Message to Baruch

1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to ^sBaruch the son of Neriah, ^twhen he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, ^uin the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, ^v‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. ^wI am weary with my groaning, ^xand I find no rest.’ 4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: ^yBehold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And ^zdo you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, ^aI am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you ^byour life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

1 In the ^ffourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take ^ga scroll and ^hwrite on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and ⁱJudah ^jand all the nations, ^kfrom the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until today. 3 ^lIt may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, ^mso that every one may turn from his evil way, and ⁿthat I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

4 Then Jeremiah called ^oBaruch the son of Neriah, and ^oBaruch wrote on ^ga scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah ordered ^oBaruch, saying, ^p“I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, 6 so you are to go, and ^qon a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord’s house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. 7 ^lIt may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, ^mand that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

9 ^rIn the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^sin the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem ^tproclaimed a fast before the Lord. 10 Then, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the house of the Lord, in ^uthe chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

11 When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, son of ^vShaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the king’s house, into the secretary’s chamber, and ^wall the officials were sitting there: ^xElishama the secretary, ^yDelaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^yElnathan ^zthe son of Achbor, ^yGemariah the son of ^zShaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the officials. 13 And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14 Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, son of ^aShelemiah, son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Take in your hand the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down and read it.” So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned one to another in fear. And they said to Baruch, ^b“We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” 18 Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me, ^cwhile I wrote them with ink on the scroll.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”

20 So they went into the court to the king, having put the scroll in ^dthe chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary. And Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 It was ^ethe ninth month, and the king was sitting in ^fthe winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. 23 As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. 24 Yet ^gneither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, ^hnor did they tear their garments. 25 Even when ⁱElnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah ^jurged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the ^kking’s son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and ^lShelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize ^mBaruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.

27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, You have burned this scroll, saying, ⁿ“Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: ^oHe shall have none ^pto sit on the throne of David, ^qand his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 ^rAnd I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, but they would not hear.’”

32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to ^sBaruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who ^twrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

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.