¹In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim the king of Judah Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them into the land of  ¹Shinar to the house of his god, and he brought the  ²vessels into the treasury of his god.

 ¹Then the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his eunuchs, to bring some of the sons of Israel, including some from the royal seed and from the nobility,

Children in whom was no defect, who were good in appearance, who showed insight in all wisdom, understanding in knowledge, and apprehension in thought, and in whom was the ability to stand in the king's palace. And he told him to teach them the learning and  ¹language of the Chaldeans.

And the king appointed to them a daily portion from the king's  ¹choice provision and from the wine that he drank, and appointed that they should be brought up for three years so that at the end  ²of the time they might stand before the king.

Now among these from the sons of Judah were  ¹Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

And the leader of the eunuchs gave them names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; Hananiah, the name Shadrach; Mishael, the name Meshach; and Azariah, the name Abed-nego.

But Daniel  ¹set his heart not to defile himself with the king's choice provision and with the wine that  ²the king drank, so he requested of the leader of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

And God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the leader of the eunuchs;

And the leader of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink; for why should he see your faces being more morose than those of the children who are of your own age? Then you would bring guilt upon my head before the king.

Then Daniel said to the steward whom the leader of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Please test your servants for ten days, and let vegetables be given to us to eat and water to drink.

Then let our countenances be watched in your presence, as well as the countenances of the children who eat the king's choice provision; and do with your servants according to what you see.

So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared better, and they were more fully fleshed than all the children who ate the king's choice provision.

Therefore the steward withheld their portion of the choice provision and the wine that they were to drink and gave them vegetables.

Now as for these four children, God gave them knowledge and insight in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

Then at the end of the days when the king had said that the children should be brought in, the leader of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar;

And the king spoke with them. And among them all none were found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they stood in the presence of the king.

And in every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.

And Daniel continued until the  ¹first year of Cyrus the king.

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.

And the king ordered the call for the magicians, conjurers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to declare to the king his dreams; and they came in and stood before the king.

And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic,  ¹O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The command from me is published: If you do not make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive gifts and a reward and much honor from me. Therefore declare the dream and its interpretation to me.

They answered a second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.

The king answered and said, I know for certain that you are trying to buy time because you have seen that the command from me is published.

But if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one decree for you; for you have agreed together to speak false and corrupt words before me until the time is changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can declare its interpretation to me.

The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, There is not a man upon the earth who can declare the matter for the king, because no great king or ruler has ever asked any magician, conjurer, or Chaldean for something like this.

And the thing that the king asks is rare, and there is no one else who can declare it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions so that they might be slain.

Then Daniel responded in counsel and with discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.

He answered and said to Arioch, the king's commander, Why is the decree from before the king so harsh? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

Daniel then went in and sought from the king that he would give him a time to declare the interpretation to the king.

Then  ¹Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,

That they might request compassions from before the God of the heavens concerning this mystery so that Daniel and his companions would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of the heavens.

Daniel answered and said,
Let the name of God
Be blessed from eternity to eternity,
For wisdom and might are His.

And it is He who changes the times and seasons;
He deposes kings and causes kings to ascend.
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.

He reveals the deep things and the hidden things;
He knows what is obscured in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.

To You, O God of my fathers, I render thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and might;
And You have now made known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known the king's matter to us.

Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him, Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.

Then Arioch brought Daniel hurriedly before the king and spoke in this way to him, I have found a man among the captives of Judah who will make the interpretation known to the king.

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?

Daniel answered before the king and said, As to the mystery which the king has inquired about, no wise men, no conjurers, magicians, or diviners, are able to declare it to the king.

But there is a  ¹God in the heavens who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the last days. This is your dream, even the visions of your head upon your bed.

As for you, O king, your thoughts on your bed came upon what would happen after these times, and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will happen.

But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of some wisdom that is in me more than in any other living person, but so that the interpretation may be made known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your heart.

You, O king, were watching, and there was a single great  ¹image. This image, large and its brightness surpassing, stood opposite you; and its appearance was frightful.

Concerning this image, its  ¹head was of fine gold, its  ¹breast and its arms of silver, its  ¹abdomen and its thighs of bronze,

Its  ¹legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

You were watching until a  ¹stone was cut out without hands, and it  ²struck the image at its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed  ¹all at once, and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that  ²no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great  ³mountain and filled the whole earth.

This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of the heavens has given kingship, power, and strength and glory.

And wherever the children of men, the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over all of them. You are the head of gold.

And after you another kingdom will arise, inferior to you; and there will be another kingdom, a third one, of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.

And there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters everything; and like iron that smashes all these, it will crush and smash.

And in that you saw the feet and the toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom will be a  ¹confused mass; but there will be some of the  ²firmness of iron in it, for you saw the iron mixed with the  ³earthy clay.

And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be fragile.

And in that you saw the iron mixed with the earthy clay, they will be mixed together through the seed of men, but they will not cleave to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay.

And in the days of those kings the God of the heavens will raise up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and its reign will not be left to another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms; and it will stand forever.

Inasmuch as you saw that out of the mountain a stone was cut without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will happen afterward; and the dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshipped Daniel and commanded that they offer an oblation and incense to him.

The king answered Daniel and said, It is certain that your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a Revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.

Then the king made Daniel great and gave many great gifts to him; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief of the prefects over all the wise men of Babylon.

And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was at the king's court.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an  ¹image of gold, its height sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the chief judges, the treasury officials, the law officials, the judges, and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the chief judges, the treasury officials, the law officials, the judges, and all the  ¹rulers of the provinces assembled themselves for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then a herald proclaimed loudly, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,

At the time that you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up;

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace of fire in that very hour.

Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery,  ¹bagpipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Because of this at that time certain Chaldeans drew near and accused the Jews.

They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live forever!

You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music shall fall down and worship the golden image;

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace of fire.

There are certain Jews, whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego — these men have not respected you, O king; they do not serve your gods nor worship the golden image that you have set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded men to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then they brought these men before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, Do you, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, purposely not serve my gods nor worship the golden image that I have set up?

Now then, if, at the time when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you are ready to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well; but if you do not worship, you will be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace of fire in that very hour; and who is that god who will deliver you out of my hands?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, there is no need for us to give you an answer in this matter.

If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace of fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

But if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image that you have set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury and the countenance of his face was changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He responded and commanded that the furnace be made seven times hotter than it was usually heated.

And he commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and throw them into the blazing furnace of fire.

Then these men were bound in their shirts, tunics, and mantles, and other clothing, and thrown into the midst of the blazing furnace of fire.

For this reason, because the king's word was so harsh and the furnace had been heated to an extreme, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the blazing furnace of fire bound up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and stood up in haste; he responded and said to his counselors, Did we not throw three men into the midst of the fire bound up? They answered and said to the king, Certainly, O king.

He answered and said, Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not harmed. And the appearance of the  ¹fourth is like a son of the gods.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the blazing furnace of fire. He responded and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, servants of God the Most High, come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.

And the satraps, prefects, and governors, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw concerning these men that the fire had no effect on their bodies and that the hair of their heads was not singed, nor had their clothes been affected, nor had the smell of fire come upon them.

Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him and  ¹changed the king's word and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God.

Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language that speaks something offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be cut into pieces and their houses shall be made a dunghill, because there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.

Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in the whole earth: May your peace abound!

It pleases me to declare the signs and wonders that God the Most High has done for me.

How great are His signs,
And how mighty are His wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom,
And His dominion is from generation to generation.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and was flourishing in my palace.

I saw a dream and it frightened me, and the imaginings upon my bed and the visions of my head alarmed me.

Therefore I made the decree to bring before me all the wise men of Babylon that they might make the interpretation of the dream known to me.

Then the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans, and diviners came in, and I told the dream to them; but they could not make its interpretation known to me.

But at last there came in before me Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I told the dream to him, saying,

O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery troubles you, here are the visions of my dream that I have seen; now tell me its interpretation.

Now these were the visions of my head upon my bed: I was watching and there was a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

The tree grew great and became strong,
And its height reached to heaven,
And the sight of it to the end of all the earth.

Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The beasts of the field found shade under it,
And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches;
And all flesh fed from it.

I was watching in the visions of my head upon my bed, and there was a watcher, indeed, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

He cried out loudly and spoke in this way,
Cut down the tree and cut off its branches;
Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the beasts flee from under it,
And the birds from its branches.

Yet leave its stump of roots
In the earth,
But with an iron and bronze band around it,
In the tender grass of the field;
And let him be wet with the dew of heaven,
And let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth;

Let his mind be changed from that of a man's,
And let a beast's mind be given to him;
And let seven periods of time pass over him.

This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision is a command of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know that the  ¹Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills and sets up over it the lowliest of men.

This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, inasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make the interpretation known to me; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.

Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies!

The tree that you saw, which grew great and became strong, and whose height reached to heaven and the sight of it to all the earth,

And whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, and under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged —

It is you, O king, who have grown great and become strong, for your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

And in that the king saw a watcher, indeed, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, Cut down the tree and destroy it; yet leave its stump of roots in the earth, but with an iron and bronze band around it, in the tender grass of the field; and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him;

This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king:

You shall be driven out from among mankind, and with the beasts of the field shall your dwelling place be; and you shall be made to eat grass as bulls do and shall be wet with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you come to know that the Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills.

And in that it was commanded that the stump of roots of the tree be left, your kingdom will be assured to you after you have come to know that the  ¹heavens do rule.

Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: Break off your sins by doing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; perhaps there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.

All this came upon Nebuchadnezzar the king.

At the end of  ¹twelve months he was walking upon the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.

The king responded and said, Is this not Babylon the great, which I have built up as a royal house by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?

While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice came down from heaven: To you it is spoken, King Nebuchadnezzar: The kingdom has passed on from you;

And from among mankind you shall be driven out, and with the  ¹beasts of the field shall your dwelling place be; you shall be made to eat grass as bulls do; and  ²seven periods of time will pass over you, until you come to know that the Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills.

In that very hour the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and from among mankind he was driven out, and he began to eat grass as bulls do, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.

And at the end of those days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and  ¹reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored the ever-living One;
For His dominion is an eternal dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation;

And all the inhabitants of earth are considered as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth;
And there is no one who can resist His hand
Or say to Him, What are You doing?

At that time reason returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me; and my counselors and my lords sought me out, and I was established in my kingdom, and surpassing greatness was added to me.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the King of the heavens, because all His works are truth and His ways justice, and because He is able to abase those who walk in pride.