o Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, {O} king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. o I thank thee, and praise thee, {O} thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known unto us the king's matter. o As for thee, {O} king, thy thoughts came [into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. o Thou, {O} king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof [was] terrible. o Thou, {O} king, [art] a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. o Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, {O} people, nations, and languages, o They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, {O} king, live for ever. o Thou, {O} king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image: o There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, {O} king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. o Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, [Is it] true, {O} Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? o Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, {O} Nebuchadnezzar, we [are] not careful to answer thee in this matter. o If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, {O} king. o But if not, be it known unto thee, {O} king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. o Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, [and] spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, {O} king. o {O} Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods [is] in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. o This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, {O} Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise [men] of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou [art] able; for the spirit of the holy gods [is] in thee. o It [is] thou, {O} king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. o This [is] the interpretation, {O} king, and this [is] the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: o Wherefore, {O} king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. o While the word [was] in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, [saying], {O} king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. o Now] the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: [and] the queen spake and said, {O} king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: o {O} thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: o And thou his son, {O} Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; o All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, {O} king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. o Now, {O} king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. o Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask [a petition] of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, {O} king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing [is] true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. o Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which [is] of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, {O} king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. o Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, {O} king, that the law of the Medes and Persians [is], That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. o And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: [and] the king spake and said to Daniel, {O} Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? o Then said Daniel unto the king, {O} king, live for ever. o My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, {O} king, have I done no hurt. o So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, {O} son of man: for at the time of the end [shall be] the vision. o And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, {O} Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; o {O} Lord, righteousness [belongeth] unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, [that are] near, and [that are] far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. o {O} Lord, to us [belongeth] confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. o And now, {O} Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. o {O} Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people [are become] a reproach to all [that are] about us. o Now therefore, {O} our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. o {O} my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. o O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; {O} Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. o O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, {O} my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. o O Lord, hear; {O} Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. o {O} Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. o And he informed [me], and talked with me, and said, {O} Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. o And he said unto me, {O} Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. o And, behold, [one] like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, {O} my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. o And said, {O} man greatly beloved, fear not: peace [be] unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. o But thou, {O} Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. o And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, {O} my Lord, what [shall be] the end of these [things]? o Thou art worthy, {O} Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. o And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, {O} Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? o Saying, We give thee thanks, {O} Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. o Who shall not fear thee, {O} Lord, and glorify thy name? for [thou] only [art] holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. o And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, {O} Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. ~~~~~~