thine iniquity by lovingkindness unto the poor; and he shall have patience with thy sins.

All these things happened unto Nebuchadnezzar the king.

For after twelve months the king went into the royal castle of Babylon, 27. And he began to say, This is great Babylon, which I have built for a royal house by my great power, in honour of my glory.

Before the king had spoken these words, there came a voice from heaven, saying, Unto thee, O king Nebuchadnezzar, it is said, Thy kingdom shall be taken from thee, 29. And they shall cast thee out from among men, and thou shalt dwell with the beasts of the field; and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, until seven times be past upon thee; that thou mayest know that the Most High hath power over the kingdoms of men, and giveth them to whomsoever he will.

From that hour the word was accomplished concerning Nebuchadnezzar, and he was cast out of the people, and he did eat grass like oxen, and his body was under the dew of heaven, and was wet, until his hair grew as great as eagles’ feathers, and his nails became as birds’ claws.

After that time I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and came to my senses, and praised the most High. I praised and glorified him that liveth for ever, whose power is for ever, and whose kingdom endureth for ever,

Against whom all that dwell on the earth are counted as nothing. He doeth as he will, both with the powers that are in heaven, and with them that dwell on the earth: and no man can stay his hand, nor say unto him, What doest thou?

At that time I returned to my senses, and to my royal honors, and to my glory, and to my form. And my counsellors and my mighty men sought me, and I was set again in my kingdom; and I came into greater glory.

Therefore I praise, Nebuchadnezzar, and honour and magnify the king from heaven. For all his doings are truth, and his ways are right; and he that is proud he is able to humble.
(Daniel)
Chapter 5
The godless king Belshazzar’s feast and doom.

King Belshazzar made a glorious feast of a thousand of his mighty men and captains, and drank with them.

And when he was drunken, he commanded to bring the vessels of gold and silver, which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, that the king might drink of them with his mighty men, and with his wives, and with his concubines.

So the vessels of gold were brought, which were taken out of the temple, out of the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and the king, and his princes, and his wives, and his concubines, drank of them.

And as they drank, they praised the gods of gold, and silver, and brass, and iron, and wood, and stone.

And at that very hour there came forth fingers, as of a man’s hand writing, over against the candlestick, upon the whitewashed wall of the king’s chamber. And the king perceived the hand that wrote.

Then the king’s heart was disquieted, and his thoughts terrified him, so that his loins shook, and his legs trembled.

And the king cried aloud to bring up the wise men, and the Chaldeans, and the diviners: and he said unto the wise men of Babylon, What man shall read this writing, and shall know what it meaneth, that man shall be clothed in purple, and have chains of gold about his neck, and shall be the third lord in my kingdom.

Then were all the king’s wise men brought up; but they could not read the writing, neither shewed they the interpretation unto the king.

Then king Belshazzar was sore afraid, and lost his form altogether; and his mighty men were afraid.

Then the queen went up into the hall for the king’s sake, and for the sake of his mighty men, and said, O king, God grant thee long life. Let not thy thoughts so terrify thee, and be not thus discoloured!

There is a man in thy kingdom that hath the spirit of the holy gods. For in thy father’s time there was found in him enlightenment, wisdom, and prudence, as the wisdom of the gods: and thy father king Nebuchadnezzar set him over the astrologers, and the wise men, and the Chaldeans, and the diviners,

Because there was found with him a high spirit, and understanding, and wisdom, to interpret proverbs, and to divine dark sayings, and to reveal hidden things, Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar. Call Daniel, and he will tell you what it means.

And Daniel was brought up before the king: and the king said unto Daniel, Art thou Daniel the prisoner of one of Judah, whom the king my father hath brought out of Judah?

I have heard it said of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the holy gods, and that enlightenment, understanding, and great wisdom are found in thee.

Now I have called before me the wise and prudent to read this scripture, and to shew me what it meaneth: and they cannot tell me what it meaneth.

But of thee I hear that thou canst give the interpretation, and reveal the hidden things. If thou canst read the scripture, and shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed in purple, and shalt have chains of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third lord in my kingdom.

Then Daniel began to speak before the king: Keep thy gifts thyself, and give thy present unto another: nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and shew what it meaneth.

O LORD King, GOD Most High has given your father Nebuchadnezzar kingdom, power, honor and glory.

And for such power as was given him, all nations, people, and tongues feared and were afraid of him. He slew whom he would; he smote whom he would; he exalted whom he would; he humbled whom he would.

And when his heart was lifted up, and he was proud and haughty, he was cast out of the king’s seat, and lost his honour;

And he was cast out of men, and his heart was like unto beasts, and he walked with the wild beasts, and did eat grass like oxen; and his belly was under the dew of heaven, and was wet, until he learned that GOD Most High hath power over the kingdoms of men, and giveth them to whomsoever he will.

And thou, Belshazzar his son, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knowest all these things,

But thou hast exalted thyself against the LORD of heaven, and the vessels of his house have been brought before thee: and thou, and thy mighty men, and thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk therefrom, and praised the gods of silver, and of brass, and of iron, and of wood, and of stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor feel: but the LORD, which hath thy breath, and all thy ways in his hand, hast thou not honoured.

Therefore is this hand sent from him, and this writing, which is written.

But this is the writing recorded all there: Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.

And it signifieth this: Mene, that is, God has numbered and completed your kingdom.

tekel, that is, they weighed you in a balance and found you too light.

Peresh, that is, thy kingdom is divided, and given unto the Medes and Persians.

And Belshazzar commanded that Daniel should be clothed in purple, and that chains of gold should be put about his neck: and he proclaimed of him that he was the third lord in the kingdom.

And it came to pass in the night, that Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was slain.
(Daniel)
Chapter 6
Daniel’s deliverance from the lion’s den under Darius.

And Darius of Media took the kingdom when he was sixty and two years old.
Ch. 6, v. 1: And Darius saw fit to set over the whole kingdom an hundred and twenty governors.

And over these he set three princes, one of whom was Daniel, whom the governors should give account unto, and the king should be overcharged.

And Daniel excelled all the princes and governors: for there was a high spirit in him: therefore the king thought to set him over all the kingdom.

Therefore the princes and the governors sought how they might find a thing against Daniel that was against the kingdom: but they could find no thing nor iniquity: for he was faithful, that no fault nor iniquity should be found in him.

And the men said, We shall not find any thing to Daniel without above his service.

Then the princes and the governors came often before the king, and said unto him thus, O king Darius, God grant thee long life.

The princes of the kingdom, and the lords, and the governors, and the counsellors, and the captains, have all thought to send forth a royal commandment, and to make a strict decree, that whosoever shall ask anything of any god or man within thirty days, except of thee, O
king, alone, shall be cast into the lions’ den.

Wherefore, dear king, thou shalt confirm such a commandment, and sign thee, lest it be changed again, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which none may transgress.

So the king Darius signed himself.

And when Daniel knew that such a commandment was signed, he went up to his house; for he had open windows in his summer house toward Jerusalem. And he fell on his knees three times that day, and prayed, and praised, and thanked his God, as he had done before.

Then these men came often, and found