forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will tell you what it
means." The king answered, "What I now say is certain: if you do not
tell me the dream and what it means, you shall be torn limb from limb
and your houses shall be made ash-heaps. But if you tell the dream and
what it means, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great
honors; therefore tell me the dream and what it means." They answered
the second time, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we
will tell what it means." The king replied, "I see clearly that you wish
to gain time, for you know that what I have said is certain, and that if
you do not tell the dream to me, you will all suffer the same
punishment. So you have planned to speak lying and false words before
me, until the time when it is to happen has passed. Therefore tell me
the dream, and I shall know that you can tell me what it means." The
Chaldeans answered the king, "There is no man on earth who can do what
the king asks, for no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked
such a thing of any wise man or magician, or of one who studies the
stars. What the king asks is too hard. There is no one else who can tell
it to the king, except the gods, who do not live with men." This made
the king very angry and he ordered all the wise men of Babylon put to
death.
So the command was given that the wise men were to be put to death. And
search was made for Daniel and his friends that they too might be put to
death. Then Daniel spoke wisely, to Arioch, the captain of the king's
guard, who had gone out to put the wise men of Babylon to death, and
said, "Why is the king's command so harsh?" When Arioch told Daniel the
facts, he went to the king and asked that he give him time to tell what
the dream meant.
Then Daniel went to his house and told the facts to his friends,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, that they might ask the God of heaven to
be kind to them and to tell Daniel this secret, so that they might not
die with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was told
to Daniel in a vision at night, and he praised the God of heaven and
said:
"Blessed be the name of God
From everlasting to everlasting!
For wisdom and power are his.
He gives wisdom to the wise,
And knowledge to those who have insight.
He shows the deep, secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light of truth dwells in him.
I give thee thanks and praise,
For thou givest me wisdom and strength,
And hast made known the things we asked;
Thou hast made known to us the king's secret!"
Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had commanded to kill the wise
men of Babylon, and said to him, "Do not kill the wise men of Babylon.
Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means."
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel to the king and said to him, "I have
found a man among the captives from Judah who will tell you what this
dream means." The king said to Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar),
"Can you make known to me the dream which I have had and what it means?"
Daniel answered, "The secret which the king asks is something that
neither wise men, magicians, nor those who study the stars can make
known to him; but there is a God in heaven who tells secrets, and he has
made known to King Nebuchadrezzar what shall come in the future. Your
dream and the visions which you had as you lay asleep are these: You, O
king, had a vision and saw a great image. That image was large and it
was exceedingly bright as it stood before you, and its appearance was
terrible. The head of the image was of fine gold, its breast and its
arms of silver, its body and its thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its
feet part of iron and part of clay. You looked at it until a stone was
cut out, not by the hands of men, which struck the image on its feet of
iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the
brass, the silver, and the gold were all broken in pieces and became
like the chaff which blows from the summer threshing-floors, and the
wind carried them away so that nothing was left of them. But the stone
that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the earth.
"This is the dream, and we will tell the king what it means: O king, you
are the king of kings to whom God has given the rule, the power, the
strength, and the glory. Over the whole world he has given into your
power, men, the wild beasts and the birds, and has made you rule over
them all. You are the head of gold.
"After you shall rise another kingdom not so strong as you are, and a
third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over the whole earth. A fourth
kingdom shall be strong as iron, for iron breaks in pieces and shatters
all things, and like iron which crushes, it shall break in pieces and
crush all things. As you saw the feet and toes, part clay and part iron,
it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it some of the
strength of the iron, for you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes
of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly
strong and partly broken. You saw the iron mixed with clay, for the
rulers will marry one another, but they will not stick together, even as
iron does not stick to clay.
"During the reigns of these kings the God of heaven will set up a
kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the power be left to
another people; but it shall break in pieces and destroy all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. This is shown by the fact that you
saw a stone cut out of the mountain, but not with the hands of men. And
it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the
gold.
"The great God has made known to the king what is to come, and the dream
is real and this meaning true."
Then King Nebuchadrezzar fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel, and
ordered that a sacrifice and sweet odors should be offered to him. The
king also said to Daniel, "Your God is the God of gods and the Lord of
kings, and one who tells his secrets to his servant, for you have been
able to tell this great secret." Then the king gave Daniel a high
position and many costly gifts, and made him ruler over all of Babylon
and chief over all the wise men in Babylon. And at Daniel's request the
king placed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in charge of the province of
Babylon; but Daniel stayed in the king's court.
THE TEST BY FIRE
Nebuchadrezzar, the king, made an image of gold ninety feet high and
nine feet wide. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of
Babylon. Then he sent for the officers, the governors, the judges, the
treasurers, and all the rulers of the provinces. So they all came
together and stood before the image that Nebuchadrezzar had set up.
Then the herald cried aloud, "To you it is commanded, O peoples,
nations: 'The moment you hear the sound of the trumpet, flute, lute,
harp, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments, you shall fall down
and worship the golden image. Whoever does not fall down and worship
shall be thrown into a burning, fiery furnace.'" So when all the people
heard the sound of the trumpet, flute, lute, harp, bagpipe, and all
kinds of musical instruments, all the peoples, nations, and races fell
down and worshipped the golden image that King Nebuchadrezzar had set
up.
But at that time certain Chaldeans came near to the king and made this
charge against the Jews: "O king, live forever! O king, you have
commanded that every man who hears the sound of the trumpet, flute,
lute, harp, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical instruments shall fall
down and worship the golden image, and that whoever does not fall down
and worship shall be thrown into a burning, fiery furnace. There are
certain Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, whom you have placed in
charge of the province of Babylon. These men, O king, have not obeyed
your command; they do not serve your gods nor worship the golden image
which you have set up."
Then Nebuchadrezzar in his rage and fury gave command to bring in
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When they were brought before the king,
Nebuchadrezzar said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, that you do not serve my god nor worship the golden image
which I have set up? If you are now ready, as soon as you hear the sound
of the trumpet, flute, lute, harp, bagpipe, and all kinds of musical
instruments, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, well;
but if you do not worship, you shall at once be thrown into a burning,
fiery furnace. Where is there a god who can deliver you out of my
hands?" Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, "O king, there is no
need of our answering you about this. Our God whom we serve is able to
save us from the burning, fiery furnace; he will save us out of your
hand, O king. But if not, know, O king, that we will not serve your gods
nor worship the golden image which you have set up."
Then Nebuchadrezzar was very angry and the appearance of his face
changed, as he looked at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered
that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than usual. He also
commanded certain strong men who were in his army to bind Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, and throw them into the burning, fiery furnace.
Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their robes,
and their other garments, and were thrown into the burning, fiery
furnace. As the king's command was urgent and the furnace very hot, the
flames destroyed the men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the midst of
the burning, fiery furnace.
Nebuchadrezzar, the king, was so astonished that he rose up hastily and
said to his counsellors, "Did we not throw three men, bound, into the
fire?" They answered, "True, O king." He said, "Now I see four men,
unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unhurt, and the
fourth looks like an angel."
Then Nebuchadrezzar went near the door of the burning, fiery furnace and
said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God,
come out." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.
And the officers, governors, and counsellors who were there saw that the
fire had no power over the bodies of these men, and that the hair of
their heads was not singed and that their cloaks were not harmed, and
that there was no smell of fire. And Nebuchadrezzar said, "Blessed be
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel to
save his servants who trusted in him and refused to obey the king's
command and have offered their bodies, that they might not serve nor
worship any god except their own. Therefore I command that every
people, nation, and race that shall say anything against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their house
shall be made an ash-heap, for there is no other god who is so able to
save as is this one." Then the king gave high positions, in the province
of Babylon, to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles
and drank wine before them all. Under the influence of wine, he gave
command to bring the gold and silver utensils which his father,
Nebuchadrezzar, had taken from the temple at Jerusalem, that the king,
his nobles, his wives, and the others of his household might drink from
them. So they brought the golden vessels which were taken from the
temple of God which was at Jerusalem. And the king, his nobles, his
wives, and the others of his household drank from them. They drank wine
and praised the gods of gold, of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and
of stone.
At that moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite
the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and
the king saw the palm of the hand that wrote.
Then the king grew pale, and his thoughts troubled him, his legs
trembled and his knees knocked together. The king called for the
magicians and those who study the stars and said to the wise men of
Babylon, "Whoever shall read this writing and tell what it means shall
be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold about his neck and shall
be the third ruler in the kingdom." Then all the king's wise men came
in, but they could not read the writing nor tell the king what it meant.
So King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his face grew pale, and his
nobles were thrown into confusion.
Now the queen, because of what the king and his nobles had said, came
into the banquet-house and said, "O king, live forever; let not your
thoughts trouble you nor let yourself grow pale. There is a man in your
kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and in the days of your
father he was found to have light and understanding and wisdom, like the
wisdom of the gods. Now let Daniel be called, and he will tell what it
means."
So Daniel was brought in before the king, and the king said to him, "Are
you that Daniel, one of the men who were carried away captive, whom the
king, my father, brought from Judah? I have heard that the spirit of the
gods is in you, and that you have understanding and great wisdom. The
wise men and the magicians have been brought in before me to read this
writing and to tell what it means; but they are not able. I have heard
that you can tell what dreams mean and answer hard questions. Now if you
can read the writing and tell what it means, you shall be clothed with
purple and have a chain of gold about your neck and shall be the third
ruler in the kingdom."
Then Daniel answered the king, "Keep your gifts and give your rewards to
another. Without them I will read the writing to the king, and tell what
it means. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadrezzar, your father,
the kingdom and power, glory and majesty. Because of the power that he
gave him, all peoples, nations, and races trembled and feared him. He
killed or kept alive as he wished; and he raised up or put down whom he
pleased. But when he became proud and haughty, he was made to come down
from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him, and he was
driven away from men, and his mind became like that of the beasts, and
he lived with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his
body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High
God rules over the kingdom of men and that he sets up over it whom he
will.
"But you, his son, O Belshazzar, have not been humble, though you knew
all this, but you have raised yourself against the Lord of heaven, and
have had the utensils of his temple brought before you, and you, your
nobles, your wives, and the others of your household have drunk wine
from them. You have given praise to the gods of silver, of gold, of
brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, which cannot see nor hear nor
know; and you have not praised the God in whose control are your very
breath and all that you do."
"Then the hand was sent out before him and traced this writing:
_MENE, TEKEL, PERES_
"This is what it means: Mene: God has numbered your kingdom and brought
it to an end. Tekel: you are weighed in the scales and found wanting.
Peres: your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Then at Belshazzar's command Daniel was clothed with purple and a chain
of gold was put about his neck, and he was proclaimed the third ruler
in the kingdom. But on that very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king,
was killed, and Darius, the Mede, received the kingdom.
DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty officers
who ruled the whole kingdom, and over them three chief officials, of
whom Daniel was one, that these officers might report to them and that
the king should lose nothing. Daniel was better than the other chief
officials and the officers, for he had a fine spirit; and the king
intended to set him over the whole empire.
Then the chief officials and the officers tried to find a way to accuse
Daniel of not having done his duty, but they could not find anything
against him, for he was faithful and was not guilty of any mistake or
wrong-doing.
Then these men said, "We shall not find any way to accuse this Daniel
unless we find it in connection with the law of his God." So these chief
officials and officers all went to the king, and said to him, "King
Darius, live forever. All the chief officials of the kingdom, the
counsellors and the officers, the judges and the governors, have
consulted together to have the king make a law and give a strong command
that whoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days,
except of you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. Now, O king,
give the command and sign the law that, like the law of the Medes and
Persians, it may not be changed." So King Darius signed the law and the
command.
When Daniel knew that the law was signed, he went into his house. His
windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem, and he knelt upon his
knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks to his God as he had
done before. Then these men rushed in and found Daniel praying and
calling upon his God. So they went before the king and spoke to him
about the royal command: "Have you not signed a command, that every man
who shall ask a petition of any man or god within thirty days, except of
you, O king, shall be thrown into the den of lions?" The king answered,
"The rule is fixed according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which
cannot be changed." Then they went on to say to the king, "That Daniel,
who is one of the captives from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king,
nor to the command that you have signed, but prays three times a day."
[Illustration: _Reproduced by permission of Thomas Agnew & Sons, owners
of the copyright_
_Daniel's Answer to the King_ Painted by Briton Riviere]
When the king heard these words, he was greatly displeased, and set his
heart on saving Daniel, and he worked until the sun set to save him.
Then these men all went to the king and said to him, "Know, O king, that
it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no command nor law which the
king gives may be changed."
So the king gave his command, and they brought Daniel and threw him into
the den of lions. But the king said to Daniel, "Your God, whom you
always serve, will save you." Then a stone was brought and laid at the
entrance to the den; and the king sealed it with his own seal-ring and
with those of his nobles, that no change might be made so as to rescue
Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and passed the night fasting.
At dawn, as soon as it was light, the king rose and hurried to the den
of lions. When he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried with a
very sad voice, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom
you always serve, been able to save you from the lions?" Daniel said to
the king, "O king, live forever. My God has sent his angel and has
closed the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me, for I was innocent
before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong." Then the
king was very glad and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of
the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and it was found that he
was not injured, for he had trusted in his God.
Then the king commanded that those men who had accused Daniel should be
brought and thrown into the den of lions.
And King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and races in all his
kingdom, "May your peace be great! I make a law that throughout all my
kingdom, men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the
living God, and is the same forever, and his kingdom is one that shall
not be destroyed; and his rule shall be without end. He saves and
rescues, and does wonderful things in heaven and earth; it is he who has
saved Daniel from the power of the lions." So Daniel was successful and
happy during the reign of Darius.
QUEEN ESTHER'S LOVE FOR HER PEOPLE
After Xerxes had been king of Persia for three years, he gave a feast
for all his officials, officers, and servants. The commanders of the
armies of Persia and Media, the nobles and governors were before him;
while for one hundred and eighty days he showed them the wonderful
riches of his kingdom and the costliness of his magnificent regalia.
When these days were ended, the king made a seven days' feast in the
enclosed garden of the royal palace, for all classes of people who were
in the royal palace at Susa. Vashti, the queen, also gave a feast for
the women in the royal palace which belonged to King Xerxes.
On the seventh day, when King Xerxes had been drinking wine, he
commanded his seven court attendants to bring Vashti, the queen, before
him with the royal crown on her head, to show the peoples and the
officials her beauty, for she was very fair. But Queen Vashti refused to
come as the king commanded. Therefore the king was very angry.
In his anger the king said to the wise men, "According to law what shall
we do to Queen Vashti?" Memucan, one of the seven high officials, said
before the king and his officers, "Vashti, the queen, has done wrong not
only to the king but also to all the officials and to all the peoples in
all of the king's provinces. For the refusal of the queen will be
reported to all the women so that they will disobey their husbands, for
they will say, 'King Xerxes commanded Vashti, the queen, to be brought
in before him, but she did not come!' And this very day the ladies of
Persia and Media who have heard of the refusal of the queen will tell it
to all the king's officials, and there will be contempt and strife! If
it seems best to the king, let him send out a royal command, and let it
be written among the laws of Persia and Media, in order that it may not
be changed, that Vashti may never again come before King Xerxes; and let
the king give her place as queen to another who is better than she. And
when the king's command shall be heard throughout his kingdom--great as
it is--the wives of all classes will give honor to their husbands!"
The plan pleased the king and the officials, and the king did as Memucan
advised. Then the king's pages who waited upon him said, "Let beautiful
young girls be sought for the king, and let the king appoint officers to
all the provinces of his kingdom to gather them all to the palace at
Susa. Then give them what is needed to make them beautiful, and let the
girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." The plan pleased
the king and he did so.
There was in the royal palace at Susa, a certain Jew named Mordecai, who
had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives by
Nebuchadrezzar, the king of Babylon. He had adopted Esther, his uncle's
daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The girl was attractive
and beautiful, and after her father and mother died, Mordecai took her
as his own daughter.
So when the king's command was made known, and when many girls were
brought to the royal palace at Susa, Esther also was taken into the
king's palace and placed in the charge of Hegai, who took care of the
women. The girl pleased him and won his favor, so that he quickly gave
her what she needed to make her more beautiful and her allowance of food
and the seven maids chosen from the king's household. He also moved her
and her maids to the best place in the women's quarters. Esther had not
told who were her people or her family, for Mordecai had told her not to
tell. Every day Mordecai used to walk in front of the court of the
women's quarters to ask after Esther's health and what had been done
with her.
When Esther's turn came to go in to the king, he loved her more than all
the other women, and she became his favorite and won his love, so that
he placed the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of
Vashti. Then the king gave a great feast to all his officials and
servants in honor of Esther.
In those days while Mordecai was sitting in the king's gate, two of the
king's servants, who guarded the entrance of the palace, became enraged
and tried to kill King Xerxes. But Mordecai learned of the plot and told
it to Queen Esther, and she told the king in Mordecai's name. When the
truth was known, the men who plotted against the king were both hanged
on a tree; and it was written down in the daily record of events that
was kept before the king.
After these events King Xerxes promoted Haman, the Agagite, and gave him
a place above all the officials who were with him. All the king's
servants who were in the king's gate used to bow down before Haman, for
so the king had commanded. But Mordecai did not bow down before Haman.