Daniel 1-4

GOD’S WORD Translation

Daniel and His Friends Remain Faithful to God

1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and attacked it. ² The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah and some utensils from God’s temple over to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar took the utensils to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put them in the temple treasury.

³ The king told Ashpenaz, the chief-of-staff, to bring some of the Israelites, the royal family, and the nobility. ⁴ They were to be young men who were healthy, good-looking, knowledgeable in all subjects, well-informed, intelligent, and able to serve in the king’s palace. They were to be taught the language and literature of the Babylonians.

⁵ The king arranged for them to get a daily allowance of the king’s rich food and wine. They were to be trained for three years. After that, they were to serve the king. ⁶ Among these young men were some Judeans: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷ The chief-of-staff gave them ⌞Babylonian⌟ names: To Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar. To Hananiah he gave the name Shadrach. To Mishael he gave the name Meshach. And to Azariah he gave the name Abednego.

⁸ Daniel made up his mind not to harm himself by eating the king’s rich food and drinking the king’s wine. So he asked the chief-of-staff for permission not to harm himself in this way.

⁹ God made the chief-of-staff kind and compassionate toward Daniel. ¹⁰ The chief-of-staff told Daniel, “I’m afraid of my master, the king. The king determined what you should eat and drink. If he sees that you look worse than the other young men your age, he would have my head cut off.”

¹¹ The chief-of-staff put a supervisor in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel said to the supervisor, ¹² “Please test us for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare us to the young men who are eating the king’s rich food. Decide how to treat us on the basis of how we look.”

¹⁴ The supervisor listened to them about this matter and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ After ten days they looked healthier and stronger than the young men who had been eating the king’s rich food. ¹⁶ So the supervisor took away the king’s rich food and wine and gave them vegetables.

¹⁷ God gave these four men knowledge, wisdom, and the ability to understand all kinds of literature. Daniel could also understand all kinds of visions and dreams.

¹⁸ At the end of the three-year training period, the chief-of-staff brought all the young men to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked to them and found no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah among all of them. So these four men served the king. ²⁰ Whenever the king asked them about things that required wisdom and insight, he found that they knew ten times more than all the magicians and psychics in his whole kingdom.

²¹ Daniel served the royal palace until the first year of King Cyrus ⌞of Persia⌟.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about a Statue Made of Four Metals

2 During the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had some dreams. He was troubled, but he stayed asleep. ² The king sent for the magicians, psychics, sorcerers, and astrologers so that they could tell him what he had dreamed. So they came to the king.

³ The king said to them, “I had a dream, and I’m troubled by it. I want to know what the dream was.”

⁴ The astrologers spoke to the king in Aramaic, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! Tell us the dream, and we’ll interpret it for you.”

⁵ The king answered the astrologers, “I meant what I said! If you don’t tell me the dream and its meaning, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into piles of rubble. ⁶ But if you tell me the dream and its meaning, I will give you gifts, awards, and high honors. Now tell me the dream and its meaning.”

⁷ Once more they said, “Your Majesty, tell us the dream, and we’ll tell you its meaning.”

⁸ The king replied, “I’m sure you’re trying to buy some time because you know that I meant what I said. ⁹ If you don’t tell me the dream, you’ll all receive the same punishment. You have agreed among yourselves to make up a phony explanation to give me, hoping that things will change. So tell me the dream. Then I’ll know that you can explain its meaning to me.”

¹⁰ The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can tell the king what he asks. No other king, no matter how great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, psychic, or astrologer. ¹¹ What you ask is difficult, Your Majesty. No one can tell what you dreamed except the gods, and they don’t live with humans.”

¹² This made the king so angry and furious that he gave an order to destroy all the wise advisers in Babylon. ¹³ So a decree was issued that the wise advisers were to be killed, and some men were sent to find Daniel and his friends and kill them.

¹⁴ While Arioch, the captain of the royal guard, was leaving to kill the wise advisers in Babylon, Daniel spoke to him using shrewd judgment. ¹⁵ He asked Arioch, the royal official, “Why is the king’s decree so harsh?” So Arioch explained everything to Daniel.

¹⁶ Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time so that he could explain the dream’s meaning. ¹⁷ Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about this matter. ¹⁸ He told them to ask the God of heaven to be merciful and to explain this secret to them so that they would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise advisers in Babylon.

¹⁹ The secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision during the night. So Daniel praised the God of heaven. ²⁰ He said,

²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy Babylon’s wise advisers. Daniel told him, “Don’t destroy Babylon’s wise advisers. Take me to the king, and I’ll explain the dream’s meaning to him.”

²⁵ Arioch immediately took Daniel to the king. He told the king, “I’ve found one of the captives from Judah who can explain the dream’s meaning to you, Your Majesty.”

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar), “Can you tell me the dream I had and its meaning?”

²⁷ Daniel answered the king, “No wise adviser, psychic, magician, or fortuneteller can tell the king this secret. ²⁸ But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. He will tell King Nebuchadnezzar what is going to happen in the days to come. This is your dream, the vision you had while you were asleep: ²⁹ Your Majesty, while you were lying in bed, thoughts about what would happen in the future came to you. The one who reveals secrets told you what is going to happen. ³⁰ This secret wasn’t revealed to me because I’m wiser than anyone else. It was revealed so that you could be told the meaning and so that you would know your innermost thoughts.

³¹ “Your Majesty, you had a vision. You saw a large statue. This statue was very bright. It stood in front of you, and it looked terrifying. ³² The head of this statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver. Its stomach and hips were made of bronze. ³³ Its legs were made of iron. Its feet were made partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a stone was cut out, but not by humans. It struck the statue’s iron-and-clay feet and smashed them. ³⁵ Then all at once, the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were smashed. They became like husks on a threshing floor ^[a] in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain which filled the whole world. ³⁶ This is the dream. Now we’ll tell you its meaning.

³⁷ “Your Majesty, you are the greatest king. The God of heaven has given you a kingdom. He has given you power, strength, and honor. ³⁸ He has given you control over people, wild animals, and birds, wherever they live. He has made you ruler of them all. You are the head of gold. ³⁹ Another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to power after you. Then there will be a third kingdom, a kingdom of bronze, that will rule the whole world. ⁴⁰ There will also be a fourth kingdom. It will be as strong as iron. (Iron smashes and shatters everything.) As iron crushes things, this fourth kingdom will smash and crush all the other kingdoms. ⁴¹ You also saw the feet and toes. They were partly potters’ clay and partly iron. This means that there will be a divided kingdom which has some of the firmness of iron. As you saw, iron was mixed with clay. ⁴² The toes were partly iron and partly clay. Part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle. ⁴³ As you saw, iron was mixed with clay. So the two parts of the kingdom will mix by intermarrying, but they will not hold together any more than iron can mix with clay.

⁴⁴ “At the time of those kings, the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed. No other people will be permitted to rule it. It will smash all the other kingdoms and put an end to them. But it will be established forever. ⁴⁵ This is the stone that you saw cut out from a mountain, but not by humans. It smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told you what will happen in the future, Your Majesty. The dream is true, and you can trust that this is its meaning.”

⁴⁶ King Nebuchadnezzar immediately bowed down on the ground in front of Daniel. He ordered that gifts and offerings be given to Daniel. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings. He can reveal secrets because you were able to reveal this secret.”

⁴⁸ Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many wonderful gifts. Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel governor of the whole province of Babylon and head of all Babylon’s wise advisers. ⁴⁹ With the king’s permission, Daniel appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to govern the province of Babylon. But Daniel stayed at the king’s court.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Refuse to Worship an Idol

3 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He set it up in a recessed area in the wall ^[b] in the province of Babylon. ² King Nebuchadnezzar sent messengers to assemble the satraps, governors, mayors, military advisers, treasurers, judges, officers, and all the other provincial officials to dedicate the statue he had set up. ³ Then the satraps, governors, mayors, military advisers, treasurers, judges, officers, and all the other provincial officials assembled to dedicate the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of the statue.

⁴ The herald called out loudly, “People of every province, nation, and language! ⁵ When you hear the sound of rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps playing at the same time with all other kinds of instruments, bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ Whoever doesn’t bow down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” ⁷ As soon as they heard the sound of rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps with all other kinds of instruments, all the people from every province, nation, and language bowed down and worshiped the gold statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁸ After that happened, some astrologers came forward and brought charges against the Jews. ⁹ They addressed King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! ¹⁰ Your Majesty, you gave an order that everyone who hears the sound of rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps playing at the same time with all other kinds of instruments should bow down and worship the gold statue. ¹¹ ⌞Your order said that⌟ whoever doesn’t bow down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you appointed to govern the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men didn’t obey your order, Your Majesty. They don’t honor your gods or worship the statue that you set up.”

¹³ Then, in a fit of rage and anger, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Immediately, they were brought to the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t honor my gods or worship the gold statue that I set up? ¹⁵ When you hear the sound of the rams’ horns, flutes, lyres, harps, and three-stringed harps playing at the same time with all other kinds of instruments, will you bow down and worship the gold statue I made? If you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. What god can save you from my power then?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “We don’t need to answer your last question. ¹⁷ If our God, whom we honor, can save us from a blazing furnace and from your power, he will, Your Majesty. ¹⁸ But if he doesn’t, you should know, Your Majesty, we’ll never honor your gods or worship the gold statue that you set up.”

¹⁹ Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with anger toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face turned red. He ordered that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than normal. ²⁰ He told some soldiers from his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego so that they could be thrown into the blazing furnace. ²¹ Then the three men were thrown into the blazing furnace. They were wearing their clothes, hats, and other clothing. ²² The king’s order was so urgent and the furnace was so extremely hot that the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were killed by the flames from the fire. ²³ So these three men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—fell into the blazing furnace. They were still tied up.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar was startled. He sprang to his feet. He asked his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?”

“That’s true, Your Majesty,” they answered.

²⁵ The king replied, “But look, I see four men. They’re untied, walking in the middle of the fire, and unharmed. The fourth one looks like a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the blazing furnace and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—servants of the Most High God—come out here.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. ²⁷ The king’s satraps, governors, mayors, and advisers gathered around the three men. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies. The hair on their heads wasn’t singed, their clothes weren’t burned, and they didn’t smell of smoke.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He sent his angel and saved his servants, who trusted him. They disobeyed the king and risked their lives so that they would not have to honor or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ So I order that people from every province, nation, or language who say anything slanderous about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb. Their houses will be turned into piles of rubble. No other god can rescue like this.”

³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to higher positions in the province of Babylon.

A Letter from Nebuchadnezzar about His Insanity

4 ^[c]From King Nebuchadnezzar.

To the people of every province, nation, and language in the world.

I wish you peace and prosperity.

² I am pleased to write to you about the miraculous signs and amazing things the Most High God did for me.

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living comfortably at home. I was prosperous while living in my palace. ⁵ I had a dream that terrified me. The visions I had while I was asleep frightened me. ⁶ So I ordered all the wise advisers in Babylon to be brought to me to tell me the dream’s meaning. ⁷ The magicians, psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers came to me. I told them the dream, but they couldn’t tell me its meaning. ⁸ Finally, Daniel came to me. (He had been renamed Belteshazzar after my god ⌞Bel⌟.) The spirit of the holy gods is in him.

I told him the dream: ⁹ “Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, I know the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No secret is too hard for you ⌞to uncover⌟. Tell me the meaning of the visions I had in my dream. ¹⁰ These are the visions I had while I was asleep: I was looking, and I saw an oak tree in the middle of the earth. It was very tall. ¹¹ The tree grew, and it became strong enough and tall enough to reach the sky. It could be seen everywhere on earth. ¹² It had beautiful leaves and plenty of fruit, enough to feed everyone. Wild animals found shade under it. Birds came to live in its branches. It fed every living creature.

¹³ “I was seeing these visions as I was asleep. I saw a guardian, a holy being, come down from heaven. ¹⁴ He shouted loudly, ‘Cut down the oak tree! Cut off its branches! Strip off its leaves! Scatter its fruit! Make the animals under it run away, and make the birds fly from its branches. ¹⁵ But leave the stump and its roots in the ground. Secure it with an iron and bronze chain in the grass in the field. Let it get wet with the dew from the sky. And let it get its share of the plants on the ground with the animals. ¹⁶ Let its human mind be changed, and give it the mind of an animal. Let it remain like this for seven time periods. ¹⁷ The guardians have announced this decision. The holy ones have announced this so that every living creature will know that the Most High has power over human kingdoms. He gives them to whomever he wishes. He can place the lowest of people in charge of them.’ ”

¹⁸ ⌞I said,⌟ “This is the dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning because the wise advisers in my kingdom can’t tell it to me. However, you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

¹⁹ Then Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar) was momentarily stunned. What he was thinking frightened him. I told him, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its meaning frighten you.”

Belteshazzar answered, “Sir, I wish that the dream were about those who hate you and its meaning were about your enemies. ²⁰ You saw an oak tree grow and become strong enough and tall enough to reach the sky. It could be seen everywhere on earth. ²¹ It had beautiful leaves and plenty of fruit, enough to feed everyone. Wild animals lived under it, and birds made their homes in its branches. ²² You are that tree, Your Majesty. You grew and became strong and mighty until you reached the sky. Your power reaches the most distant part of the world. ²³ You saw a guardian, a holy being, come down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut down the oak tree! Destroy it! But leave the stump and its roots in the ground. Secure it with an iron and bronze chain in the grass in the field. Let it get wet with the dew from the sky. Let it get its share of the plants on the ground with the wild animals for seven time periods.’

²⁴ “This is the meaning, Your Majesty. The Most High has decided to apply it to you, Your Majesty. ²⁵ You will be forced away from people and live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like cattle. The dew from the sky will make you wet. And seven time periods will pass until you realize that the Most High has power over human kingdoms and that he gives them to whomever he wishes. ²⁶ Since I said that the stump and the tree’s roots were to be left, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you realize that heaven rules.

²⁷ “That is why, Your Majesty, my best advice is that you stop sinning, and do what is right. Stop committing the same errors, and have pity on the poor. Maybe you can prolong your prosperity.”

²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, he was walking around the royal palace in Babylon. ³⁰ The king thought, “Look how great Babylon is! I built the royal palace by my own impressive power and for my glorious honor.” ³¹ Before the words came out of his mouth, a voice said from heaven, “King Nebuchadnezzar, listen to this: The kingdom has been taken from you. ³² You will be forced away from people and live with the wild animals. You will eat grass like cattle. And seven time periods will pass until you realize that the Most High has power over human kingdoms and that he gives them to whomever he wishes.” ³³ Just then the prediction about Nebuchadnezzar came true. He was forced away from people and ate grass like cattle. Dew from the sky made his body wet until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails grew as long as birds’ claws.

³⁴ At the end of the seven time periods, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven, and my mind came back to me. I thanked the Most High, and I praised and honored the one who lives forever, because his power lasts forever and his kingdom lasts from one generation to the next. ³⁵ Everyone who lives on earth is nothing compared to him. He does whatever he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who live on earth. There is no one who can oppose him or ask him, “What are you doing?”

³⁶ Just then my mind came back to me. My royal honor and glory were also given back to me. My advisers and nobles wanted to meet with me ⌞again⌟. I was given back my kingdom and made extraordinarily great. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, will praise, honor, and give glory to the King of Heaven. Everything he does is true, his ways are right, and he can humiliate those who act arrogantly.