a I.e., the fortified city.
b Meaning of part of this verse uncertain.
c Lit. “the times.”
a Identical with Hege in v. 3.
b Or “an amnesty.”
c Meaning of verse uncertain.
a I.e., that as a Jew he could not bow to a descendant of Agag, the Amalekite king; see I Sam. 15, and cf. Exod. 17.14–16; Deut. 25.17–19.
a-a Emendation yields “a trifle” (hissar). lit. “little finger.”
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “blanched”; cf. Ps. 34.6.
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Moved up from v. 10 for greater clarity.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Force of vv. 29–31 uncertain in part. Verse 29 reads literally, “Then Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter of Purim.”
d I.e., of new holidays, the instituting of which is linked to love of equity and honesty in Zech. 8.19.
e The Jews had long been observing fast days in commemoration of national calamities; see Zech. 7.5; 8.19.
Daniel
1 In 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, a-at the end of which they-a 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 lifeb 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.
2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream; his spirit was agitated, yet he a-was overcome by-a sleep. 2The king ordered the magicians, exorcists, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to be summoned in order to tell the king what he had dreamed. They came and stood before the king, 3and the king said to them, “I have had a dream and b-I am full of anxiety-b to know what I have dreamed.” 4The Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Relate the dream to your servants, and we will tell its meaning.” 5The king said in reply to the Chaldeans, “I hereby decree: If you will not make the dream and its meaning known to me, you shall be torn limb from limb and your houses confiscated.c 6But if you tell the dream and its meaning, you shall receive from me gifts, presents, and great honor; therefore, tell me the dream and its meaning.” 7Once again they answered, “Let the king relate the dream to his servants, and we will tell its meaning.” 8The king said in reply, “It is clear to me that you are playing for time, since you see that I have decreed 9that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one verdict for you. You have conspired to tell me something false and fraudulent until circumstances change; so relate the dream to me, and I will then know that you can tell its meaning.” 10The Chaldeans said in reply to the king, “There is no one on earth who can d-satisfy the king’s demand,-d for great king or ruler—none has ever asked such a thing of any magician, exorcist, or Chaldean. 11The thing asked by the king is difficult; there is no one who can tell it to the king except the gods whose abode is not among mortals.”e 12Whereupon the king flew into a violent rage, and gave an order to do away with all the wise men of Babylon.
13The decree condemning the wise men to death was issued. Daniel and his companions were about to be put to death 14when Daniel re-monstrated with Arioch, the captain of the royal guard who had set out to put the wise men of Babylon to death. 15He spoke up and said to Arioch, the royal officer, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Thereupon Arioch informed Daniel of the matter. 16So Daniel went to ask the king for time, that he might tell the meaning to the king. 17Then Daniel went to his house and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, of the matter, 18that they might implore the God of Heaven for help regarding this mystery, so that Daniel and his colleagues would not be put to death together with the other wise men of Babylon.
19The mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision; then Daniel blessed the God of Heaven. 20Daniel spoke up and said:
“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power are His.
21He changes times and seasons,
Removes kings and installs kings;
He gives the wise their wisdom
And knowledge to those who know.
22He reveals deep and hidden things,
Knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.
23I acknowledge and praise You,
O God of my fathers,
You who have given me wisdom and power,
For now You have let me know what we asked of You;
You have let us know what concerns the king.”
24Thereupon Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to do away with the wise men of Babylon; he came and said to him as follows, “Do not do away with the wise men of Babylon; bring me to the king and I will tell the king the meaning!” 25So Arioch rushed Daniel into the king’s presence and said to him, “I have found among the exiles of Judah a man who can make the meaning known to the king!” 26The king said in reply to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar), “Can you really make known to me the dream that I saw and its meaning?” 27Daniel answered the king and said, “The mystery about which the king has inquired—wise men, exorcists, magicians, and diviners cannot tell to the king. 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what is to be at the end of days. This is your dream and the vision that entered your mind in bed: 29O king, the thoughts that came to your mind in your bed are about future events; He who reveals mysteries has let you know what is to happen. 30Not because my wisdom is greater than that of other creatures has this mystery been revealed to me, but in order that the meaning should be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.
31“O king, as you looked on, there appeared a great statue. This statue, which was huge and its brightness surpassing, stood before you, and its appearance was awesome. 32The head of that statue was of fine gold; its breast and arms were of silver; its belly and thighs, of bronze; 33its legs were of iron, and its feet part iron and part clay. 34As you looked on, a stone was hewn out, not by hands, and struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 35All at once, the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were crushed, and became like chaff of the threshing floors of summer; a wind carried them off until
