Court Legends of Daniel

Chapter 1

¹In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. ²The Lord delivered King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, together with some of the vessels of the House of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the house of his god; he deposited the vessels in the treasury of his god. ³Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief officer, to bring some Israelites of royal descent and of the nobility—⁴youths without blemish, handsome, proficient in all wisdom, knowledgeable and intelligent, and capable of serving in the royal palace—and teach them the writings and the language of the Chaldeans. ⁵The king allotted daily rations to them from the king’s food and from the wine he drank. They were to be educated for three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s service.

⁶Among them were the Judahites Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷The chief officer gave them new names; he named Daniel Belteshazzar, Hananiah Shadrach, Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abed-nego. ⁸Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the king’s food or the wine he drank, so he sought permission of the chief officer not to defile himself, ⁹and God disposed the chief officer to be kind and compassionate toward Daniel. ¹⁰The chief officer said to Daniel, “I fear that my lord the king, who allotted food and drink to you, will notice that you look out of sorts, unlike the other youths of your age—and you will put my life in jeopardy with the king.” ¹¹Daniel replied to the guard whom the chief officer had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹²“Please test your servants for ten days, giving us legumes to eat and water to drink. ¹³Then compare our appearance with that of the youths who eat of the king’s food, and do with your servants as you see fit.” ¹⁴He agreed to this plan of theirs, and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵When the ten days were over, they looked better and healthier than all the youths who were eating of the king’s food. ¹⁶So the guard kept on removing their food, and the wine they were supposed to drink, and gave them legumes. ¹⁷God made all four of these young men intelligent and proficient in all writings and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding of visions and dreams of all kinds. ¹⁸When the time the king had set for their presentation had come, the chief officer presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹The king spoke with them, and of them all none was equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so these entered the king’s service. ²⁰Whenever the king put a question to them requiring wisdom and understanding, he found them to be ten times better than all the magicians and exorcists throughout his realm. ²¹Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Chapter 5

¹King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his thousand nobles, and in the presence of the thousand he drank wine. ²Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar ordered the gold and silver vessels that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple at Jerusalem to be brought so that the king and his nobles, his consorts, and his concubines could drink from them. ³The golden vessels that had been taken out of the sanctuary of the House of God in Jerusalem were then brought, and the king, his nobles, his consorts, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. ⁵Just then, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace opposite the lampstand, so that the king could see the hand as it wrote. ⁶The king’s face darkened, and his thoughts alarmed him; the joints of his loins were loosened and his knees knocked together. ⁷The king called loudly for the exorcists, Chaldeans, and diviners to be brought. The king addressed the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its meaning shall be clothed in purple and wear a golden chain on his neck, and shall rule as one of three in the kingdom.”

⁸Then all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing or make known its meaning to the king. ⁹King Belshazzar grew exceedingly alarmed and his face darkened, and his nobles were dismayed. ¹⁰Because of the state of the king and his nobles, the queen came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke up and said, “O king, live forever! Let your thoughts not alarm you or your face darken. ¹¹There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him; in your father’s time, illumination, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods were to be found in him, and your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, exorcists, Chaldeans, and diviners. ¹²Seeing that there is to be found in Daniel (whom the king called Belteshazzar) extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, to explain riddles and solve problems, let Daniel now be called to tell the meaning [of the writing].”

¹³Daniel was then brought before the king. The king addressed Daniel, “You are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah whom my father, the king, brought from Judah. ¹⁴I have heard about you that you have the spirit of the gods in you, and that illumination, knowledge, and extraordinary wisdom are to be found in you. ¹⁵Now the wise men and exorcists have been brought before me to read this writing and to make known its meaning to me. But they could not tell what it meant. ¹⁶I have heard about you, that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known its meaning to me, you shall be clothed in purple and wear a golden chain on your neck and rule as one of three in the kingdom.”

¹⁷Then Daniel said in reply to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself, and give your presents to others. But I will read the writing for the king, and make its meaning known to him. ¹⁸O king, the Most High God bestowed kingship, grandeur, glory, and majesty upon your father Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹And because of the grandeur that He bestowed upon him, all the peoples and nations of every language trembled in fear of him. He put to death whom he wished, and whom he wished he let live; he raised high whom he wished and whom he wished he brought low. ²⁰But when he grew haughty and willfully presumptuous, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was removed from him. ²¹He was driven away from men, and his mind made like that of a beast, and his habitation was with wild asses. He was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he came to know that the Most High God is sovereign over the realm of man, and sets over it whom He wishes. ²²But you, Belshazzar his son, did not humble yourself although you knew all this. ²³You exalted yourself against the Lord of Heaven, and had the vessels of His temple brought to you. You and your nobles, your consorts, and your concubines drank wine from them and praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear, or understand; but the God who controls your lifebreath and every move you make—Him you did not glorify! ²⁴He therefore made the hand appear, and caused the writing to be inscribed. ²⁵This is the writing that is inscribed: MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN. ²⁶And this is its meaning: MENE—God has numbered [the days of] your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷TEKEL—you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; ²⁸PERES—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.” ²⁹Then, at Belshazzar’s command, they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a golden chain on his neck, and proclaimed that he should rule as one of three in the kingdom.

³⁰That very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed,

Chapter 6

¹and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. ²It pleased Darius to appoint over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps to be in charge of the whole kingdom; ³over them were three ministers, one of them Daniel, to whom these satraps reported, in order that the king not be troubled. ⁴This man Daniel surpassed the other ministers and satraps by virtue of his extraordinary spirit, and the king considered setting him over the whole kingdom. ⁵The ministers and satraps looked for some fault in Daniel’s conduct in matters of state, but they could find neither fault nor corruption, inasmuch as he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. ⁶Those men then said, “We are not going to find any fault with this Daniel, unless we find something against him in connection with the laws of his God.” ⁷Then these ministers and satraps came thronging in to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! ⁸All the ministers of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, companions, and governors are in agreement that a royal ban should be issued under sanction of an oath that whoever shall address a petition to any god or man, besides you, O king, during the next thirty days shall be thrown into a lions’ den. ⁹So issue the ban, O king, and put it in writing so that it be unalterable as a law of the Medes and Persians that may not be abrogated.” ¹⁰Thereupon King Darius put the ban in writing.

¹¹When Daniel learned that it had been put in writing, he went to his house, in whose upper chamber he had had windows made facing Jerusalem, and three times a day he knelt down, prayed, and made confession to his God, as he had always done. ¹²Then those men came thronging in and found Daniel petitioning his God in supplication. ¹³They then approached the king and reminded him of the royal ban: “Did you not put in writing a ban that whoever addresses a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, during the next thirty days, shall be thrown into a lions’ den?” The king said in reply, “The order stands firm, as a law of the Medes and Persians that may not be abrogated.” ¹⁴Thereupon they said to the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, pays no heed to you, O king, or to the ban that you put in writing; three times a day he offers his petitions [to his God].” ¹⁵Upon hearing that, the king was very disturbed, and he set his heart upon saving Daniel, and until the sun set made every effort to rescue him. ¹⁶Then those men came thronging in to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that any ban that the king issues under sanction of oath is unalterable.” ¹⁷By the king’s order, Daniel was then brought and thrown into the lions’ den. The king spoke to Daniel and said, “Your God, whom you serve so regularly, will deliver you.” ¹⁸A rock was brought and placed over the mouth of the den; the king sealed it with his signet and with the signet of his nobles, so that nothing might be altered concerning Daniel.

¹⁹The king then went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and his sleep fled from him. ²⁰Then, at the first light of dawn, the king arose and rushed to the lions’ den. ²¹As he approached the den, he cried to Daniel in a mournful voice; the king said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, was the God whom you served so regularly able to deliver you from the lions?” ²²Daniel then talked with the king, “O king, live forever! ²³My God sent His angel, who shut the mouths of the lions so that they did not injure me, inasmuch as I was found innocent by Him, nor have I, O king, done you any injury.” ²⁴The king was very glad, and ordered Daniel to be brought up out of the den. Daniel was brought up out of the den, and no injury was found on him, for he had trusted in his God. ²⁵Then, by order of the king, those men who had slandered Daniel were brought and, together with their children and wives, were thrown into the lions’ den. They had hardly reached the bottom of the den when the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

²⁶Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language that inhabit the earth, “May your well-being abound! ²⁷I have hereby given an order that throughout my royal domain men must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God who endures forever; His kingdom is indestructible, and His dominion is to the end of time; ²⁸He delivers and saves, and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, for He delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” ²⁹Thus Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and during the reign of Cyrus the Persian.