Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

1 ¹ King Nebuchadnezzar to all ^mpeoples, nations, and languages, ⁿthat dwell in all the earth: ^oPeace be multiplied to you! 2 It has seemed good to me to show the ^psigns and wonders that the ^qMost High God has done for me.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 ² I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and ^sthe visions of my head alarmed me. 6 So ^tI made a decree that ^uall the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then ^vthe magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but ^wthey could not make known to me its interpretation. 8 At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named ^xBelteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is ^ythe spirit of the holy gods³—and I told him the dream, saying, 9 “O Belteshazzar, ^zchief of the magicians, because I know that ^ythe spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no ^amystery is too difficult for you, tell me ^sthe visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. 10 ^sThe visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and ^bbehold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 ^cThe tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 ^dIts leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. ^eThe beasts of the field found shade under it, and ^ethe birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

13 “I saw in ^sthe visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, ^fa watcher, ^ga holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He ^hproclaimed aloud and said thus: ⁱ‘Chop down the tree and ^jlop off its branches, ^jstrip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. ^jLet the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; ^kand let seven periods of time ^lpass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of ^fthe watchers, the decision by the word of ^gthe holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High ^mrules the kingdom of men ⁿand gives it to whom he will and ^osets over it the lowliest of men.’ 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O ^pBelteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because ^qall the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for ^rthe spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

19 Then Daniel, whose name was ^pBelteshazzar, was ^sdismayed for a while, and ^this thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, ^umay the dream be for those who hate you ^uand its interpretation for your enemies! 20 ^vThe tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 ^wwhose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 22 ^xit is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. ^yYour greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, ^yand your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw ^za watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ^a‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till ^bseven periods of time pass over him,’ 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 ^cthat you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made ^dto eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and ^bseven periods of time shall pass over you, till ^eyou know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 26 And as it was commanded ^fto leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by ^gpracticing righteousness, ^hand your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, ⁱthat there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, ^j“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by ^kmy mighty power as a royal residence and for ^kthe glory of my majesty?” 31 ^lWhile the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 ^mand you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, ^muntil you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. ^mHe was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

34 ⁿAt the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and ^omy reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored ^phim who lives forever,

36 At the same time ^vmy reason returned to me, and for ^wthe glory of my kingdom, ^wmy majesty and splendor returned to me. ^xMy counselors and ^ymy lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was ^zadded to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, ^apraise and extol and honor the ^bKing of heaven, ^cfor all his works are right and his ways are just; and ^dthose who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Jehoiachin Released from Prison

31 ^cAnd in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed^{1 d}Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of ^ethe kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table, 34 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, until the day of his death, as long as he lived.

Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts

1 In the first year of ^pBelshazzar king of Babylon, ^qDaniel saw a dream and ^rvisions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. 2 Daniel declared,¹ “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, ^sthe four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts ^tcame up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, ^uanother beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a ^vleopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ^wdominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^xterrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^xit devoured and broke in pieces ^xand stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^yit had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, ^zthere came up among them another horn, a little one, ^zbefore which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and ^aa mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

9 “As I looked,

11 “I looked then because of the sound of ^athe great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ^mthe beast was killed, and its body destroyed ^mand given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, ⁿtheir dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

13 “I saw in the night visions,

Daniel’s Vision Interpreted

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me² was anxious, and ^sthe visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 ^t‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But ^uthe saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

19 “Then I desired to know the truth about ^vthe fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20 ^wand about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21 As I looked, this horn ^xmade war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the ^yAncient of Days came, and ^ujudgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when ^uthe saints possessed the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said: ‘As for ^vthe fourth beast,

28 “Here is the end of the matter. ^hAs for me, Daniel, my ⁱthoughts greatly alarmed me, ^jand my color changed, but ^kI kept the matter in my heart.”

Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat

1 In the third year of the reign of ^lKing Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, ^mafter that which appeared to me ^mat the first. 2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in ⁿSusa the citadel, which is in the province of ^oElam. And ^pI saw in the vision, ^pand I was at the ^qUlai canal. 3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, ^ra ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw ^sthe ram charging westward and northward and southward. No ^tbeast ^ucould stand before him, ^vand there was no one who could rescue from his power. ^wHe did as he pleased and ^xbecame great.

5 As I was considering, behold, a ^ymale goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had ^ya conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came to ^zthe ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, ^aand he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, ^band he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. ^cAnd the ram had no power to stand before him, but he ^dcast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then ^ythe goat ^ebecame exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four ^fconspicuous horns toward ^fthe four winds of heaven.

9 Out of one of them came ^ga little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward ^hthe south, toward the east, and toward ⁱthe glorious land. 10 ^jIt grew great, ^keven to the host of heaven. And some of the host ^kand some⁴ of ^lthe stars it threw down to the ground and ^mtrampled on them. 11 ⁿIt became great, even as great as ^othe Prince of the host. ^pAnd the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression,⁵ and it will throw truth to the ground, and ^qit will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard ^ra holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, ^s“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, ^tthe transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me,⁶ “For 2,300 ^uevenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”

The Interpretation of the Vision

15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I ^vsought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having ^wthe appearance of a man. 16 ^xAnd I heard a man’s voice ^xbetween the banks of the ^yUlai, and it called, ^z“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, ^aI was frightened ^band fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, ^cO son of man, that the vision is for ^dthe time of the end.”

18 And when he had spoken to me, ^eI fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But ^fhe touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of ^gthe indignation, for it refers to ^hthe appointed time of the end. 20 As for ⁱthe ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of ^jMedia and Persia. 21 And ^kthe goat⁷ is the king of Greece. And ^kthe great horn between his eyes is ^lthe first king. 22 ^mAs for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his⁸ nation, ⁿbut not with his power. 23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great—^obut not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction ^pand shall succeed in what he does, ^qand destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 ^rBy his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind ^she shall become great. ^tWithout warning he shall destroy many. And he ^sshall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but ^uby no human hand. 26 The vision of ^vthe evenings and the mornings that has been told ^wis true, but ^xseal up the vision, ^yfor it refers to many days from now.”

27 And ^zI, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision ^aand did not understand it.