Daniel 4–6

Nebuchadnezzar the king, ^abunto all people, nations, and languages, ^bcthat dwell in all the earth; ^bdPeace be multiplied unto you. ²I thought it good to shew ^ethe signs and wonders that ^fthe high God hath wrought toward me. ³How great are ^ehis signs! and how mighty are ^ehis wonders! ^ghis kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, ^gand his dominion is from generation to generation.

⁴I Nebuchadnezzar was ^hat rest in mine house, and ⁱflourishing in my palace: ⁵I saw a dream which made me afraid, and ^jthe thoughts upon my bed and ^jkthe visions of my head troubled me. ^6lTherefore made I a decree ^mto bring in all ⁿthe wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. ^7mThen came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and ^othe soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; ^oobut they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. ⁸But at the last Daniel came in before me, ^pwhose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and ^qin whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, ^rsaying, ^9pO Belteshazzar, ^smaster of the magicians, because I know that ^qthe spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no ^tsecret troubleth thee, tell me ^jthe visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. ¹⁰Thus were ^jthe visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold, ^ua tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. ¹¹ⁱThe tree grew, and was strong, and ^uvthe height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: ^12wthe leaves thereof were fair, ^wand the fruit thereof much, ^wand in it was ^xmeat for all: ^wythe beasts of the field had shadow under it, ^wand the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. ¹³I saw in ^jthe visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, ^za watcher and ^aa holy one came down from heaven; ¹⁴he cried aloud, and said thus, ^bHew down the tree, and ^ccut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: ^clet the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: ¹⁵nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: ¹⁶let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and ^dlet seven ^dtimes pass over him. ¹⁷This matter is by ^ethe decree of ^fthe watchers, and ^fthe demand by the word of the holy ones: ^gto the intent that ^hthe living may know ⁱthat ^jthe most High ^kruleth in the kingdom of men, ⁱand ^lgiveth it to whomsoever he will, and ^llsetteth up over it the basest of men. ¹⁸This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, ^mO Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, ⁿforasmuch ⁿⁿas all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for ^mthe spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

¹⁹Then Daniel, ^mwhose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied ^ofor one hour, and ^oohis thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, ^pthe dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. ^20ppThe tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; ^21qwhose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; ^qrunder which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: ^22rit is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and ^sthy dominion ^tto the end of the earth. ²³And whereas ^uthe king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, ^vHew the tree down, and destroy it; ^wyet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, ^dtill seven times pass over him; ²⁴this is the interpretation, O king, and this is ^ethe decree of ^jthe most High, which is come upon my lord the king: ²⁵that ^xthey shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and ^xthey shall make thee ^yto eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and ^dseven times shall pass over thee, ^xztill thou know ⁱthat ^jthe most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and ⁱgiveth it to whomsoever he will. ²⁶And whereas they commanded ^wto leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that ^athe heavens do rule. ^27bWherefore, O king, let my counsel ^cbe acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by ^drighteousness, and ^ethine iniquities by ^fshewing mercy to the poor; ^gif it may be a ^klengthening of thy ^ltranquillity.

²⁸All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. ^30mThe king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for ⁿthe house of the kingdom by ^othe might of ^omy power, and for ^opthe honour of ^pmy majesty? ^31ppWhile the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, ^qsaying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee ^qqit is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. ³²And ^rthey shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: ^rthey shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, ^rand seven times shall pass over thee, ^runtil thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, ^rand giveth it to whomsoever he will. ^33sThe same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and ^this body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. ³⁴And ^uat the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lift up ^uumine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and ^vhonoured him ^vvthat liveth for ever, ^wwhose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and ^wxhis kingdom is from generation to generation: ³⁵and all ^ythe inhabitants of the earth ^zare reputed as nothing: and ^ahe doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among ^ythe inhabitants of the earth: and ^bnone can stay his hand, ^cor say unto him, ^cWhat doest thou? ³⁶At the same time ^uumy reason returned unto me; and for ^edthe glory of my kingdom, ^dmine honour and ^ddbrightness returned unto me; and my ^ecounsellers and my ^eelords sought unto me; and I ^fwas established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty ^gwas added unto me. ³⁷Now I Nebuchadnezzar ^hpraise and extol and ^hhonour ⁱthe King of heaven, ^kall whose works are truth, and ^lhis ways judgment: and ^mthose that walk in pride he is able to abase.

V.^aBelshazzar the king ^bmade a great feast to a thousand of his ^clords, and drank wine before the thousand. ²Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring ^dthe golden and silver vessels ^ewhich his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that ^fthe king, and his ^cprinces, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. ³Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and ^fthe king, and his ^cprinces, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. ^4gThey drunk wine, ^gand ^hpraised ⁱthe gods of gold, and ⁱof silver, ⁱof brass, ⁱof iron, ^ikof wood, and ^ikof stone.

^5lIn the same hour ^mcame forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon ⁿthe plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw ^othe part of the hand that wrote. ⁶Then the king’s ^pcountenance was changed, and ^pqhis thoughts troubled him, so that ^rthe joints of ^sthis loins were loosed, and ^this knees smote one against another. ^7uThe king cried aloud to bring in ^vythe astrologers, ^wythe Chaldeans, and ^xythe soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to ^zthe wise men of Babylon, ^aWhosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, ^ashall be clothed with scarlet, and ^ahave a chain of gold about his neck, and ^abshall be the third ruler in the kingdom. ⁸Then came in all the king’s wise men: but ^cthey could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. ⁹Then was king Belshazzar ^dgreatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his ^elords were astonied.

¹⁰Now ^fthe queen, by reason of the words of the king and his ^elords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, ^gO king, live for ever: let not ^hthy thoughts trouble thee, nor let ^hthy countenance be changed. ¹¹ⁱThere is a man in thy kingdom, ⁱⁱin whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father ^jlight and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made ^kmaster of the magicians, ^lastrologers, ^lChaldeans, and ^lsoothsayers; ^12mforasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of ⁿdreams, and ^oshewing of ^phard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, ^qwhom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation. ¹³Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art ^rof the children of the captivity of Judah, ^swhom the king my father brought out of Jewry? ¹⁴I have even heard of thee, that ⁱⁱthe spirit of the gods is in thee, and that ^jlight and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. ¹⁵And now ^tthe wise men, ^tthe astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read…