Daniel 1:1–12:13

Daniel and His Friends Obey God

1In the third year of the reign of ^aJehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ²And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with ^bsome of the articles of ¹the house of God, which he carried ^cinto the land of Shinar to the house of his god; ^dand he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

³Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring ^esome of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, ⁴young men ^fin whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and ^gwhom they might teach the language and ²literature of the Chaldeans. ⁵And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might ^hserve before the king. ⁶Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷ⁱTo them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: ^jhe gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

⁸But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself ^kwith the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. ⁹Now ^lGod had brought Daniel into the favor and ³goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. ¹⁰And the chief 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 looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

¹¹So Daniel said to ⁴the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹²“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” ¹⁴So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

¹⁵And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. ¹⁶Thus ⁵the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

¹⁷As for these four young men, ^mGod gave them ⁿknowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had ^ounderstanding in all visions and dreams.

¹⁸Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹Then the king ⁶interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore ^pthey served before the king. ^20qAnd in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. ^21rThus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^aand his spirit was so troubled that ^bhis sleep left him. ^2cThen the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. ³And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to ¹know the dream.”

⁴Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, ^d“O ²king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁵The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My ³decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be ^ecut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. ^6fHowever, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

⁷They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”

⁸The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: ⁹if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the ⁴time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can ⁵give me its interpretation.”

¹⁰The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. ¹¹It is a ⁶difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king ^gexcept the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹²For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought ^hDaniel and his companions, to kill them.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

¹⁴Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; ¹⁵he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so ⁷urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.

¹⁶So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. ¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸ⁱthat they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹Then the secret was revealed to Daniel ^jin a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

²⁰Daniel answered and said:

^k“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

^lFor wisdom and might are His.

²¹And He changes ^mthe times and the seasons;

ⁿHe removes kings and raises up kings;

^oHe gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding.

^22pHe reveals deep and secret things;

^qHe knows what is in the darkness,

And ^rlight dwells with Him.

²³“I thank You and praise You,

O God of my fathers;

You have given me wisdom and might,

And have now made known to me what we ^sasked of You,

For You have made known to us the king’s ⁸demand.”

Daniel Explains the Dream

²⁴Therefore Daniel went to 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; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”

²⁵Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the ⁹captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

²⁶The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”

²⁷Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. ^28tBut there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^uwhat will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: ²⁹As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; ^vand He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. ^30wBut as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, ^xand that you may ¹know the thoughts of your heart.

³¹“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. ^32yThis image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and ²thighs of bronze, ³³its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of ³clay. ³⁴You watched while a stone was cut out ^zwithout hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ^35aThen the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became ^blike chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that ^cno trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image ^dbecame a great mountain ^eand filled the whole earth.

³⁶“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. ^37fYou, O king, are a king of kings. ^gFor the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; ^38hand wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—ⁱyou are this head of gold. ³⁹But after you shall arise ^janother kingdom ^kinferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰And ^lthe fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. ⁴¹Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. ⁴²And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, ^mso the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly ⁴fragile. ⁴³As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will…