8Seizing the occasion, certain Chaldeans came forward to slander the Jews. 9They spoke up and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10You, O king, gave an order that everyone who hears the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, bagpipe, and all types of instruments must fall down and worship the golden statue, 11and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. 12There are certain Jews whom you appointed to administer the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; those men pay no heed to you, O king; they do not serve your god or worship the statue of gold that you have set up.”
13Then Nebuchadnezzar, in raging fury, ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to be brought; so those men were brought before the king. 14Nebuchadnezzar spoke to them and said, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my god or worship the statue of gold that I have set up? 15Now if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue that I have made when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all other types of instruments, [well and good]; but if you will not worship, you shall at once be thrown into a burning fiery furnace, and what god is there that can save you from my power?” 16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego said in reply to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter, 17for if so it must be, our God whom we serve is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will save us from your power, O king. 18But even if He does not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue of gold that you have set up.”
19Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego that his visage was distorted, and he gave an order to heat up the furnace to seven times its usual heat. 20He commanded some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to throw them into the burning fiery furnace. 21So these men, in their shirts, trousers, hats, and other garments, were bound and thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22Because the king’s order was urgent, and the furnace was heated to excess, a tongue of flame killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 23But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, dropped, bound, into the burning fiery furnace.
24Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and, rising in haste, addressed his companions, saying, “Did we not throw three men, bound, into the fire?” They spoke in reply, “Surely, O king.” 25He answered, “But I see four men walking about unbound and unharmed in the fire and the fourth looks like a divine being.” 26Nebuchadnezzar then approached the hatch of the burning fiery furnace and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came out of the fire. 27The satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the royal companions gathered around to look at those men, on whose bodies the fire had had no effect, the hair of whose heads had not been singed, whose shirts looked no different, to whom not even the odor of fire clung. 28Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who sent His angel to save His servants who, trusting in Him, flouted the king’s decree at the risk of their lives rather than serve or worship any god but their own God. 29I hereby give an order that [anyone of] any people or nation of whatever language who blasphemes the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb, and his house confiscated, for there is no other God who is able to save in this way.”
30Thereupon the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon.
31“King Nebuchadnezzar to all people and nations of every language that inhabit the whole earth: May your well-being abound! 32The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to relate. 33How great are His signs; how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures through-out the generations.”
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living serenely in my house, flourishing in my palace. 2I had a dream that frightened me, and my thoughts in bed and the vision of my mind alarmed me. 3I gave an order to bring all the wise men of Babylon before me to let me know the meaning of the dream. 4The magicians, exorcists, Chaldeans, and diviners came, and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its meaning known to me. 5Finally, Daniel, called Belteshazzar after the name of my god, in whom the spirit of the holy gods was, came to me, and I related the dream to him, [saying], 6“Belteshazzar, chief magician, in whom I know the spirit of the holy gods to be, and whom no mystery baffles, tell me the meaning of my dream vision that I have seen. 7In the visions of my mind in bed
I saw a tree of great height in the midst of the earth;
8The tree grew and became mighty;
Its top reached heaven,
9And it was visible to the ends of the earth.
Its foliage was beautiful
And its fruit abundant;
There was food for all in it.
Beneath it the beasts of the field found shade,
And the birds of the sky dwelt on its branches;
All creatures fed on it.
10In the vision of my mind in bed, I looked and saw a holy Watcher coming down from heaven. 11He called loudly and said:
‘Hew down the tree, lop off its branches,
Strip off its foliage, scatter its fruit.
Let the beasts of the field flee from beneath it
And the birds from its branches,
12But leave the stump with its roots in the ground.
In fetters of iron and bronze
In the grass of the field,
Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And share earth’s verdure with the beasts.
13Let his mind be altered from that of a man,
And let him be given the mind of a beast,
And let seven seasons pass over him.
14This sentence is decreed by the Watchers;
This verdict is commanded by the Holy Ones
So that all creatures may know
That the Most High is sovereign over the realm of man,
And He gives it to whom He wishes
And He may set over it even the lowest of men.’
15“I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had this dream; now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make its meaning known to me, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
16Then Daniel, called Belteshazzar, was perplexed for a while, and alarmed by his thoughts. The king addressed him, “Let the dream and its meaning not alarm you.” Belteshazzar replied, “My lord, would that the dream were for your enemy and its meaning for your foe! 17The tree that you saw grow and become mighty, whose top reached heaven, which was visible throughout the earth, 18whose foliage was beautiful, whose fruit was so abundant that there was food for all in it, beneath which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged— 19it is you, O king, you who have grown and become mighty, whose greatness has grown to reach heaven, and whose dominion is to the end of the earth. 20The holy Watcher whom the king saw descend from heaven and say,
Hew down the tree and destroy it,
But leave the stump with its roots in the ground.
In fetters of iron and bronze
In the grass of the field,
Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And share the lot of the beasts of the field
Until seven seasons pass over him—
21this is its meaning, O king; it is the decree of the Most High which has overtaken my lord the king. 22You will be driven away from men and have your habitation with the beasts of the field. You will be fed grass like cattle, and be drenched with the dew of heaven; seven seasons will pass over you until you come to know that the Most High is sovereign over the realm of man, and He gives it to whom He wishes. 23And the meaning of the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots is that the kingdom will remain yours from the time you come to know that Heaven is sovereign. 24Therefore, O king, may my advice be acceptable to you: Redeem your sins by beneficence and your iniquities by generosity to the poor; then
