unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and
said unto the king, True, O king.
[25] He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the
midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
[26] Then Nebuchadnezzar
came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
[27] And the princes, governors, and captains, and
the king's counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no
power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had
passed on them.
[28] Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed
the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their
own God.
[29] Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any
thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their
houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
[30] Then
the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, in the province of Babylon.
Dan.4
[1] Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace
be multiplied unto you.
[2] I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought
toward me.
[3] How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
[4] I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine
house, and flourishing in my palace:
[5] I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon
my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
[6] Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise
men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
[7]
Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream
before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.
[8] But at the last Daniel
came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom
is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,
[9] O Belteshazzar, master of the
magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell
me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
[10] Thus were the visions
of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was
great.
[11] The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight
thereof to the end of all the earth:
[12] The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in
it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the
boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.
[13] I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold,
a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;
[14] He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the
tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from
under it, and the fowls from his branches:
[15] Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth,
even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth:
[16] Let his heart be changed from man's,
and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.
[17] This matter is by the
decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may
know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth
up over it the basest of men.
[18] This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar,
declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make
known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
[19] Then
Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The
king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar
answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine
enemies.
[20] The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the
heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;
[21] Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much,
and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls
of the heaven had their habitation:
[22] It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness