Judah’s Decline

1 ^mThe people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father’s place in Jerusalem. 2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and ⁿlaid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent¹ of gold. 4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.

5 ^oJehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. 6 ^pAgainst him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ^qand bound him in chains ^rto take him to Babylon. 7 ^sNebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. 8 ^tNow the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

9 ^uJehoiachin was eighteen² years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 10 In ^vthe spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, ^wwith the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother ^xZedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

11 ^yZedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before ^zJeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. 13 ^aHe also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. ^bHe stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem.

15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, ^csent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 ^dBut they kept mocking the messengers of God, ^edespising his words and scoffing at his prophets, ^funtil the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

Jerusalem Captured and Burned

17 ^gTherefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 ^hAnd all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 ⁱAnd they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He ^jtook into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, ^kand they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had ^lenjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate ^mit kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The Proclamation of Cyrus

22 ⁿNow in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, ^othat the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, ^pthe Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

Daniel Taken to Babylon

1 In the third year of ^athe reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of ^bthe vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to ^cthe land of Shinar, to the house of his god, ^dand placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ^ehis chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family¹ and of ^fthe nobility, 4 youths without ^gblemish, of good appearance and ^hskillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to ⁱteach them the literature and language of the ^jChaldeans. 5 The king assigned them a daily portion of ^kthe food that the king ate, and of ^lthe wine that he drank. They were to be educated for ^mthree years, and at the end of that time they were to ⁿstand before the king. 6 Among these were ^oDaniel, ^pHananiah, ^pMishael, and ^pAzariah of the tribe of Judah. 7 And ^ethe chief of the eunuchs ^qgave them names: ^rDaniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Daniel’s Faithfulness

8 But Daniel ^sresolved that he would not ^tdefile himself with ^kthe king’s food, or with ^lthe wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to ^tdefile himself. 9 ^uAnd God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ^vten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat ^kthe king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate ^kthe king’s food. 16 ^wSo the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them ^xvegetables.

17 As for these four youths, ^yGod gave them learning and ^zskill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had ^aunderstanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of ^bthe time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore ^cthey stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all ^dthe magicians and ^eenchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel ^fwas there until the first year of ^gKing Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^hhis spirit was troubled, and ⁱhis sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that ^dthe magicians, ^ethe enchanters, the ^jsorcerers, and ^kthe Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and ^lstood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and ^hmy spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then ^kthe Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^{2 m}“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to ^kthe Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ⁿtorn limb from limb, ⁿand your ^ohouses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, ^pyou shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. ^qTherefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to ^rgain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, ^sthere is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till ^tthe times change. ^uTherefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 ^vThe Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or ^vChaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except ^wthe gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12 Because of this the king was angry and ^xvery furious, and ^ycommanded that all ^zthe wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^aDaniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ^bArioch, the ^ccaptain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared³ to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king ^dso urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ^eHananiah, ^eMishael, and ^eAzariah, his companions, 18 ^fand told them to seek mercy from the ^gGod of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ^hbe destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ⁱa vision of the night. Then Daniel ^jblessed the ^gGod of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

24 Therefore Daniel went in to ^vArioch, 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; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

25 Then ^vArioch brought in Daniel before the king ^win haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^xamong the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, ^ywhose name was Belteshazzar, ^z“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^aenchanters, ^amagicians, or ^bastrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but ^cthere is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^dwhat will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^ethe visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^fand he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But ^gas for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ^hyou may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 ⁱThe head of this image was of fine gold, ^jits chest and arms of silver, its middle and ^jthighs of bronze, 33 ^kits legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out ^lby no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^mbroke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became ⁿlike the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^onot a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became ^pa great mountain ^qand filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, ^rthe king of kings, to whom ^sthe God of heaven ^thas given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ^uthe beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are ^vthe head of gold. 39 ^wAnother kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ^vof bronze, ^xwhich shall rule over all the earth. 40 And ^ythere shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ^zbreaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ^zbreak and crush all these. 41 And as you saw ^athe feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ^yfirmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,⁴ but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings ^bthe God of heaven will set up ^ca kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^dIt shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^cit shall stand forever, 45 just as ^eyou saw that ^fa stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^dit broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^ggreat God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar ^hfell upon his face and ⁱpaid homage to Daniel, and commanded that ^jan offering and ^kincense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your ^lGod is God of gods and ^mLord of kings, and ⁿa revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ^ogifts, and made him ruler over the whole ^pprovince of Babylon and ^qchief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^rappointed ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of ^pthe province of Babylon. But Daniel ^tremained at the king’s court.

Greeting

1 Paul, a servant¹ of God and ^aan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and ^btheir knowledge of the truth, ^cwhich accords with godliness, 2 ^din hope of eternal life, which God, ^ewho never lies, ^fpromised ^gbefore the ages began² 3 and ^hat the proper time manifested in his word^{3 i}through the preaching ^jwith which I have been entrusted ^kby the command of God our Savior;

4 To Titus, ^lmy true child in ^ma common faith:

ⁿGrace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

5 ^oThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and ^pappoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 ^qif anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife,⁴ and his children are believers⁵ and not open to the charge of ^rdebauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer,^{6 s}as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not ^tbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent ^uor greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^vand disciplined. 9 He must ^whold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^xsound⁷ doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, ^yempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^zthe circumcision party.⁸ 11 They must be silenced, since ^athey are upsetting whole families by teaching ^bfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 ^cOne of the Cretans,⁹ a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”¹⁰ 13 This testimony is true. Therefore ^drebuke them ^esharply, that they ^fmay be sound in the faith, 14 ^gnot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and ^hthe commands of people ⁱwho turn away from the truth. 15 ^jTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and ^kunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ^ltheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 ^mThey profess to know God, but they ⁿdeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, ^ounfit for any good work.