1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house
of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the
vessels into the treasure house of his god.
3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certainof
the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;
4 Children in whom wasno blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in
knowledge, and understanding science, and such as hadability in them to stand in the king's
palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
5 And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he
drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the nameof
Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of
Abednego.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the
king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the
eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed
your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which
areof your sort? then shall ye make meendanger my head to the king.
11 Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah,
12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to
drink.
13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children
that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.
14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the
children which did eat the portion of the king's meat.
16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and
gave them pulse.
17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom:
and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of
the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
20 And in all matters of wisdom andunderstanding, that the king enquired of them, he found
them ten times better than all the magicians andastrologers that werein all his realm.
21 And Daniel continued evenunto the first year of king Cyrus.
1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams,
wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and
the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the
dream.

4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the
dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make
known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your
houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and
rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the
interpretation of it.
8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see
the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is butone decree for you: for ye have
prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me
the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can
shew the king's matter: therefore there isno king, lord, nor ruler, thatasked such things at any
magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it isa rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before
the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise
menof Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise menshould be slain; and they sought Daniel and his
fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard,
which was gone forth to slay the wise menof Babylon:
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why isthe decree sohasty from the king?
Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would
shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and
his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise menof Babylon.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of
heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and
might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he
giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what isin the darkness, and the light
dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and
might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast nowmade
known unto us the king's matter.
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men
of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise menof Babylon: bring me in
before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a
man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name wasBelteshazzar, Art thou able to make
known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath
demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the
king;
28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king
Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy
bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mindupon thy bed, what should come to pass
hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for anywisdom that I have more than any
living, but for theirsakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou
mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was
excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof wasterrible.
32 This image's head wasof 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 that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his
feet that wereof iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together,
and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that
no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth.
36 This isthe dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, arta king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and
strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the
heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou artthis head
of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of
brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and
subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou
sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And asthe toes of the feet werepart of iron, and part of clay, sothe kingdom shall be
partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the
seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, butit shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and
that it brake 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 iscertain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that