American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them.
And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, O {Greek: Master.}Lord, {Or, thou art he that did make }thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is:
{The Greek text in this clause is somewhat uncertain.}who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our father David thy servant, didst say, {Psalm 2:1, 2}Why did the {Greek: nations.}Gentiles rage,And the peoples {Or, meditate}imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth set themselves in array,And the rulers were gathered together,Against the Lord, and against his {Greek: Christ.}Anointed:
for of a truth in this city against thy holy {Or, Child See marginal note on chapter 3:13.}Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the {Greek: nations.}Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together,
to do whatsoever thy hand and thy council foreordained to come to pass.
And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings: and grant unto thy {Greek: bondservants.}servants to speak thy word with all boldness,
while thy stretchest forth thy hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy {Or, Child See marginal note on chapter 3:13.}Servant Jesus.
{Or, Now to sum up what we are saying We have &c.}Now {Greek: upon.}in the things which we are saying the chief point is this We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
a minister of {Or, holy things}the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.
Why do the nations {Or, tumultuously assemble}rage,And the peoples meditate a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,And the rulers take counsel together,Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying,
Let us break their bonds asunder,And cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh:The Lord will have them in derision.
Then will he speak unto them in his wrath,And {Or, trouble}vex them in his sore displeasure:
Yet I have set my kingUpon my holy hill of Zion.
I will tell of the decree:Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son;This day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance,And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Now therefore be wise, O ye kings:Be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve Jehovah with fear,And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way,For his wrath {Or, may}will soon be kindled. {Or, Happy}Blessed are all they that take refuge in him.
Yet I have set my kingUpon my holy hill of Zion.
and he shall rule them with a rod of {Or, iron;as vessels of the potter, are they broken}iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of my Father:
For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of David.O Jehovah, our Lord,How excellent is thy name in all the earth,Who hast set thy glory {Or, above}upon the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou established strength,Because of thine adversaries,That thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,The moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him?And the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him but little lower than {Or, the angels Hebrew: Elohim.}God,And crownest him with glory and honor.
Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;Thou hast put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen,Yea, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O Jehovah, our Lord,How excellent is thy name in all the earth!
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
Then spake the Chaldeans to the king {Or, in Aramaic.}in the Syrian language, {Chapter 2:4-7, 28 is in Aramaic.}O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, {Or, The word is gone forth from me}The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof.
They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would {Aramaic: buy the time.}gain time, because ye see {Or, the word is gone forth from me: that if &c.}the thing is gone from me.
But if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter, forasmuch as no king, {Or, be he never so great and powerful, hath &c.}lord, or ruler, hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would {Or, give him time}appoint him a time, {Or, that he might}and he would show the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.
And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding;
he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.
Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;
but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:
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 hath made known to thee what shall come to pass.
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Thou, O king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible.
As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,
its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great {Or, rock}mountain, and filled the whole earth.
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.
And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with {Or, earthenware}miry clay.
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly {Or, brittle}broken.
And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with {Or, earthenware}miry clay, they shall mingle themselves {Or, by}with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay.
And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.
The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.
Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.
And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was {Or, at the king's court}in the gate of the king.
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel {Aramaic: saw.}had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.
Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.
And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and {Or, as otherwise read, it raised up one dominion}it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and {Or, dreadful}powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
I beheld till thrones were {Or, cast down}placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire.
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given {Aramaic: to the burning of fire.}to be burned with fire.
And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of {Aramaic: the sheath.}my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;
and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows.
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given {Or, for}to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall {Or, thresh it}tread it down, and break it in pieces.
And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.
And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
{Aramaic: Hitherto.}Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set to the {Or, the eighth}Sheminith. A Psalm of David.O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger,Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah; for I am withered away:O Jehovah, heal me; for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is sore troubled:And thou, O Jehovah, how long?
Return, O Jehovah, deliver my soul:Save me for thy lovingkindness' sake.
For in death there is no remembrance of thee:In Sheol who shall give thee thanks?
I am weary with my groaning;Every night make I my bed to swim;I water my couch with my tears.
Mine eye wasteth away because of grief;It waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.
Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity;For Jehovah hath heard the voice of my weeping.
Jehovah hath heard my supplication;Jehovah will receive my prayer.
All mine enemies shall be put to shame and sore troubled:They shall turn back, they shall be put to shame suddenly.
Why standest thou afar off, O Jehovah?Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
In the pride of the wicked {Or, he doth hotly pursue the poor}the poor {Hebrew: is set on fire.}is hotly pursued; {Or, They are taken}Let them be taken in the devices that they have conceived.
For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire,And {Or, blesseth the covetous, but contemneth &c.}the covetous renounceth, yea, {Or, revileth}contemneth Jehovah.
The wicked, in the pride of his countenance, saith, He will not require it.All his thoughts are, There is no God.
His ways are {Or, grievous}firm at all times;Thy judgments are far above out of his sight:As for all his adversaries, he puffeth at them.
He saith in his heart, I shall not be moved;To all generations I shall not be in adversity.
His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and {Or, fraud}oppression:Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
He sitteth in the lurking-places of the villages;In the secret places doth he murder the innocent;His eyes are privily set against the {Or, hapless}helpless.
He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert;He lieth in wait to catch the poor:He doth catch the poor, when he draweth him in his net.
{Another reading is, And being crushed.}He croucheth, he boweth down,And the {Or, hapless}helpless fall by his strong ones.
He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten;He hideth his face; he will never see it.
Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand:Forget not the {Or, meek.}poor.
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God,And say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?
Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest {Or, travail and grief}mischief and spite, {Or, to take it into thy hand}to requite it with thy hand:The {Or, hapless}helpless committeth himself unto thee;Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.
Break thou the arm of the wicked;And as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
Jehovah is King for ever and ever:The {Or, heathen}nations are perished out of his land.
Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek:Thou wilt {Or, establish}prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear;
To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,That man who is of the earth may be terrible no more.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. Maschil of David; when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?Save me, O God, by thy name,And judge me in thy might.
Hear my prayer, O God;Give ear to the words of my mouth.
For strangers are risen up against me,And violent men have sought after my soul:They have not set God before them. [Selah
Behold, God is my helper:The Lord is {Or, with}of them that uphold my soul.
{Another reading is, The evil shall return.}He will requite the evil unto {Or, them that lie in wait for me}mine enemies:Destroy thou them in thy truth.
With a freewill-offering will I sacrifice unto thee:I will give thanks unto thy name, O Jehovah, for it is good.
For he hath delivered me out of all trouble;And mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies.
For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God:Set me on high from them that rise up against me.
Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,And save me from the bloodthirsty men.
For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul;The mighty gather themselves together against me:Not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.
They run and prepare themselves without my fault:Awake thou to {Hebrew: meet.}help me, and behold.
Even thou, O Jehovah God of hosts, the God of Israel,Arise to visit all the nations:Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. [Selah
They return at evening, they howl like a dog,And go round about the city.
Behold, they belch out with their mouth;Swords are in their lips:For who, say they, doth hear?
But thou, O Jehovah, wilt laugh at them;Thou wilt have all the nations in derision.
{According to Septuagint Version and Vulgate, My strength.}Because of his strength I will give heed unto thee;For God is my high tower.
My God with his lovingkindness will meet me:God will let me see my desire upon {Or, them that lie in wait for me}mine enemies.
Slay them not, lest my people forget: {Or, Make them wander to and fro}Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down,O Lord our shield.
For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips,Let them even be taken in their pride,And for cursing and lying which they speak.
Consume them in wrath, consume them, so that they shall be no more:And let them know that God ruleth in Jacob,Unto the ends of the earth. [Selah
And at evening let them return, let them howl like a dog,And go round about the city.
They shall wander up and down for food,And tarry all night if they be not satisfied.
But I will sing of thy strength;Yea, I will sing aloud of thy lovingkindness in the morning:For thou hast been my high tower,And a refuge in the day of my distress.
Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing praises:For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.
A Song, a Psalm of Asaph.O God, keep not thou silence:Hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.
For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult;And they that hate thee have lifted up the head.
They take crafty counsel against thy people,And consult together against thy hidden ones.
They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation;That the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
For they have consulted together with one consent;Against thee do they make a covenant:
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;Moab, and the {Or, Hagrites See 1 Chronicles 5:10.}Hagarenes;
Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek;Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre:
Assyria also is joined with them;They have {Hebrew: been an arm to the children of Lot.}helped the children of Lot. [Selah
Do thou unto them as unto Midian,As to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon;
Who perished at Endor,Who became as dung for the earth.
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb;Yea, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna;
Who said, Let us take to ourselves in possessionThe {Or, pastures}habitations of God.
O my God, make them like the whirling dust;As stubble before the wind.
As the fire that burneth the forest,And as the flame that setteth the mountains on fire,
So pursue them with thy tempest,And terrify them with thy storm.
Fill their faces with confusion,That they may seek thy name, O Jehovah.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever;Yea, let them be confounded and perish;
That they may know that {Or, thou whose name alone is Jehovah, art &c.}thou alone, whose name is Jehovah,Art the Most High over all the earth.
And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with {Some ancient authorities omit new.}new tongues;
they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the {Or, nations (and elsewhere)}Gentiles.
Behold, my servant shall {Or, prosper}deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.