Daniel

11After King Jehoiakim had been ruling Judah for almost three years, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem with his army and surrounded the city. 2{After two years,} the Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar to capture Jehoiakim, the king of Judah. They also captured some of the things that the priests used in God’s temple. They brought them back to Shinar, and Nebuchadnezzar put them in the treasury of the temple of his god.

3Then Nebuchadnezzar commanded Ashpenaz, the chief official in his palace, to bring some Israelite men to Babylon. He wanted men who belonged to important families, including the family of the king of Judah. 4He wanted young men who were healthy, handsome, and very intelligent. They needed to be people who had learned and understood many things. They had to be capable of working in the palace. People were to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans. 5The king told his servants to give them each day the same food and wine that he ate and drank. He told them to train them for three years. After that, they could work for him.

6Among the Judeans whom Ashpenaz brought to Babylon were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7The chief official gave them Babylonian names. He called Daniel Belteshazzar. He called Hananiah Shadrach. He called Mishael Meshach. And he called Azariah Abednego.

8But Daniel resolved not to make himself ritually unclean by eating the same food that the king ate or drinking the same wine that he drank. So he asked the chief official for permission to eat and drink something else. 9God caused the chief official to respect Daniel and to want to help him. 10However, the chief official told Daniel, “My master, the king, ordered us to give you his own food and drink. So I am afraid of what he might do to me if I let you eat something else. Suppose he saw that you were not as healthy as the other young men who are your age. Then he might execute me!”

11So Daniel spoke instead to the man whom the chief official had appointed to care for him and for Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12He asked him, “Please let us try something for ten days. Give us only beans, grains, and vegetables to eat and only water to drink. 13Then examine us and see how we look. Compare us to the other young men who are eating the same food as the king. Based on what you see, decide what food you will let us eat.” 14The man agreed to do what Daniel suggested. He let them try eating and drinking something different for ten days.

15After those ten days, he saw that Daniel and his friends looked better and healthier than all the young men who had been eating the same food as the king. 16So after that, the guard allowed them to keep eating only beans, grain, and vegetables. He did not make them eat the same food and drink the same wine as the king.

17God enabled those four young men to learn what the Babylonians were teaching them. He enabled them to understand their literature and to learn to think wisely. He enabled Daniel to understand what visions and dreams meant.

18The king had said to bring the young men to him at the end of those three years. So the chief official brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar. 19The king spoke with each young man. He realized that none of the others were as capable as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So he included those four young men among his advisors. 20Whenever the king asked them to help him understand something, he found that what they told him was much better than what any of the magicians or sorcerers in his kingdom told him.

21Daniel remained an advisor in the royal court right up to the time when Cyrus became king.

21One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. The dream worried him very much. As a result, he could not get back to sleep. 2So he told his servants to summon his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and other advisors. He wanted them to tell him what he had dreamed and what it meant. They came and stood in his presence. 3He told them, “I have had a dream, and it has worried me. I want to know what I dreamed.”

4The advisors replied to the king, speaking in Aramaic, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we hope you live for a long time! Tell us what you dreamed, and we will tell you what it means.”

5But the king replied to them, “I am giving a strict command. If you do not tell me what I dreamed and what it means, I will order my soldiers to cut you into pieces. I will also order them to destroy your houses completely. 6But if you do tell me what I dreamed and what it means, I will reward you. I will give you splendid gifts, and I will greatly honor you. So tell me what I dreamed and what it means!”

7But again they replied, “Please tell us what you dreamed, and then we will tell you what it means.”

8The king responded, “I recognize clearly that you know that I will certainly do what I have said, so you are trying to get more time. 9But if you do not tell me what I dreamed, I will do to you exactly what I said. I believe that you have all agreed to tell me a false explanation of my dream so that I do not punish you. So I insist that you tell me what I dreamed. Then I will know that you can also tell me what it really means.”

10The advisors replied to the king, “There is no one on the earth who can tell you what dream you had! That is why no king, even a great and mighty one, has ever asked any of his magicians or enchanters or other advisors to tell him what he dreamed. 11What you are asking us to do is impossible. The only beings who could tell you what you dreamed are the gods, but they do not live among us people!”

12When the king heard that, he became extremely angry. He commanded his soldiers to execute all the wise men in Babylon. 13Because the king had commanded his soldiers to kill all the wise men, some soldiers went to find Daniel and his friends so that they could kill them.

14Arioch, the commander of the king’s bodyguard, was leading the soldiers who came to kill Daniel and his friends. And Daniel spoke to him wisely and tactfully. 15He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why did the king give such a harsh command?” Then Arioch explained to Daniel what had happened. 16Daniel went to the king and asked him to give me some time so that he tell him his dream and what it meant.

17Then he went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. 18He asked them to pray to God in heaven and ask him to be merciful to them and show them what the king had dreamed and what it meant. Then the king’s soldiers would not kill them, even if they killed the other wise men in Babylon. 19That night God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised God. 20He said,

“People should praise God forever!

He is the one who is truly wise and powerful.

21He controls the different things that happen at various times.

He stops some kings from reigning, and he makes other kings start reigning.

He is the one who enables people to be wise

and to understand difficult things.

22He reveals things that are very mysterious.

Everything is light where he is,

but he also knows what happens where it is dark.

23You are the God whom my ancestors worshiped.

I thank you and praise you

because you have made me wise and strong.

You have revealed to us what the king dreamed and what it meant.

So you have done just what we prayed you would do.”

24Then Daniel went to Arioch, the man whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon. He said to him, “Please do not kill us wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”

25So Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king. He told the king, “Here is one of the men whom our soldiers brought from Judah. He says that he can tell you what your dream means.”

26The king spoke to Daniel. (He called him Belteshazzar.) He asked, “Can you really tell me what I dreamed and what it means?”

27Daniel replied to him, “No wise man or enchanter or magician or fortuneteller could tell you what you want to know. 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown you, King Nebuchadnezzar, what will happen in the future. This is what you saw in your dream as you were lying on your bed.

29Your Majesty, while you were sleeping, you dreamed about what is going to happen in the future. God, who reveals secrets, has shown you what is going to happen. 30I do not know your dream and its meaning because I am wiser than anyone else on earth. It is because God wants you to understand what your dream means. It explains what you were wondering about.

31Your Majesty, in your dream you saw a giant statue standing in front of you. It was very impressive, and it was shining very brightly. It was frightening to look at it. 32The head of the statue was pure gold. Its chest and arms were silver. Its belly and thighs were bronze. 33Its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly clay. 34As you watched, someone cut a rock from a mountain, but it was not a human who did that. The rock {tumbled down and} smashed the iron and clay feet of the statue. It broke them into tiny pieces. 35Immediately the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold parts of the statue also broke into tiny pieces. Those pieces were as small as the chaff that people separate from grain after they harvest it. The wind blew away all those tiny pieces. Nothing remained. But the rock that had smashed the statue became a large mountain that covered the whole earth.

36That was what you dreamed. Now I will tell you what it means. 37You are a king who rules over many other kings. God, who rules in heaven, has enabled you to rule over them. He has given you great power and much honor. 38He has made you the ruler of a great territory. It seems as if you have power over every place where people and animals and birds live. The golden head of the statue represents you.

39But your kingdom will end, and afterward there will be another great kingdom{, which the silver part of the statue represents}. However, it will not be as great as yours. After that, there will be a third great kingdom, which the bronze part of the statue represents. Its king will rule over a very great territory. 40After that, there will be a fourth great kingdom. The iron part of the statue represents that kingdom. It will be very strong, just as iron {is so strong that it} crushes and breaks whatever it strikes. The army of this kingdom will conquer the territory of the previous kingdoms as if it were an iron weapon smashing them. 41You saw that the feet and toes of the statue were partly clay and partly iron. That meant that this kingdom will divide into two parts. You saw that there was iron as well as clay, and that meant that this kingdom will still be somewhat strong like iron. 42However, you saw that there was clay as well as iron in the toes of the statue. That meant that some of this kingdom will be weak{, like clay that breaks easily}, even though some of it will be strong {like iron}. 43You saw iron and clay together {in the statue’s feet and toes}. That meant that the rulers of the parts of this kingdom will try to join themselves together through marriage alliances. However, they will not succeed in uniting their realms. After all, iron does not mix with clay.

44While those kings are ruling, God, who rules {everything} from heaven, will establish a kingdom that will never end. No one will ever defeat its king and take over his kingdom. He will completely destroy all those kingdoms, but his kingdom will last forever. 45You saw a rock that someone, but not a human, cut from a mountain. That rock crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold parts of the statue. It represents this last king. Your Majesty, the great God has shown you what will happen in the future. Since I have told you what you actually dreamed, you can trust that I have also told you what it truly means.”

46Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down in front of Daniel to honor him. He commanded his officials to give Daniel a grain offering and to burn incense to honor him. 47The king told Daniel, “Your God has enabled you to tell me the meaning of my dream. So he truly is greater than any of the gods that other nations worship. He is more powerful than any earthly king. He reveals secrets {that no one else could know}.”

48Then the king made Daniel a powerful royal official. He gave him many lavish gifts. He appointed him to rule the entire province of Babylon. He also made him the leader of the officials who governed the wise men of Babylon. 49At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to important positions in the province of Babylon. Daniel himself worked in the king’s palace.

31King Nebuchadnezzar ordered his craftsmen to make a giant statue and cover it completely with gold. It was 27 meters high and 2. 7 meters wide. They set it up on the Plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2Then the king sent messengers to the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and the other officials in the province. He ordered them to come to the dedication of the statue that he had set up. 3So the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and the other officials in the province came for the dedication of the statue that the king had set up. They all stood in front of that statue.

4Then a royal herald shouted loudly, “You people who come from many different nations and groups and who speak many different languages, listen to what the king has commanded! 5When you hear the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, bagpipes, and other instruments, you must bow down to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue. 6The king’s soldiers will immediately throw anyone who does not do that into a furnace that is blazing with fire!”

7So when the officials who had gathered there heard the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, and other instruments, they bowed down to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue.

8But because of something they saw, some of the king’s advisors then went to him and said bad things about the Jews {who were provincial officials}. 9They told King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your Majesty, we hope that you will live for a very long time! 10You commanded all of us officials to bow down and worship your golden statue when we heard the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, bagpipes, and other instruments. 11You said that if anyone did not do that, you would command your solders to throw him into a furnace that was blazing with fire. 12But there are some men who are not obeying your decree, Your Majesty. They are men from Judah whom you have appointed to be officials in the province of Babylon. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They refuse to worship your gods. They did not bow down to your golden statue.”

13When he heard that, Nebuchadnezzar became extremely angry. He commanded his soldiers to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to him. When those three men arrived, 14Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to worship my gods? Did you not bow down to my golden statue? 15{I will not punish you} if you are willing to bow down and worship my statue when you hear the music of horns, flutes, lyres, zithers, harps, bagpipes, and other instruments. But if you do not bow down, I will immediately command my soldiers to throw you into a furnace that is blazing with fire. Then what god would be able to rescue you from my power?”

16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to {make a decision about what to do and then} tell you whether we are willing to bow down to your statue. 17If that happened, our God, whom we worship, would be able to rescue us from the furnace. He could rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18But we want you to know, Your Majesty, that even if he did not rescue us, we would never worship your gods. We would not bow down to your golden statue.”

19When Nebuchadnezzar heard that, he became extremely angry. He had been regarding Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with a generous expression, but now he looked at them with a very hostile expression. He ordered his soldiers to heat the furnace as hot as possible, hotter than it had ever been before. 20 Then he commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into that extremely hot furnace. 21So those soldiers tied up the three men and threw them into the furnace. The men were still wearing their robes, tunics, turbans, and other clothes. 22The king had given a very stern command, so his servants had made the furnace extremely hot. As a result, the heat of the furnace killed the strong soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into it. 23And those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the roaring flames with ropes around them.

24But then King Nebuchadnezzar saw something that amazed him. He quickly jumped up and asked his advisors, “Did we not tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?”

The advisors replied, “Yes, Your Majesty, we did.”

25Nebuchadnezzar responded, “But look! I see four men! They have no ropes around them, and they are walking around in the flames. The fire is not hurting them! And the fourth man looks like a divine being!”

26Then Nebuchadnezzar came closer to the opening of the furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you men who worship the Supreme God, come out of there! Come over here!” So they stepped out of the furnace.

27Then the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal counselors crowded around them. They saw that the flames had not harmed them. The flames had not even singed any of the hair on their heads or scorched any of their clothes! There was not even any smell of smoke on them!

28Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “People should praise the God whom Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego worship! He sent one of his angels to rescue these three men who worship him and who trusted him {to protect them}. They were willing to die rather than worship any other god other than their own God. As a result, they made my punishment have no effect. 29Therefore, I am now making this decree: ‘No person, no matter what nation or group he comes from or what language he speaks, may criticize the God whom Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego worship. If anyone does, I will order my soldiers to cut him into pieces. I will also order them to destroy his house completely. That is because there is no other god who can rescue people like this!’”

30Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego more important positions in the province of Babylon.

41I, King Nebuchadnezzar, am writing to all of you people who live in my empire. You come from many different nations and groups, and you speak many different languages. I hope that all is well with you. 2I want you to know the wonderful things that the Supreme God has done for me.

3He performs great miracles;

yes, he does very wonderful things.

His kingdom will last forever;

indeed, he will rule over every generation of people.

4I, Nebuchadnezzar, was reigning firmly over my kingdom, and I was living comfortably in my palace. 5But one night I had a dream that scared me. What I saw in my dream as I was asleep in bed distressed me greatly. 6So I sent an order to all the wise men in Babylon to come and tell me what my dream meant. 7And various magicians, enchanters, advisors, and fortunetellers came to me. I told them what I had dreamed, but they could not tell me what it meant. 8But finally a certain man, Daniel, came to me. One of my officials had given him the name Belteshazzar, which includes the name of one of my gods{, Bel}. The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him what I had dreamed. 9I said, “Belteshazzar, you are the leader of my advisors. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, so no mystery is too hard for you to explain. So I will tell you the dream that I saw, and you tell me what it means. 10This is what I dreamed as I was lying in bed. In my dream, I saw a tree in the middle of the land. It was very tall. 11It grew very big, and it became strong. It seemed that its top reached up to the sky, so that everyone in the world could see it. 12It had beautiful leaves, and it produced much fruit for people to eat. Wild animals rested in the shade of that tree, and birds built nests in its branches. Many creatures came and got food from that tree. 13But while I was still asleep and dreaming, I saw a holy angel coming down from heaven. 14The angel shouted loudly, ‘Cut down that tree, and cut off its branches! Shake it until its leaves fall off, and throw away its fruit. Chase away the animals that are lying in its shade and the birds that are in its branches. 15But leave the stump of the tree with its roots in the ground where grass grows. Fasten a band of iron and bronze around the stump {to protect it from splitting}. Let the dew that forms from the air keep it damp.’ {That tree seemed to represent a person, since the angel then said,} ‘Make him eat grass from the ground as animals do. 16For seven years, make him have the mind of an animal instead of the mind of a human being. 17The holy angels have decided that this will be his punishment. They want people to know that the Supreme God rules over human kingdoms. He chooses who will be their kings. He even makes people who were not important into kings.’ 18That is what I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw in my dream. Now I want you, Belteshazzar, to tell me what it means. I am asking you because none of my other wise men could tell me what it meant. But I believe you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” 19But Daniel, whom we called Belteshazzar, did not say anything for a while. That was because he knew what the dream meant, and it distressed him. Finally I said to him, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its meaning distress you.” He replied, “Sir, I hope that what your dream shows will happen to your enemies, who hate you{, and not to you}. 20In your dream you saw a very tall, strong tree. It seemed that its top reached up to the sky, so that everyone in the world could see it. 21It had beautiful leaves, and it produced much fruit for people to eat. Wild animals rested in the shade of that tree, and birds built nests in its branches. 22Your Majesty, that tree represents you! You have become great and strong. It is as if you rule everything from the ground up to the sky, all throughout the world. 23But in your dream, you saw a holy angel coming down from heaven. That angel said, ‘Cut down that tree so that it does not keep growing! But leave the stump of the tree with its roots in the ground where grass grows. Fasten a band of iron and bronze around the stump {to protect it from splitting}. Let the dew that forms from the air keep it damp. Make the person {whom that tree represents} eat what wild animals do for seven years.’ 24This is what your dream means, Your Majesty. It shows what the Supreme God has decided will happen to you. 25{You will no longer have a human mind, and so} you will no longer live among people. Instead, you will live with wild animals. This will require you to eat grass as oxen do. The dew that forms from the air will make your body damp. You will live that way for seven years, until you recognize that the Supreme God rules over human kingdoms. He chooses who will be their kings. 26However, the angel said to leave the stump of the tree in the ground with its roots. That means that you will rule your kingdom again when you recognize that God rules over human kingdoms. 27So that this does not happen to you, Your Majesty, please do what I advise. Stop sinning and do what is right. Stop doing oppressive things and help poor people. If you do that, perhaps you will continue to reign comfortably.” 28But everything that the dream depicted happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29A year later, he was walking around on the flat roof of his royal palace in Babylon. 30As he looked out over the city, he said aloud, “This is the great city of Babylon that I have built as the place where I rule! I have built it by my own great power to show people what a glorious king I am!” 31While he was still saying that, someone spoke to him from heaven. He said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, this decree is about you: you are no longer the ruler of this kingdom! 32You will no longer live among people. Instead, you will live with wild animals. This will require you to eat grass as oxen do. You will live that way for seven years, until you recognize that the Supreme God rules over human kingdoms. He chooses who will be their kings.” 33Immediately what this person had said happened to me, Nebuchadnezzar. I no longer lived among people. Instead, I ate grass as oxen do. The dew that forms from the air made my body damp. I lived like that until my hair became as long as eagles’ feathers. My fingernails became like birds’ claws. 34But at the end of those seven years, I, Nebuchadnezzar, prayed to God, and he gave me a human mind again.

Then I worshiped the Supreme God,

and I praised and honored him, who lives forever.

He will rule forever;

indeed, he will be the king of every generation of people.

35Compared with him, all the people in the world are insignificant.

He does whatever he wants with the angels in heaven

and with us people who live on the earth.

No one can stop him from doing what he wants

or tell him, “You may not do that.”

36Then I was able to think reasonably again. I became the very powerful ruler of a glorious kingdom once more. My advisors and my nobles treated me respectfully again. Once more I ruled my kingdom firmly, and I became much more powerful than I had been before. 37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, greatly praise and honor God, the king who rules in heaven. Everything that he does is right, and he always treats people fairly. When people become too proud, he is able to humble them.

51King Belshazzar {of Babylon} invited a thousand of his officials to a great feast. He drank a lot of wine with them. 2He became drunk, and he commanded his servants to bring the gold and silver cups that his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his officials, his wives, and his concubines. 3So his servants brought in the gold cups that Nebuchadnezzar’s solders had taken from the temple where God had been present in Jerusalem. Then the king, his officials, his wives, and his concubines drank wine from those cups. 4They drank toasts to honor their gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone idols.

5Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand appeared. They started writing on the plaster of a section of the wall of the royal palace. A lamp was shining on that section, so the king could see the palm of the hand as it was writing. 6That made him very afraid, and his face turned pale. His knees started shaking, and his legs became so weak that he could not stand up.

7He shouted loudly to tell his servants to bring in his magicians, advisors, and fortunetellers. He said, “If any of them can read this writing and tell me what it means, I will give him a purple robe to wear. I will also give him a gold chain to put around his neck. I will also make him the most powerful ruler in my kingdom except for me and the crown prince.”

8Then all the wise men whom the king had summoned came in. But none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant. 9This made King Belshazzar even more afraid. His face became even paler. The officials he had invited to the feast did not know what to do.

10The king’s mother learned that the king and his nobles were talking about what to do. So she came into the room where they were having the feast. She said to Belshazzar, “Your Majesty, I hope that you will live for a very long time! Please do not let this frighten you and make your face turn pale. 11There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. When your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar was ruling, they discovered that this man could understand many things. He was very wise, like the gods. Your grandfather King Nebuchadnezzar, who was one of the kings before you, made him the leader of all the different wise men of Babylon. 12Nebuchadnezzar did that because he has very good character. He can learn and understand many things. He is able to say what dreams mean. He can solve puzzles and explain things that are very difficult to understand. That man is Daniel. The king gave him a new name, Belteshazzar. If you summon Daniel, he will tell you what this writing means.”

13So the king had his servants bring Daniel to him. The king said to him, “You must be Daniel. I understand that you are one of the Judeans whom the soldiers of my grandfather Nebuchadnezzar brought here as prisoners from Judah. 14I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, that you are very intelligent, and that you are very wise. 15I want you to know that I brought in my wise men, such as my enchanters, to read this writing and tell me what it means. But they have not been able to do that. 16But then someone told me about you. You are able to say what dreams mean and explain things that are very difficult to understand. If you really can read this writing and tell me what it means, I will give you a purple robe to wear. I will also give you a gold chain to put around your neck. I will also make you the most powerful ruler in my kingdom except for me and the crown prince”

17Then Daniel replied to the king, “You may keep your gifts or give them to someone else. But I will read this writing for you and tell you what it means.

18Your Majesty, this is why the hand wrote that for you. The Supreme God made Nebuchadnezzar, one of the men who ruled before you, a great king. People honored him and admired him. 19Because God made him such a powerful king, people who came from many different nations and groups and who spoke many different languages were very afraid of him. If he wanted someone to die, he could command his soldiers to execute that person. If he wanted someone to live, he could command his soldiers not to harm that person. If he wanted to give someone an important position, he could do that. If he wanted to make someone unimportant, he could do that too. 20However, he began to think of himself as very great. He became stubborn, and he acted arrogantly. As a result, God made him no longer the king. He was not glorious anymore. 21He no longer lived among people. He had a mind like an animal. He lived among wild donkeys. He ate grass as oxen do. The dew that forms from the air made his body damp. He lived that way until he recognized that the Supreme God rules over human kingdoms. He chooses who will be their kings.

22You, Belshazzar, have now become the king. You knew all these things, but you have not been humble. 23Instead, you have considered yourself to be greater than God, who reigns in heaven. You have commanded your servants to bring you the cups from his temple in Jerusalem. You, your officials, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking from those cups. You have been making toasts in honor of your own gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone idols. Those idols represent gods that {are not real. They} cannot see, hear, or know anything! You have not honored the God who keeps you alive and who controls everything that happens to you. 24So God sent this hand to write this message to you.

25The hand wrote these words: ‘Mene,’ ‘Mene,’ ‘Tekel,’ and ‘Parsin.’

26This is what these words mean.

‘Mene’ means ‘counted.’ This means that God has counted how many days you have been king, and he has decided that there should not be any more.

27‘Tekel’ means ‘weighed.’ It is as if God has weighed you on a scale and found that you do not weigh what you should.

28‘Peres’ means ‘separated.’ God is going to separate your kingdom from you. The Medes and the Persians will conquer it, and they will rule it instead of you.”

29Then Belshazzar ordered his servants to put a purple robe on Daniel and a gold chain around his neck. He proclaimed that Daniel would be the most powerful ruler in his kingdom except for him and the crown prince

30But that same night, enemy soldiers got into the city and killed Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans. 31Darius the Mede became the king instead. He was 62 years old.

61King Darius decided to appoint 120 satraps to govern the different parts of his kingdom. 2He also appointed three sareks to supervise those satraps. To make sure that none of them cheated the king, those satraps had to give them regular accounts of their work. Daniel was one of the sareks. 3Daniel had very good character, so he soon showed that he was more capable than all the satraps and the other sareks. As a result, the king planned to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. 4Then the satraps and other sareks tried to find something they could accuse Daniel of doing wrong in his work for the king. But Daniel was very reliable, so he had not done anything negligent or corrupt. So the other royal officials could not find anything they could accuse him of doing wrong. 5So they concluded, “The only thing we will find to accuse Daniel about will be something that he has to do to obey his God.”

6So the sareks and satraps went together to the king and told him, “King Darius, we hope that you will live for a very long time! 7All of your sareks, rulers satraps, counselors, and governors have agreed that you should make a law and enforce it strictly. Your Majesty, the law would be that for the next 30 days, no one may ask any god or man except you for anything. If anyone does that, your servants will throw him into a pit full of lions. 8So, Your Majesty, please make this law. Have one of your scribes write it out, and then sign it. No one will then be able to change it, because the laws of the Medes and Persians are permanent.” 9So King Darius made the law, and when one of his scribes wrote it out, he signed it.

10When Daniel learned that the king had made that law and signed it, he went home. He went to his upstairs room and opened the windows so that he could look toward Jerusalem. He knelt down and prayed and gave thanks to God. He did that three times each day, just as he had done before. 11Then the royal officials came to his house together, and they saw that he was praying to God and asking him to help him. 12So they went back to the king and talked with him about the law he had made. They said, “Your Majesty, you signed a law that for the next 30 days, no one may ask any god or man except you for anything. The law said that if anyone did that, your servants would throw him into a pit full of lions.” The king replied, “Yes, I made that law. And the laws of the Medes and Persians are permanent.”

13Then they told the king, “Your Majesty, that man Daniel, who is one of the Judeans whom our soldiers brought here as prisoners, is disregarding you. He is not obeying the law that you signed. He is still praying to his God three times each day!” 14When the king heard that, it distressed him greatly. He determined to save Daniel. For the rest of that day, he tried hard to find a way to rescue him.

15But in the evening, those royal officials went back to the king together and told him, “Your Majesty, you know what our Median and Persian laws require. If the king makes any rule or law, no one can change it.”

16So the king gave a command, and his servants brought Daniel to him. The king told him, “I hope that your God, whom you obey so faithfully, will rescue you!” Then the servants threw Daniel into a pit full of lions.

17They put a large stone across the top of the pit. Then the king sealed the stone with the ring he wore that had his royal seal on it. His nobles also sealed it with their rings. That kept anyone from removing the stone and rescuing Daniel. 18Then the king returned to his palace. {To show how sorry he was for Daniel,} he did not eat any food that evening, and he did not have anyone play music for him. He did not sleep that night.

19As soon as it became light the next morning, the king got up and went quickly to the pit of lions. 20As he arrived at the pit where Daniel was, he cried out in distress. He said, “Daniel, the God whom you worship is really alive! Has your God, whom you obey so faithfully, been able to save you from the lions?”

21Daniel responded, “Your Majesty, I hope that you will live for a very long time! 22Yes, my God sent an angel to keep the lions from harming me. They did not hurt me at all. God rescued me because he knows that I did not do anything sinful. He also knows that I have not done anything that hurt you, Your Majesty!”

23This made the king very happy. He commanded his servants to lift Daniel up out of the pit. When they did that, they saw that the lions had not wounded him at all. Daniel had trusted God, and so God had protected him.

24Then the king commanded his soldiers to arrest the men who had said bad things about Daniel. They threw them into the pit where the lions were. They also threw in their wives and children. While they were still tumbling toward the bottom of the pit, the lions leaped on them and tore them apart.

25Then King Darius sent a letter to the people who lived in his empire. They were from many different nations and groups, and they spoke many different languages. He wrote, “I hope that all is well with you. 26I am making a decree that throughout my empire, people should show great respect to the God whom Daniel worships.

He is the God who is really alive,

and he lives forever.

No one will ever destroy his kingdom;

he will rule forever.

27He certainly rescues {people who trust him}.

He performs great miracles

in heaven and on earth.

He rescued Daniel by keeping the lions from attacking him!”

28After this, Daniel was successful for the rest of the time that Darius was king. He was also successful during the time when Cyrus the Persian was king.

71During the first year that Belshazzar was the king of Babylon, Daniel saw things in a dream one night as he was lying on his bed. The next morning, he wrote down the main points of what he had dreamed.

2Daniel wrote, “This is what I saw in the dream I had last night. Strong winds were blowing from four directions and making big waves in the Great Sea. 3I saw four great beasts coming up out of the water. Each one was different from the others.

4The first beast looked a lion. However, it had wings like an eagle’s wings. But as I watched, someone tore off its wings. Then this beast reared up and stood on two legs, as people do. It also became able to think as people do.

5The second beast that I saw looked like a bear. One of its sides was higher than the other. It was holding three ribs in its mouth with its teeth. Someone told it, ‘Go and eat as much meat as you want!’

6The next beast that I saw looked like a leopard, but it had four wings like bird’s wings on its back. It had four heads. It received authority to rule many people.

7The next thing I saw in my dream last night was a fourth beast. It was very powerful and very terrifying. It had huge iron teeth. It killed the other beasts and devoured them, and then it trampled on their carcasses. It was different from the other three beasts. It had ten horns on its head.

8I was looking at those horns, and I saw a little horn grow up in the middle of them. It tore out three of the other horns. I saw that this little horn had eyes that were like humans eyes. It also had a mouth, and it was speaking very boastfully.

9Then, as I watched,

some beings brought in some thrones.

God, who has always existed, sat on one of the thrones.

His clothes were as white as snow,

and his hair was as white as pure wool.

His throne {was like a chariot; it} was blazing with fire,

and its wheels were also blazing with fire.

10A stream of fire

was rushing out in front of him.

Many thousands of people were there serving him,

and millions of other people were standing in front of him {ready to serve him}.

Judges began a court session,

and they opened books {that recorded what people had done}.

11I heard the little horn speaking very boastfully, so I looked over at it. As I watched, someone killed the fourth beast and threw its body into the fire to burn it up completely. 12The other three beasts lost their authority to rule, but they were able to continue living for a little while.

13The next thing I saw in my dream last night was someone who resembled a human being. He was riding on the clouds in the sky. He got to where God was, the one who has always existed, and God’s servants brought him to his throne. 14God honored him and gave him the authority to rule as king. People from every nation and group and who speak every language will obey him. He will rule forever; he will never stop ruling. No one will ever destroy the kingdom that he rules.

15As for me, Daniel, what I saw in my dream scared me. I felt very upset inside. 16I went up to one of those who were standing in front of God’s throne. I asked him to tell me what all of this meant. So he told me what the things in my dream meant so that I could understand them.

17He said, “The four great beasts represent four kingdoms that will become powerful in the world. 18But the Supreme God will give power to his people to rule, and they will rule forever and ever.”

19Then I wanted to know exactly what the fourth beast represented. That beast was different from the other three beasts. It was very terrifying. It had iron teeth and bronze claws. It killed the other beasts and devoured them, and then it trampled on their carcasses. 20I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the little horn that grew up in the middle of them. It tore out three of the other horns. It had {human} eyes and a mouth. It spoke very boastfully, and it looked more powerful than the other horns. 21In my dream, I saw this horn attack God’s people. It was defeating them, 22but then God, who has always existed, came and decided in favor of the people who belonged to him, the Supreme God. Then it was time for them to receive authority to rule.

23The one I was speaking with told me, “The fourth beast represents a fourth empire that will become powerful in the world. That empire will be different from the other empires that were before it. Its army will conquer other kingdoms throughout the world. It will defeat them badly and destroy them. 24The ten horns of this beast represent ten kings who will rule that empire. Another king will succeed them. He will be different from the previous kings, and he will conquer three other kings. 25He will say insulting things about the Supreme God, and he will oppress the people who belong to him. He will try to change their religious festivals and laws. He will have power over them for a time, times, and half a time.

26But then there will be a session of the heavenly court. The court will take away that king’s authority. That will be the end of his kingdom forever. 27Then the people who belong to the Supreme God will receive great honor and the power to rule every kingdom in the world. The kingdom of the Supreme God will last forever. All earthly rulers will be his subjects.”

28That is what I saw in my dream. As I, Daniel, thought about these things, they really scared me. My face became pale. But I did not tell anyone about the dream I had.”

81During the third year that Belshazzar was the king of Babylon, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that I had earlier. 2In that vision, I saw that I was in Susa, the capital city of the province of Elam. I saw that I was standing alongside the Ulai Canal. 3I looked up and saw a ram standing alongside the canal. It had two long horns. One of the horns was longer than the other. The ram had grown the longer horn after the shorter one. 4I saw the ram butting away the animals that were around it in all directions. No other animal could resist it, and none could rescue other animals from it. The ram did whatever it wanted to do, and it became very powerful.

5I kept looking, and the next thing I saw was a goat coming from the west. It ran across the whole world so quickly that its feed seemed not to touch the ground. This goat had one very large horn in the middle of its forehead. 6It came to the ram that I had seen standing alongside the canal, the ram that had two horns. It was very angry, and it ran straight at the ram. 7I saw that when the goat got to the ram, it struck it furiously. That broke off the ram’s two horns, and so the ram was not able to defend itself. The goat knocked the ram down and trampled on it. No one could rescue the ram from the goat. 8The goat became very powerful. But when its power was very great, its large horn broke off. Four other large horns grew in its place. They pointed to the north, south, east, and west.

9A little horn grew from one of those horns. It became very large. It pointed toward the south and then toward the east and then toward the beautiful land {of Israel}. 10That horn became so strong that it even attacked the angels in heaven. It threw some of the angels and some of the stars from the sky onto the earth, and it trampled on them. 11The horn wanted people to worship it instead of {Yahweh,} the commander of the heavenly army. It prevented his priests from offering the regular sacrifices to him each morning and evening. It also ruined his temple. 12Many Israelites disobeyed Yahweh and instead obeyed the horn, who had stopped the priests from offering sacrifices to Yahweh each morning and evening. The horn prevented people from worshiping Yahweh truly. It succeeded in doing what it wanted to do.

13Then I heard an angel saying something. Another angel asked the one who was talking, “This vision shows that someone will prevent the priests from sacrificing to Yahweh. It shows that many of the Israelites will disobey Yahweh and that this will allow someone to ruin his temple and harm his people. How long will these things continue?”

14The other angel replied, “They will continue for a total of 2,300 evenings and mornings{, or 1,150 days}. After that, the temple will become a holy place again.”

15After I, Daniel, had seen this vision, I was trying to understand what it meant. Suddenly someone in the form of a human being appeared in front of me. 16Then I heard someone calling out from the middle of the Ulai Canal. His voice sounded human. He said, “Gabriel, explain to him what his vision means.”

17So Gabriel came and stood next to me. This made me so afraid that I fell onto the ground. But he told me, “You mortal, understand that your vision shows something that will happen when the world is about to end.”

18As he was speaking to me, I fainted. I was unconscious on the ground, but Gabriel took hold of me and picked me up so I was standing again.

19Then he said, “I have come to tell you what will happen as God finishes punishing people. He has determined to do that at the end of the world, and your vision shows this. 20You saw a ram that had two horns. Those horns represent the kingdoms of Media and Persia. 21The goat that you saw represents the kingdom of Javan. The large horn in the middle of its forehead represents its first king. 22The four horns that grew after the first horn broke off represent four kingdoms into which his kingdom will divide. None of them will be as strong as the original kingdom was.

23The people in those kingdoms will become very wicked. Near the time when those kingdoms will end, one of them will have a king who defeats his enemies in battle. That king will also be very deceitful. 24That king will become very powerful, but only because God allows that to happen. He will violently destroy many things, and he will succeed in doing what he wants to do. He will destroy powerful opponents, and he will also destroy some of God’s people. 25Because he will be so treacherous, he will achieve what he wants by deceiving people. He will be very proud of himself. He will make people think that they are safe, but he will then destroy many of them. He will even try to oppose God, who rules over all earthly kings. But God, not a human being, will destroy him.

26Your vision showed how this king will prevent Yahweh’s priests from sacrificing to him each morning and evening. That will happen. But {for now,} do not tell others what you saw, because those things will not happen until many years from now.”

27Then I, Daniel, had no strength left. I was sick for several days. After that, I got up and went back to work for the king. But I did not understand the vision, and that disturbed me.

91Darius son of Ahasuerus, who was a Mede, became the next ruler of the Chaldean kingdom. 2During the first year that Darius was the king, I, Daniel, was studying our holy books. I saw that Yahweh had told the prophet Jeremiah how long Jerusalem would be in a bad condition. It would be for seventy years. 3{After I read that,} I resolved to ask the Lord God to help us. I prayed to him very earnestly. {To show how sorry I was for our sins,} I ate little food, I wore rough cloth, and I put ashes on my head.

4As I prayed to Yahweh my God, I admitted that we Israelites had sinned. I said, “Oh Lord, you are the powerful God whom everyone should respect! You keep your promises and you faithfully love people who love you and obey your laws. 5But we Israelites have sinned against you. We have done things that are wrong. We have done wicked things and rebelled against you. We have disobeyed many of your laws. 6You sent prophets to bring messages from you to our kings, our other rulers, and our ancestors. They spoke those messages to all the Israelite people. But we did not obey what they told us to do. 7Lord, you were right to punish us for sinning so seriously against you. But as a result, we are now in a shameful condition. This is true of the Israelites who still live in Jerusalem and other places in Judea. It is also true of the Israelites whose enemies you allowed to take away to other countries. Some of those countries are near Israel, and others are farther away. 8Yahweh, we have sinned against you, and so we and our kings, our other rulers, and our ancestors are in a shameful condition. 9I ask you, our Lord and God, to forgive us and treat us kindly, even though we have rebelled against you. 10You sent your prophets to speak to us directly and tell us to obey your laws. But we did not obey what you, our God, said to us through them. 11All of us Israelite people have failed to do what your law requires and have done other things instead. We have not obeyed what you told us to do. We have sinned against you, and as a result, you have made very bad things happen to us. You swore that you would do that if we sinned so badly. Your servant Moses wrote this in the law. 12You said that these things would happen to us and our rulers, and you have done just what you said. You made a great disaster happen to us. No other city in the world has experienced something like what has happened to Jerusalem. 13You have made this great disaster happen to us just as Moses wrote in the law. Even so, we have not tried to make you, our God, treat us favorably again. We have not stopped committing sins. We have not recognized that you tell us the right way to live. 14Because we did not obey what you told us, it was right for you, our God, to punish us as you did. You were ready to cause this disaster, and you made it happen to us when we deserved it. 15Now here is my request. Lord our God, you rescued us Israelites from slavery in Egypt by your great power. As a result, you have had a great reputation ever since then. But we still sinned against you by doing wicked things. 16Lord, just as you have delivered us in the past, I ask you now to stop being so very angry with the people of Jerusalem. That is the city where you chose to be present in a special way in your temple on Mount Zion. I ask this because the people of other nations are saying bad things about Jerusalem and us Israelites. They are doing that because you have punished us for the sins that we and our ancestors committed. 17But now, our God, please do what I, your servant, am earnestly asking you to do. For the sake of your own reputation, please regard favorably your temple, which our enemies have ruined. 18My God, please listen to my prayer and do what I ask. Please consider carefully that Jerusalem, the city that belongs to you in a special way, is in ruins. I am not pleading with you to help us because we are good people and deserve that. I am asking you to help us because you are very merciful. 19Lord, please listen to me! Lord, please forgive us! Lord, please do what I am asking you to do! Jerusalem belongs to you in a special way, and so do we Israelites. So please help us quickly, my God, for the sake of your own reputation.”

20-21I was praying and confessing the sins that I and my fellow Israelites had committed. I was pleading with Yahweh my God on behalf of Jerusalem, the place where he was present in a special way in his temple on Mount Zion. While I was still praying, Gabriel, the angel whom I had seen in my previous vision, came flying rapidly to me. He came at the time in the evening when the priests offered a sacrifice each day. 22By speaking with me, he enabled me to understand {what Yahweh had told Jeremiah about Jerusalem}. He told me, “Daniel, I have come to enable you to understand. 23When you first started to plead with Yahweh, he gave me a message for you. He loves you very much, so he sent me to you with this message. So please understand what I tell you and understand why I have appeared to you.

24Yahweh has determined that there will be seventy sets of seven time periods for you Israelites and for the holy city {of Jerusalem}. He will stop you from rebelling against him and keep you from committing more sins. He will forgive the wrong things you have done, and he will enable you always to do what is right. He will make the things happen that he showed to his prophets in visions. He will make his temple a sacred place again.

25I want you to understand this well. A king will command people to rebuild Jerusalem. When they rebuild it, it will have a large public plaza, and it will have a ditch around it to protect it. It will be a dangerous time. After that, there will be seven sets of seven time periods and then sixty-two more sets of seven time periods. Then a leader will come whom God will have chosen. 26But after those sixty-two sets of seven time periods, he will die, so he will no longer be the ruler. Instead, another ruler will come, and his army will destroy the city {of Jerusalem} and the temple. It will be as if a flood has destroyed it. There will be war continually. Yahweh has determined that armies will destroy many things. 27That ruler will make an agreement with many people that he will firmly promise to keep for seven time periods. But halfway through that time, he will stop Yahweh’s priests from offering sacrifices to him. He will put something disgusting in the temple that makes it unclean. It will be there until Yahweh finally punishes the ruler who made the temple unclean. That is what Yahweh has determined to do.”

101During the third year that Cyrus was the king of Persia, God revealed a message to Daniel. (The Babylonians had given him the name Belteshazzar.) The message was about a terrible war that was certainly going to happen. The message came in a vision, and Daniel understood what it meant.

2At that time, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three weeks. 3Throughout those three weeks, I did not eat any tasty food. I did not eat any meat or drink any wine. I did not put olive oil on my face or hair.

4Then, on the twenty-fourth day of the first month of the year, I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River. 5I looked up, and I saw a man who was wearing linen clothes and a fine gold belt. 6His body shone like a jewel. His face was as bright as a flash of lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and legs shone like polished bronze. His voice was very loud, like the roar of a huge crowd.

7I, Daniel, was the only one who saw this vision. There were some men with me, but they did not see it. However, they became very afraid, and they ran away and hid. 8So I remained there by myself, looking at this great vision. I felt very weak. My face became pale because I was so weak. 9Then I heard the man speak. When I heard him, I fainted and fell to the ground. I lay there with my face on the ground.

10But then he took hold of me and lifted me up so that I was on my hands and knees. I was shaking. 11The man told me, “Daniel, God loves you very much. God has sent me to you, so stand up. I am going to tell you a message, and I want you to understand it.” When he said that to me, I stood up, but I was still shaking.

12Then he told me, “Daniel, you determined to ask God humbly to show you {what would happen to your people in the future}. God has heard what you have been praying since then. I have come because of what you have prayed. So do not be afraid! 13For 21 days, the evil spirit that influences the kingdom of Persia kept me from coming to you. But Michael, one of God’s chief angels, came and helped me. Otherwise, I would not have been able to get past that evil spirit that influences the Persian rulers. 14I have come to enable you to understand what will happen to your people when the world is about to end. Now this will happen sometime in the future.”

15While he was saying these things to me, I was looking at the ground, and I was not saying anything. 16But then this person who looked like a human being touched my lips. Then I was able to speak. I said to him, “Sir, because I am seeing this vision, I am very upset, and I have become very weak. 17I am not able to speak with you, sir. I feel very weak right now, and it is difficult for me to breathe.”

18But then this person who looked like a human being took hold of me again, and that made me feel stronger. 19He told me, “Do not be afraid, you mortal. God loves you very much. Be peaceful, and be very strong.” When he said that to me, I did feel stronger. I said, “Sir, you have helped me feel stronger. So please do give me your message.”

20-21Then he said, “Remember what I told you about why I have come to you. There is a book that reveals God’s truth, and I have come to tell you what it says. After that, I must return to fight against the evil spirit that influences the kingdom of Persia. After I have defeated him, the evil spirit that influences Javan will come. Michael, the angel who protects you Israelite people, is the only one who can help me defeat these spirits.

111I myself helped and protected Michael during the first year that Darius the Mede was king.

2And now I will tell you what will surely happen in the future. Pay attention. Three more kings will rule Persia, and then there will be a fourth king who will be much richer than the others. Because he will be so rich, he will be able to assemble a great army from throughout his empire to attack the kingdom of Javan.

3Then there will be a king who is very powerful. He will reign over a very large empire. He will do whatever he wants to do. 4But while he is still powerful, he will die. His kingdom will break up into four parts. Men who are not his descendants will rule those parts. They will not be as powerful as he was as a king. That is because his empire will be like a plant that someone has pulled out of the ground. Other people will rule its parts. 5The king who rules the southern part will become very powerful. But one of the military commanders of the great king who died will become more powerful than him. He will become a king, and he will rule a large empire {in the north}. 6After many years, the southern king and the northern king will become allies. To make a peace treaty, the southern king will allow the northern king to marry his daughter. But she will not be the queen for very long. Her husband, the northern king, will not continue to rule. People will kill her, her child, her husband, and the officials who brought her from the southern kingdom.

7But then a member of her family will become the next southern king. He will lead his army to attack the northern army, and he will defeat them when they fight. He will conquer the capital city of the northern kingdom. 8He will also take away the idols that represent their gods and their gold and silver treasures. He will bring them back to Egypt with him. For the next several years he will not attack the northern king. 9Then the northern king will invade the southern kingdom. But he will lose the battle and have to retreat to his own kingdom. 10But his sons who rule after him will prepare to attack the southern kingdom again. They will gather a very large army. As that army marches south, it will cover the land like a huge flood. {After some fighting, there will be a truce, but then} the northern army will attack again. It will conquer a city that has strong walls around it.

11This will make the southern king very angry. He will lead his army to fight against the northern king. The northern king will gather a great army, but the southern king will defeat that great army. 12When his soldiers destroy the northern army, they will kill tens of thousands of its soldiers. This will make the southern king very proud. But his army will not continue to win battles. 13Instead, the northern king will prepare to fight again. He will gather an even bigger army than the one that he had before. After several years, he will invade the southern kingdom with a large army that has much military equipment.

14When that happens, many people will rebel against the southern king. Some violent men among the Israelites will revolt against him, but he will defeat them. However, this will help make happen the things I am showing you. 15Then the northern king will invade the southern kingdom. His soldiers will attack a city that has strong walls around it. They will capture it by piling up dirt against its walls. The northern army will be so strong that the southern army will not be able to defend that city, even with its best troops. 16The northern king who is attacking will succeed in his plans. The southern king will not be able to oppose him. His army will occupy the beautiful land of Israel, and he will have the power to destroy it. 17Then the northern king will determine to invade the southern kingdom with as strong an army as he can form from his kingdom. He will bring a peace treaty and make the southern king agree to it. He will allow the southern king to marry his daughter, but he will want his daughter to work for him against her husband. But this plan will not succeed, so it will not help him. 18The northern king will then attack the regions by the sea, and he will conquer many of them. This will shame the rulers that controlled those regions. But a military commander from another kingdom will defeat him. That will shame the northern king instead. 19The northern king will have to return to the strong forts in his own land. But he will die there, and that will be the end of him.

20The king who rules after him will send one of his officials to collect tribute from {Judea,} the most glorious part of his kingdom. But after a few years, that king will die. He will not die in battle or because people rebel angrily against him{; instead, someone will murder him}.

21The king who rules after him will be an evil man. He will not deserve to become king{, since he will not be the son of the previous king}. He will come when people do not expect it, and he will become king by making secret plots. 22Great armies will oppose him, but he will defeat them and destroy them. He will also remove God’s high priest. 23The rulers of other nations will make treaties with him, but he will betray them. He will begin with a small army, but he will become very powerful. 24When people are not expecting it, he will capture the most fertile regions in the southern kingdom. The kings who ruled the northern kingdom before him had not been able to do that, but he will do it. He will reward his troops and supporters with valuable possessions that he takes from those regions. He will make plans to capture the cities in the southern kingdom that have walls around them. But he will pursue those plans only for a short time.

25The northern king will feel strong and confident, and he will gather a large army to attack the southern king. The southern king will gather a very large army so that he can fight against him. But he will lose the battle because some of his officials will betray him. 26Some of his own royal officials will help destroy him. The northern king will defeat his army, and many of his soldiers will die. 27Then the northern king and the southern king will meet together to make a peace treaty. But each one will be trying to trick the other, so they will lie to each other. However, neither one will get what he wants, because God has decided what will ultimately happen. 28The northern king will then return to his own land. He will take away many valuable things that his army has captured. He will be hostile to the Jewish people, and he will harm them on his way back to his land.

29At the time that God has determined, the northern king will invade the southern kingdom again. But this time he will not be successful as he was before. 30An army will sail across the sea to oppose him. This will terrify hm, and he will have to retreat. This will make him very angry, and so he will harm the Jewish people again as he retreats. He will favor those Jews who no longer obey the agreement between Yahweh and the Israelites. 31The northern king will send his army to make the temple ritually unclean. They will prevent the priests from offering the regular sacrifices to Yahweh each morning and evening. They will put something disgusting in the temple that makes it unclean.

32Some Jews will be wickedly disobeying the agreement with Yahweh. The northern king will deceive them so that they become loyal to him. But other Jews will still be loyal to Yahweh, their God. They will firmly oppose him. 33Some wise Jewish leaders will help other Jews recognize that they should resist the northern king. But for a short time, the northern king’s soldiers will be able to kill them with their swords or by burning them. They soldiers will take some of them as prisoners, and they will steal their possessions.

34While the Jews who are loyal to Yahweh are suffering in this way, some people will help them a little bit. However, some of them will not help them sincerely. 35Some of those wise leaders will die. But as a result, other Jews will live in a way that honors Yahweh even more. These things must happen at the time when God has determined, so this suffering will continue until God ends it.

36This northern king will do whatever he wants to do. He will boast and say that he is greater than any god. He will even say bad things about {Yahweh,} the one true God. He will succeed until God has finished punishing his people for their sins. That is because God will do what he has announced. 37This northern king will no longer worship the gods that his ancestors worshiped. He will also not worship the god that many women adore. Because he will think that he is greater than any god, he will not worship those gods. 38Instead, he will honor a god that he thinks will help him win wars. His ancestors did not worship that god, but he honors it with gifts of gold, silver, jewels and other expensive items. 39He will ask that foreign god to help him conquer strong fortresses. He will greatly honor those who obey him as their king. He will make them rule over many people, and to reward them, he will give them property.

40When all of these events I am describing are about to end, the southern king will attack the northern king. The northern king will fight back against him furiously. His soldiers will be driving chariots and riding horses and traveling in a fleet of ships. His army will invade many countries. It will spread all over those countries like a flood. 41The northern king will invade the beautiful land of Israel. His soldiers will kill many people. But the Edomites, Moabites, and most of the Ammonites will survive his attack. 42The northern king will invade many countries. He will even defeat the kingdom of Egypt. 43The northern king will become the owner of gold and silver treasures and other valuable items that belonged to the Egyptians. The Libyans and Cushites will obey him as their king. 44But he will become very frightened when he hears reports about what is happening in the east and in the north. He will become very angry, and he will lead his army to defeat his enemies and destroy them completely. 45The northern king will set up his royal tents in the area between the sea and the mountain {in Jerusalem} where Yahweh’s holy temple is. But that is where he will die. No one will be able to help him {so that he does not die}.

121When those things happen, the great angel Michael, who protects the Israelites, will help them. The Israelites will have more trouble than they have had since they became a nation until now. But at that time, God will rescue every one of his people whose name he has written in his book. 2Many people who have died and who are in graves in the ground will become alive again. Some of them will live eternally with God, but God will condemn others forever. 3Those who have done what is wise will shine as brightly as the sky. And those who have helped others to live right will shine like stars forever. 4But as for you, Daniel, do not tell anyone what I have told you. You may write this down, but seal the scroll so that no one opens it and reads it until it is time for these things to start happening. People will go to different places trying to find out what is going to happen.”

5{When that angel finished speaking,} I, Daniel, looked up, and I saw two other angels. One angel was standing on my side of the river, and the other angel was standing on the opposite side. 6One of them called to the angel who had been speaking to me, who was wearing linen clothes. He was above the river. That other angel asked him, “How long will it be until these amazing events end?”

7The angel wearing linen clothes who was above the river raised both of his hands toward the sky. I heard him solemnly swear by God, who lives forever, that it would be for a time, times, and half a time. For a while, God’s holy people will lose their power. But when that time is over, these other events will also end.

8I heard what he said, but I did not understand it. So I asked, “Sir, what will be the result of all these events?”

9He replied, “Daniel, no one will be able to understand what this message means until the time of these events. So just continue to live your life now. 10Many people will make sure that they live in a way that honors Yahweh greatly. But wicked people will continue to do wicked things. None of them will understand what is happening, but wise people will understand. 11There will be 1,290 days after the northern king prevents the priests from offering the regular sacrifices to Yahweh each morning and evening and puts something disgusting in the temple that makes it unclean. 12God will greatly bless those who remain loyal to him until 1,335 days are over.

13But as for you, Daniel, you will die before these things happen. But when the world ends, you will live again, and God will reward you. So for now, just continue to live the rest of your life.”