Daniel 5–6

Chapter 5

Baltasar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles: and every one drank according to his age.

²And being now drunk, he commanded that they should bring the vessels of gold and silver, which Nabuchodonosor, his father, had brought away out of the temple, that was in Jerusalem, that the king and his nobles, and his wives, and his concubines, might drink in them.

³Then were the golden and silver vessels brought, which he had brought away out of the temple that was in Jerusalem: and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.

⁴They drank wine, and praised their gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone.

⁵In the same hour there appeared fingers, as it were of the hand of a man, writing over against the candlestick, upon the surface of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king beheld the joints of the hand that wrote.

⁶Then was the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him: and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other.

⁷And the king cried out aloud to bring in the wise men, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon: Whosoever shall read this writing, and shall make known to me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and shall have a golden chain on his neck, and shall be the third man in my kingdom.

⁸Then came in all the king’s wise men, but they could neither read the writing, nor declare the interpretation to the king.

⁹Wherewith king Baltasar was much troubled, and his countenance was changed: and his nobles also were troubled.

¹⁰Then the queen, on occasion of what had happened to the king, and his nobles, came into the banquet-house: and she spoke, and said: O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, neither let thy countenance be changed.

¹¹There is a man in thy kingdom that hath the spirit of the holy gods in him: and in the days of thy father knowledge and wisdom were found in him: for king Nabuchodonosor, thy father, appointed him prince of the wise men, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, thy father, I say, O king:

¹²Because a greater spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, and interpretation of dreams, and shewing of secrets, and resolving of difficult things, were found in him, that is, in Daniel: whom the king named Baltassar. Now, therefore, let Daniel be called for, and he will tell the interpretation.

¹³Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke, and said to him: Art thou Daniel, of the children of the captivity of Juda, whom my father, the king, brought out of Judea?

¹⁴I have heard of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the gods, and excellent knowledge, and understanding, and wisdom are found in thee.

¹⁵And now the wise men, the magicians, have come in before me, to read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof; and they could not declare to me the meaning of this writing.

¹⁶But I have heard of thee, that thou canst interpret obscure things, and resolve difficult things: now if thou art able to read the writing, and to shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third prince in my kingdom.

¹⁷To which Daniel made answer, and said before the king: thy rewards be to thyself, and the gifts of thy house give to another: but the writing I will read to thee, O king, and shew thee the interpretation thereof.

¹⁸O king, the most high God gave to Nabuchodonosor, thy father, a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour.

¹⁹And for the greatness that he gave to him, all people, tribes, and languages trembled, and were afraid of him: whom he would, he slew: and whom he would, he destroyed: and whom he would, he set up: and whom he would, he brought down.

²⁰But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto pride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory was taken away.

²¹And he was driven out from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses, and he did eat grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven: till he knew that the most High ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he will set over it whomsoever it shall please him.

²²Thou also, his son, O Baltasar, hast not humbled thy heart, whereas thou knewest all these things:

²³But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven: and the vessels of his house have been brought before thee: and thou, and thy nobles, and thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them: and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor feel: but the God who hath thy breath in his hand, and all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.

²⁴Wherefore, he hath sent the part of the hand which hath written this that is set down.

²⁵And this is the writing that is written: MANE, THECEL, PHARES.

²⁶And this is the interpretation of the word. MANE: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.

²⁷THECEL: thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting.

²⁸PHARES: thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians.

²⁹Then by the king’s command, Daniel was clothed with purple, and a chain of gold was put about his neck: and it was proclaimed of him that he had power as the third man in the kingdom.

³⁰The same night Baltasar, the Chaldean king, was slain.

³¹And Darius, the Mede, succeeded to the kingdom, being threescore and two years old.

Chapter 6

It seemed good to Darius, and he appointed over the kingdom a hundred and twenty governors, to be over his whole kingdom.

²And three princes over them of whom Daniel was one: that the governors might give an account to them, and the king might have no trouble.

³And Daniel excelled all the princes, and governors: because a greater spirit of God was in him.

⁴And the king thought to set him over all the kingdom; whereupon the princes, and the governors, sought to find occasion against Daniel, with regard to the king: and they could find no cause, nor suspicion, because he was faithful, and no fault, nor suspicion was found in him.

⁵Then these men said: We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, unless perhaps concerning the law of his God.

⁶Then the princes, and the governors, craftily suggested to the king, and spoke thus unto him: King Darius, live for ever:

⁷All the princes of the kingdom, the magistrates, and governors, the senators, and judges, have consulted together, that an imperial decree, and an edict be published: That whosoever shall ask any petition of any god, or man, for thirty days, but of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of the lions.

⁸Now, therefore, O king, confirm the sentence, and sign the decree: that what is decreed by the Medes and Persians may not be altered, nor any man be allowed to transgress it.

⁹So king Darius set forth the decree, and established it.

¹⁰Now, when Daniel knew this, that is to say, that the law was made, he went into his house: and opening the windows in his upper chamber towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored and gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before.

¹¹Wherefore those men carefully watching him, found Daniel praying and making supplication to his God.

¹²And they came and spoke to the king concerning the edict: O king, hast thou not decreed, that every man that should make a request to any of the gods, or men, for thirty days, but to thyself, O king, should be cast into the den of the lions? And the king answered them, saying: The word is true, according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, which it is not lawful to violate.

¹³Then they answered, and said before the king: Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Juda, hath not regarded thy law, nor the decree that thou hast made: but three times a day he maketh his prayer.

¹⁴Now when the king had heard these words, he was very much grieved, and in behalf of Daniel he set his heart to deliver him, and even till sunset he laboured to save him.

¹⁵But those men perceiving the king’s design, said to him: Know thou, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree which the king hath made, may be altered.

¹⁶Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of the lions. And the king said to Daniel: Thy God, whom thou always servest, he will deliver thee.

¹⁷And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den: which the king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, that nothing should be done against Daniel.

¹⁸And the king went away to his house, and laid himself down without taking supper, and meat was not set before him, and even sleep departed from him.

¹⁹Then the king rising very early in the morning, went in haste to the lions’ den:

²⁰And coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to Daniel, and said to him: Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy God, whom thou servest always, been able, thinkest thou, to deliver thee from the lions?

²¹And Daniel answering the king, said: O king, live for ever:

²²My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut up the mouths of the lions, and they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him justice hath been found in me: yea, and before thee, O king, I have done no offence.

²³Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and he commanded that Daniel should be taken out of the den: and Daniel was taken out of the den, and no hurt was found in him, because he believed in his God.

²⁴And by the king’s commandment, those men were brought that had accused Daniel: and they were cast into the lions’ den, they and their children, and their wives: and they did not reach the bottom of the den, before the lions caught them, and broke all their bones in pieces.

²⁵Then king Darius…