American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in certain of the children of Israel, even of the seed royal and of the nobles;
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, {Or, thy father, O King}the king, I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, who art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god.
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in certain of the children of Israel, even of the seed royal and of the nobles;
youths in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and endued with knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
And the king appointed for them a daily portion of the king's dainties, and of the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years; that at the end thereof they should stand before the king.
Now among these were, of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
And the prince of the eunuchs gave names unto them: unto Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abed-nego.
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's dainties, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Now God made Daniel to find kindness and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.
And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths that are of your own age? so would ye endanger my head with the king.
Then said Daniel to {Hebrew: Hammelzar.}the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us {Or, herbs}pulse to eat, and water to drink.
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the youths that eat of the king's dainties; and as thou seest, deal with thy servants.
So he hearkened unto them in this matter, and proved them ten days.
And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer, and they were fatter in flesh, than all the youths that did eat of the king's dainties.
So {Hebrew: Hammelzar.}the steward took away their dainties, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pulse.
Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
And at the end of the days which the king had {Hebrew: said.}appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king.
And in every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his realm.
And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.
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.
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the {Or, castle}palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and {Hebrew: none touched the ground.}touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power.
And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of heaven.
And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them.
Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and {Another reading is, the continual burnt-offering was taken away from him.}it took away from him the continual burnt-offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
And {Or, a host was given to it against the &c. Or, a host was set over the &c.}the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt-offering through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt-offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be {Hebrew: justified.}cleansed.
And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought {Hebrew: understanding.}to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end.
Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me {Or, where I had stood}upright.
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongeth to the appointed time of the end.
The ram which thou sawest, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
And the rough he-goat is the king of {Hebrew: Javan.}Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
And his power shall be mighty, but not {Or, with his power See verse 22.}by his own power; and he shall {Or, corrupt}destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do his pleasure; and he shall {Or, corrupt}destroy the mighty ones and {Hebrew: people of the saints.}the holy people.
And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in their security shall he {Or, corrupt}destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
And the vision of the evenings and mornings which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days to come.
And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king's business: and I wondered at the vision, {Or, but there was none to make it understood}but none understood it.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years whereof the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years.
And I set my face unto the Lord God, {Or, to seek after prayer &c.}to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
And I prayed unto Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments,
we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from thy precepts and from thine ordinances;
neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, that spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; {Or, though}for we have rebelled against him;
neither have we obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even turning aside, that they should not obey thy voice: therefore hath the curse been poured out upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God; for we have sinned against him.
And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil; for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet have we not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and {Or, deal wisely}have discernment in thy truth.
Therefore hath Jehovah watched over the evil, and brought it upon us; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, and we have not obeyed his voice.
And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
O Lord, according to all thy {Hebrew: righteousnesses.}righteousness, let thine anger and thy wrath, I pray thee, be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are round about us.
Now therefore, O our God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not {Hebrew: cause to fall.}present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies' sake.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.
And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God;
yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, {Or, being sore wearied}being caused to fly swiftly, {Or, came near unto me}touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
And he {Or, made me to understand}instructed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding.
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou art {Or, very precious Hebrew: precious things.}greatly beloved: therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.
Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, {Or, to restrain}to finish {Or, the transgression}transgression, and {Another reading is, to seal up.}to make an end of sins, and to {Or, purge away }make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and {Hebrew: prophet.}prophecy, and to anoint {Or, a most holy place}the most holy.
Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto {Hebrew: Messiah.}the anointed one, the prince, shall be {Or, seven weeks: and threescore and two weeks, it shall be &c.}seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times.
And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and {Or, there shall be none belonging to him}shall have nothing: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the {Or, meal-offering}oblation to cease; and {Or, upon the pinnacle of abominations shall be &c.}upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.
For thus saith Jehovah, After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty satraps, who should be throughout the whole kingdom;
and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account unto them, and that the king should have no damage.
Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Then these presidents and satraps {Or, came tumultuously (and so in verse 11:15)}assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the satraps, the counsellors and the governors, have consulted together {Or, that the king should establish a statutue, and make &c.}to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong interdict, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O king, establish the interdict, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which {Aramaic: passeth not away.}altereth not.
Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the interdict.
And when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward Jerusalem); and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.
Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's interdict: Hast thou not signed an interdict, that every man that shall make petition unto any god or man within thirty days, save unto thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which {Aramaic: passeth not away.}altereth not.
Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the interdict that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to rescue him.
Then these men assembled together unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no interdict nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; {Or, that there might be no change of purpose}that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.
Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were {Or, dancing girls}instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.
Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
And when he came near unto the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice; the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Then was the king exceeding glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God.
And the king commanded, and they brought those men that had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den.
Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you.
I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed; and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Now in the first year of {Hebrew: Coresh.}Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting {Or, abhorrence}contempt.
And {Or, the teachers}they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Then I, Daniel, looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on the brink of the river on this side, and the other on the brink of the river on that side.
And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?
And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my lord, what shall be the {Or, latter end}issue of these things?
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end.
Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but {Or, the teachers}they that are wise shall understand.
And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand and two hundred and ninety days.
Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days.
But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days.