The King Acknowledges God
Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your apeace abound! 2 It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the aMost High God has done for me.
3 “How great are His asigns
And how mighty are His wonders!
His bkingdom is an everlasting kingdom
And His dominion is from generation to generation.
The Vision of a Great Tree
4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and aflourishing in my palace. 5 I saw a adream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the bvisions in my mind kept alarming me. 6 So I gave orders to abring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the amagicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its binterpretation known to me. 8 But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is aBelteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is ba spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying, 9 ‘O Belteshazzar, achief of the magicians, since I know that ba spirit of the holy gods is in you and cno mystery baffles you, dtell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.
10 ‘Now these were the avisions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a btree in the midst of the earth and its height was great.
11 ‘The tree grew large and became strong
And its height areached to the sky,
And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
12 ‘Its foliage was abeautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The bbeasts of the field found cshade under it,
And the dbirds of the sky dwelt in its branches,
And all living creatures fed themselves from it.
13 ‘I was looking in the avisions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, ban angelic watcher, a choly one, descended from heaven.
14 ‘He shouted out and spoke as follows:
aChop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the bbeasts flee from under it
And the birds from its branches.
15 “Yet aleave the stump with its roots in the ground,
But with a band of iron and bronze around it
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.
16 “Let his mind be changed from that of a man
And let a beast’s mind be given to him,
And let aseven periods of time pass over him.
17 “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
In order that the living may aknow
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And bbestows it on whom He wishes
And sets over it the clowliest of men.”
18 This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the awise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a bspirit of the holy gods is in you.’
Daniel Interprets the Vision
19 “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his athoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not blet the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘cMy lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to dyour adversaries! 20 The atree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth 21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged— 22 it is ayou, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your bdominion to the end of the earth. 23 In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “aChop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until bseven periods of time pass over him,” 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has acome upon my lord the king: 25 that you be adriven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the bMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and cbestows it on whomever He wishes. 26 And in that it was commanded to aleave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is bHeaven that rules. 27 Therefore, O king, may my aadvice be pleasing to you: bbreak away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by cshowing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a dprolonging of your prosperity.’
The Vision Fulfilled
28 “All this ahappened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 aTwelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the agreat, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, 32 and ayou will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and bseven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the cMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33 Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was adriven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
34 “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the aMost High and praised and honored bHim who lives forever;
For His dominion is an ceverlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 “aAll the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But bHe does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And cno one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘dWhat have You done?’
36 At that time my areason returned to me. And my majesty and bsplendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing cgreatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of aheaven, for ball His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who cwalk in pride.”
Belshazzar’s Feast
Belshazzar the king held a great afeast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver avessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 They adrank the wine and praised the gods of bgold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. 6 Then the king’s aface grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his bhip joints went slack and his cknees began knocking together. 7 The king called aloud to bring in the aconjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be bclothed with purple and have a cnecklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as dthird ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but athey could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly aalarmed, his bface grew even paler, and his nobles were perplexed.
10 The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, “aO king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. 11 There is a aman in your kingdom in whom is a bspirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father cthe king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners. 12 This was because an aextraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named bBelteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation.”
Daniel Interprets Handwriting on the Wall
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the aexiles from Judah, whom my father the king bbrought from Judah? 14 Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. 15 Just now the awise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they bcould not declare the interpretation of the message. 16 But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its ainterpretation known to me, you will be bclothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your agifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. 18 O king, the aMost High God bgranted sovereignty, cgrandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. 19 Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every language feared and trembled before him; awhomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled. 20 But when his heart was alifted up and his spirit became so bproud that he behaved arrogantly, he was cdeposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. 21 He was also adriven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the bwild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the cMost High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. 22 Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have anot humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, 23 but you have aexalted yourself against the bLord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the cgods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God din whose hand are your life-breath and all your eways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the ahand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.
25 “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN.’ 26 This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and aput an end to it. 27 ‘TEKĒL’—you have been aweighed on the scales and found deficient. 28 ‘PERĒS’—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the aMedes and Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they aclothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That same night aBelshazzar the Chaldean king was bslain. 31 So aDarius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.
Daniel Serves Darius
It seemed good to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge of the whole kingdom, 2 and over them three commissioners (of whom aDaniel was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king might not suffer bloss. 3 Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an aextraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the bentire kingdom. 4 Then the commissioners and satraps began atrying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find bno ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the alaw of his God.”
6 Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, alive forever! 7 All the acommissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have bconsulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall cbe cast into the lions’ den. 8 Now, O king, aestablish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the blaw of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius asigned the document, that is, the injunction.
10 Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open atoward Jerusalem); and he continued bkneeling on his knees three times a day, cpraying and dgiving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. 11 Then these men came aby agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. 12 Then they approached and aspoke before the king about the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the blaw of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and spoke before the king, “aDaniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays bno attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day.”
14 Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply adistressed and set his mind on delivering Daniel; and even until sunset he kept exerting himself to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Recognize, O king, that it is a alaw of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
16 Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and acast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “bYour God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.” 17 A astone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. 18 Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night afasting, and no entertainment was brought before him; and his bsleep fled from him.
19 Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lions’ den. 20 When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has ayour God, whom you constantly serve, been bable to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel spoke to the king, “aO king, live forever! 22 My God asent His angel and bshut the lions’ mouths and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before Him; and also toward you, O king, I have committed no crime.” 23 Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den and ano injury whatever was found on him, because he had btrusted in his God. 24 The king then gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they acast them, their bchildren and their wives into the lions’ den; and they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
25 Then Darius the king wrote to all the apeoples, nations and men of every language who were living in all the land: “bMay your peace abound! 26 I amake a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;
For He is the bliving God and cenduring forever,
And dHis kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,
And His dominion will be forever.
27 “He delivers and rescues and performs asigns and wonders
In heaven and on earth,
Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
28 So this aDaniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of bCyrus the Persian. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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