1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, come hath Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and layeth siege against it;

² and the Lord giveth into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, and some of the vessels of the house of God, and he bringeth them in [to] the land of Shinar, [to] the house of his god, and the vessels he hath brought in [to] the treasure-house of his god.

³ And the king saith, to Ashpenaz master of his eunuchs, to bring in out of the sons of Israel, (even of the royal seed, and of the chiefs,)

⁴ lads in whom there is no blemish, and of good appearance, and skilful in all wisdom, and possessing knowledge, and teaching thought, and who have ability to stand in the palace of the king, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

⁵ And the king doth appoint for them a rate, day by day, of the king's portion of food, and of the wine of his drinking, so as to nourish them three years, that at the end thereof they may stand before the king.

⁶ And there are among them out of the sons of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

⁷ and the chief of the eunuchs setteth names on them, and he setteth on Daniel, Belteshazzar; and on Hananiah, Shadrach; and on Mishael, Meshach; and on Azariah, Abed-Nego.

⁸ And Daniel purposeth in his heart that he will not pollute himself with the king's portion of food, and with the wine of his drinking, and he seeketh of the chief of the eunuchs that he may not pollute himself.

⁹ And God giveth Daniel for kindness and for mercies before the chief of the eunuchs;

¹⁰ and the chief of the eunuchs saith to Daniel, `I am fearing my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink, for why doth he see your faces sadder than [those of] the lads which [are] of your circle? then ye have made my head indebted to the king,'

¹¹ And Daniel saith unto the Meltzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs hath appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

¹² `Try, I pray thee, thy servants, ten days; and they give to us of the vegetables, and we eat, and water, and we drink;

¹³ and our appearance is seen before thee, and the appearance of the lads who are eating the king's portion of food, and as thou seest -- deal with thy servants.'

¹⁴ And he hearkeneth to them, to this word, and trieth them ten days:

¹⁵ and at the end of ten days their appearance hath appeared better and fatter in flesh then any of the lads who are eating the king's portion of food.

¹⁶ And the Meltzar is taking away their portion of food, and the wine of their drink, and is giving to them vegetables.

¹⁷ As to these four lads, God hath given to them knowledge and understanding in every [kind of] literature, and wisdom; and Daniel hath given instruction about every [kind of] vision and dreams.

¹⁸ And at the end of the days that the king had said to bring them in, bring them in doth the chief of the eunuchs before Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁹ And the king speaketh with them, and there hath none been found among them all like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and they stand before the king;

²⁰ and [in] any matter of wisdom [and] understanding that the king hath sought of them, he findeth them ten hands above all the scribes, the enchanters, who [are] in all his kingdom.

²¹ And Daniel is unto the first year of Cyrus the king.

2 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed hath Nebuchadnezzar dreams, and his spirit doth move itself, and his sleep hath been against him;

² and the king saith to call for scribes, and for enchanters, and for sorcerers, and for Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they come in and stand before the king;

³ and the king saith to them, `A dream I have dreamed, and moved is my spirit to know the dream.'

⁴ And the Chaldeans speak to the king [in] Aramaean, `O king, to the ages live, tell the dream to thy servants, and the interpretation we do shew.'

⁵ The king hath answered and said to the Chaldeans, `The thing from me is gone; if ye do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, pieces ye are made, and your houses are made dunghills;

⁶ and if the dream and its interpretation ye do shew, gifts, and fee, and great glory ye receive from before me, therefore the dream and its interpretation shew ye me.'

⁷ They have answered a second time, and are saying, `Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and the interpretation we do shew.

⁸ The king hath answered and said, `Of a truth I know that time ye are gaining, because that ye have seen that the thing is gone from me,

⁹ [so] that, if the dream ye do not cause me to know -- one is your sentence, seeing a word lying and corrupt ye have prepared to speak before me, till that the time is changed, therefore the dream tell ye to me, then do I know that its interpretation ye do shew me.'

¹⁰ The Chaldeans have answered before the king, and are saying, `There is not a man on the earth who is able to shew the king's matter; therefore, no king, chief, and ruler, hath asked such a thing as this of any scribe, and enchanter, and Chaldean;

¹¹ and the thing that the king is asking [is] precious, and others are there not that do shew it before the king, save the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.'

¹² Therefore the king hath been angry and very wroth, and hath said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon;

¹³ And the sentence hath gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

¹⁴ Then Daniel hath replied [with] counsel and discretion to Arioch chief of the executioners of the king, who hath gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁵ He hath answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, `Wherefore [is] the sentence so urgent from before the king?' Then Arioch hath made the thing known to Daniel,

¹⁶ and Daniel hath gone up, and sought of the king that he would give him time to shew the interpretation to the king.

¹⁷ Then Daniel to his house hath gone, and to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, he hath made the thing known,

¹⁸ and to seek mercies from before the God of the heavens concerning this secret, that they destroy not Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹ Then to Daniel, in a vision of the night, the secret hath been revealed. Then hath Daniel blessed the God of the heavens.

²⁰ Daniel hath answered and said, `Let the name of God be blessed from age even unto age, for wisdom and might -- for they are His.

²¹ And He is changing times and seasons, He is causing kings to pass away, and He is raising up kings; He is giving wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those possessing understanding.

²² He is revealing deep and hidden things; He hath known what [is] in darkness, and light with Him hath dwelt.

²³ Thee, O God of my fathers, I am thanking and praising, for wisdom and might Thou hast given to me; and now, Thou hast caused me to know that which we have sought from Thee, for the king's matter Thou hast caused us to know.'

²⁴ Therefore Daniel hath gone up unto Arioch, whom the king hath appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he hath gone, and thus hath said to him, `The wise men of Babylon thou dost not destroy, bring me up before the king, and the interpretation to the king I do shew.'

²⁵ Then Arioch in haste hath brought up Daniel before the king, and thus hath said to him -- `I have found a man of the sons of the Removed of Judah, who the interpretation to the king doth make known.'

²⁶ The king hath answered and said to Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar, `Art thou able to cause me to know the dream that I have seen, and its interpretation?'

²⁷ Daniel hath answered before the king and said, `The secret that the king is asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the scribes, the soothsayers, are not able to shew to the king;

²⁸ but there is a God in the heavens, a revealer of secrets, and He hath made known to king Nebuchadnezzar that which [is] to be in the latter end of the days. `Thy dream and the visions of thy head on thy bed are these:

²⁹ Thou, O king, thy thoughts on thy bed have come up [concerning] that which [is] to be after this, and the Revealer of secrets hath caused thee to know that which [is] to be.

³⁰ As to me -- not for [any] wisdom that is in me above any living hath this secret been revealed to me; but for the intent that the interpretation to the king they make known, and the thoughts of thy heart thou dost know.

³¹ `Thou, O king, wast looking, and lo, a certain great image. This image [is] mighty, and its brightness excellent; it is standing over-against thee, and its appearance [is] terrible.

³² This image! its head [is] of good gold, its breasts and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass;

³³ its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron, and part of them of clay.

³⁴ Thou wast looking till that a stone hath been cut out without hands, and it hath smitten the image on its feet, that [are] of iron and of clay, and it hath broken them small;

³⁵ then broken small together have been the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, and they have been as chaff from the summer threshing-floor, and carried them away hath the wind, and no place hath been found for them: and the stone that smote the image hath become a great mountain, and hath filled all the land.

³⁶ This [is] the dream, and its interpretation we do tell before the king.

³⁷ `Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God of the heavens a kingdom, strength, and might, and glory, hath given to thee;

³⁸ and whithersoever sons of men are dwelling, the beast of the field, and the fowl of the heavens, He hath given into thy hand, and hath caused thee to rule over them all; thou [art] this head of gold.

³⁹ And after thee doth rise up another kingdom lower than those, and another third kingdom of brass, that doth rule overall the earth.

⁴⁰ And the fourth kingdom is strong as iron, because that iron is breaking small, and making feeble, all [things], even as iron that is breaking all these, it beateth small and breaketh.

⁴¹ As to that which thou hast seen: the feet and toes, part of them potter's clay, and part of them iron, the kingdom is divided: and some of the standing of the iron [is] to be in it, because that thou hast seen the iron mixed with miry clay.

⁴² As to the toes of the feet, part of them iron, and part of them clay: some part of the kingdom is strong, and some part of it is brittle.

⁴³ Because thou hast seen iron mixed with miry clay, they are mixing themselves with the seed of men: and they are not adhering one with another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

⁴⁴ `And in the days of these kings raise up doth the God of the heavens a kingdom that is not destroyed -- to the age, and its kingdom to another people is not left: it beateth small and endeth all these kingdoms, and it standeth to the age.

⁴⁵ Because that thou hast seen that out of the mountain cut hath been a stone without hands, and it hath beaten small the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king that which [is] to be after this; and the dream [is] true, and its interpretation stedfast.

⁴⁶ Then hath king Nebuchadnezzar fallen on his face, and to Daniel he hath done obeisance, and present, and sweet things, he hath said to pour out to him.

⁴⁷ The king hath answered Daniel and said, `Of a truth [it is] that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since thou hast been able to reveal this secret.'

⁴⁸ Then the king hath made Daniel great, and many great gifts he hath given to him, and hath caused him to rule over all the province of Babylon, and chief of the perfects over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹ And Daniel hath sought from the king, and he hath appointed over the work of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and Daniel [is] in the gate of the king.

3 Nebuchadnezzar the king hath made an image of gold, its height sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits; he hath raised it up in the valley of Dura, in the province of Babylon;

² and Nebuchadnezzar the king hath sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the honourable judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the province, to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath raised up.

³ Then are gathered the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the honourable judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the province, to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath raised up: and they are standing before the image that Nebuchadnezzar hath raised up.

⁴ And a crier is calling mightily: `To you they are saying: O peoples, nations, and languages!

⁵ at the time that ye hear the voice of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, the symphony, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and do obeisance to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath raised up:

⁶ and whoso doth not fall down and do obeisance, in that hour he is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.'

⁷ Therefore at that time, when all the peoples are hearing the voice of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and all kinds of music, falling down are all the peoples, nations and languages, doing obeisance to the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath raised up.

⁸ Therefore at that time drawn near have certain Chaldeans, and accused the Jews;

⁹ they have answered, yea, they are saying to Nebuchadnezzar the king, `O king, to the ages live!

¹⁰ Thou, O king, hast made a decree that every man who doth hear the voice of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, doth fall down and do obeisance to the golden image;

¹¹ and whoso doth not fall down and do obeisance, is cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

¹² There are certain Jews whom thou hast appointed over the work of the province of Babylon -- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, these men have not made of thee, O king, [any] regard; thy gods they are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up -- are not making obeisance.'

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in anger and fury, hath said to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. Then these men have been brought in before the king.

¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar hath answered and said to them, `Is [it] a laid plan, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego -- my gods ye are not serving, and to the golden image that I have raised up ye are not doing obeisance?

¹⁵ Now, lo, ye are ready, so that at the time that ye hear the voice of the cornet, the flute, the harp, the sackbut, the psaltery, and the symphony, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and do obeisance to the image that I have made! -- and lo, ye do no obeisance -- in that hour ye are cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; who is that God who doth deliver you out of my hands?'

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego have answered, yea, they are saying to the king Nebuchadnezzar, `We have no need concerning this matter to answer thee.

¹⁷ Lo, it is; our God whom we are serving, is able to deliver us from a burning fiery furnace; and from thy hand, O king, He doth deliver.

¹⁸ And lo -- not! be it known to thee, O king, that thy gods we are not serving, and to the golden image thou hast raised up we do no obeisance.'

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar hath been full of fury, and the expression of his face hath been changed concerning Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; he answered and said to heat the furnace seven times above that which it is seen to be heated;

²⁰ and to certain mighty men who [are] in his force he hath said to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to cast into the burning fiery furnace.

²¹ Then these men have been bound in their coats, their tunics, and their turbans, and their clothing, and have been cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²² Therefore, because that the word of the king is urgent, and the furnace heated exceedingly, those men who have taken up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego -- killed them hath the spark of the fire.

²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, have fallen down in the midst of the burning fiery furnace -- bound.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king hath been astonished, and hath risen in haste; he hath answered and said to his counsellors, `Have we not cast three men into the midst of the fire -- bound?' They have answered and are saying to the king, `Certainly, O king.'

²⁵ He answered and hath said, `Lo, I am seeing four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the appearance of the fourth [is] like to a son of the gods.'

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar hath drawn near to the gate of the burning fiery furnace; he hath answered and said, `Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of God Most High come forth, yea, come;' then come forth do Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, from the midst of the fire;

²⁷ and gathered together, the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, and the counsellors of the king, are seeing these men, that the fire hath no power over their bodies, and the hair of their head hath not been singed, and their coats have not changed, and the smell of fire hath not passed on them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar hath answered and hath said, `Blessed [is] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who hath sent His messenger, and hath delivered His servants who trusted on Him, and the word of the king changed, and gave up their bodies that they might not serve nor do obeisance to any god except to their own God.

²⁹ And by me a decree is made, that any people, nation, and language, that doth speak erroneously concerning the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, pieces he is made, and its house is made a dunghill, because that there is no other god who is able thus to deliver.'

³⁰ Then the king hath caused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, to prosper in the province of Babylon.