z] whom the commander of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us some of the vegetables,[aa] and let us eat and let us drink water. 13 Then[ab] let our appearances and the appearance of the young men who are eating the fine food of the king be compared before you,[ac] and then deal with your servants according to what you see.”[ad] 14 So he agreed to this proposal with them, and he tested them for ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their appearances appeared better and they were healthier of body than all the young men who were eating the fine food of the king. 16 So[ae] the guard continued to withhold[af] their fine food and the wine of their drink, and he gave them[ag] vegetables.
17 And as for these four young men,[ah] God[ai] gave to them knowledge and insight into all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had insight into all visions[aj] and dreams. 18 And at the end of the time the king had set to bring them, the commander of the court officials brought them in before[ak] Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them no one was found like[al] Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; then they stood before[am] the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired from them, he found them ten times better than all of the magicians[an] and conjurers[ao] that were in his entire kingdom.[ap] 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of Cyrus the king.
The King’s Troubling Dream
2 Now[aq] in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 So the king said to call the magicians[ar] and the conjurers[as] and the sorcerers and the astrologers[at] to tell to the king his dreams. And they came in and they stood before[au] the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream[av] and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
4 And the astrologers[aw] said to the king in Aramaic,[ax] “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will reveal the explanation.” 5 The king answered and said to the astrologers,[ay] “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its explanation,[az] then you will be broken into pieces and your houses will be laid in ruins. 6 But if you tell me the dream and its explanation, you will receive gifts and rewards[ba] and great honor from me. Therefore, tell me the dream and its explanation.”[bb] 7 They answered once more and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants and we will make the explanation known.” 8 The king answered and said, “Certainly[bc] I know that you are trying to gain time[bd] because[be] you have seen that this matter is firmly decreed by me,[bf] 9 for if you do not make the dream known to me, your verdict is fixed,[bg] and you have conspired to say a lying and deceitful word to me until the circumstances[bh] will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation.” 10 The astrologers[bi] answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; in fact,[bj] no great and powerful king has ever asked a thing like this of any magician[bk] or conjurer[bl] or astrologer.[bm] 11 And the thing that the king is asking is too difficult and there is no one who[bn] can reveal it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with mortals.”[bo]
12 Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said that all the wise men of Babylon are to be destroyed. 13 And the decree was issued, and the wise men were on the verge of being executed,[bp] and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed. 14 Then Daniel responded prudently and discretely to Arioch, the commander of the imperial guard of the king, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15 He asked[bq] and said to Arioch, the royal official of the king, “Why[br] is the decree from the king so severe?” Then Arioch explained the matter[bs] to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he would give him time, and he would tell the king[bt] the explanation.[bu]
17 Then Daniel went to his home, and he made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven[bv] concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.
19 Then in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel; then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel said:[bw]
“Let his name, the name of God,[bx] be blessed throughout the ages,[by]
for the wisdom and the power are his.[bz]
21 And he changes the times and the seasons,
and he deposes kings and he sets up kings;
he gives wisdom[ca] to wise men
and knowledge to men who know understanding.
22 He reveals the deep and the hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my ancestors,[cb]
I give thanks and I give praises,
for the wisdom and the power you gave to me,
and now you have made known to me
what we have asked from you,
for you have made known to us the matter of the king.”
Daniel Praises God and Interprets the King’s Dream
24 Therefore[cc] Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed[cd] to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and thus he said to him: “You must not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me in before the king and I will give the explanation[ce] to the king.”
25 Then Arioch quickly[cf] brought Daniel in before the king and thus he said to him: “I have found a man among the exiles[cg] of Judah[ch] who can relate[ci] the explanation[cj] to the king. 26 The king then asked[ck] and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its explanation?”[cl] 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “The mystery that the king asks, no wise men, conjurers,[cm] magicians,[cn] or diviners are able to make known to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what it is that will be at the end of days. This is your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.
29 “As for you, king,[co] your thoughts on your bed turned to[cp] what it was that would be in the future,[cq] and the revealer of mysteries has made known to you what that would be. 30 And as for me, it is not because of wisdom that is in me more than any other living person[cr] that this mystery is revealed to me, but in order that[cs] the explanation[ct] may be made known to the king and you will understand[cu] the thoughts of your mind.[cv]
31 “You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue was huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing there before you, and its appearance was frightening.[cw] 32 The head of this statue was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron and part of them of clay. 34 You were looking on until[cx] a stone was chiseled out[cy]—that not by hands—and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold all at once[cz] broke into pieces[da] and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away and any trace of them could not be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and it filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream, and now we will tell its interpretation to the king. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory, 38 and also human beings wherever they dwell,[db] the animals of the field and the birds[dc] of heaven[dd]—he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them—you are the head of gold. 39 And after you another kingdom inferior to yours will arise, and another third kingdom of bronze that will rule over the whole earth. 40 And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, and just as[de] iron crushes and smashes everything,[df] and as iron shatters all of these other metals, so it will crush and it will shatter these nations. 41 And just as[dg] you saw the feet and the toes, partly potter’s clay[dh] and partly iron,[di] it will be a divided kingdom; and some hardness[dj] of the iron will be in it, just as[dk] you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so part of the kingdom will be strong and partly brittle.[dl] 43 And in that you saw the iron was mixed with wet clay, so they will mix in marriage[dm] and they will not cling to one another,[dn] just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the day of those kings,[do] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never[dp] be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation,[dq] and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand forever.[dr] 45 Inasmuch as[ds] you saw that a stone from the mountain was chiseled out[dt] but not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, thereby the great God made known to the king what will be in the future,[du] and the dream is certain and its explanation trustworthy.”
The King’s Response to Daniel and His God
46 Then the king, Nebuchadnezzar, fell on his face and he paid homage to Daniel; and he commanded them to offer a grain offering and incense offering to him. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly[dv] your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and he reveals mysteries, for you are able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made a request from the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the court of the king.
How to Recognize the Spirit of God
4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ[a] has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.
4 You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore[b] they speak from the world and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
God’s Love Revealed
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God sent his one and only Son into the world in order that we may live through him. 10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation[c] for our sins.
11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we reside in him and he in us: that[d] he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. 17 By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as that one is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear includes punishment, and the one who is afraid has not been perfected in love. 19 We love, because he first loved us.
20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar, for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen is not able to love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this is the commandment we have from him: that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
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