19

cies of the God of heaven, concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish, with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a night 20 vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel spake and said; Blessed be the name of God for21 ever and ever! for wisdom and might are his. And he

changeth times and seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom to the wise, and 22 knowledge to them that have understanding. He revealeth deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in 23 darkness, and light dwelleth with him. I thank thee and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known to me now what we desired of thee; for thou hast now made known to us the king's matter.

24

Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I 25 will show to the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him; I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known to the king the interpretation. 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation 27 thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret, which the king hath demanded, the wise men, the scribes, the magicians, the astrolo28 gers cannot show to the king; but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the days to come. Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed

29 were these. Thy thoughts, O king, came into thy mind, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come 30 to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me through any wisdom which I have more than all the living, but to the end that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

31

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold, a great image. This image, which was high and of surpassing brightness, stood before thee; and its form was terrible. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold; his breast and his arms of silver; his belly and his thighs of brass; 33 his legs of iron; his feet, part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands,

which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron 35 and clay, and broke them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like chaff from the summer thrashing-floors, and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and 36 filled the whole earth. This is the dream, and now we

will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, 38 and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler 39 over them all. Thou art the head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom, inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule 40 over all the earth. And a fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces

and subdueth all things; even as iron, that breaketh all 41 these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes part of potter's clay and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as 42 thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as

the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by marriage, but they shall not cleave to each other, even as iron is not mixed with 44 clay. But in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall be left to no other people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these king45 doms, and it shall stand forever; even as thou sawest

46

that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should 47 offer an oblation and sweet odors to him. The king answered Daniel and said, Of a truth, your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and the revealer 48 of secrets, since thou couldst reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise 49 men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over

the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

III.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are east into a furnace, for refusing to worship a golden image, and come out of it unhurt. —CH. III.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR, the king, made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and whose breadth was six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the 2 province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, sent to gather together the satraps, the prefects, and the deputy governors, the chief judges, the treasurers, the judges, the counsellors, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image, which 3 Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had set up. Then the satraps, prefects, and deputy governors, the chief judges, treasurers, judges, counsellors, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together to the dedication of the image, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had set up; and they stood before the image, which Nebuchadnezthe king, had set up. Then a herald cried aloud; To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and 5 languages, that at the time ye hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, the harp, the sambuck, the psaltery, the bagpipe, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king, 6 hath set up. And whoso doth not fall down and wor

4 zar,

ship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a

7 burning fiery furnace. Therefore at the time when all the people heard the sound of the horn, the pipe, the harp, the sambuck, the psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image, which Nebuchadnezzar, the king, had set up.

8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, 9 and accused the Jews. They spake and said to king • Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever! Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, the harp, the sambuck, the psaltery, the bagpipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall 11 down and worship the golden image; and that whoso doth not fall down and worship shall be cast into the 12 midst of a burning fiery furnace. Now there are certain Jews, whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, these men, O king, have not regarded thee; they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

13

Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then 14 they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said to them; Was it by design, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do ye not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have 15 set up? Now if ye be ready that at the time ye hear the sound of the horn, the pipe, the harp, the sambuck, the psaltery, the bagpipe, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image, which I have set up, well! but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my hands?