Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

1 ¹ King Nebuchadnezzar to all ^mpeoples, nations, and languages, ⁿthat dwell in all the earth: ^oPeace be multiplied to you! 2 It has seemed good to me to show the ^psigns and wonders that the ^qMost High God has done for me.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 ² I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and ^sthe visions of my head alarmed me. 6 So ^tI made a decree that ^uall the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then ^vthe magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but ^wthey could not make known to me its interpretation. 8 At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named ^xBelteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is ^ythe spirit of the holy gods³—and I told him the dream, saying, 9 “O Belteshazzar, ^zchief of the magicians, because I know that ^ythe spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no ^amystery is too difficult for you, tell me ^sthe visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. 10 ^sThe visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and ^bbehold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 ^cThe tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 ^dIts leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. ^eThe beasts of the field found shade under it, and ^ethe birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

13 “I saw in ^sthe visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, ^fa watcher, ^ga holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He ^hproclaimed aloud and said thus: ⁱ‘Chop down the tree and ^jlop off its branches, ^jstrip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. ^jLet the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; ^kand let seven periods of time ^lpass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of ^fthe watchers, the decision by the word of ^gthe holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High ^mrules the kingdom of men ⁿand gives it to whom he will and ^osets over it the lowliest of men.’ 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O ^pBelteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because ^qall the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for ^rthe spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

19 Then Daniel, whose name was ^pBelteshazzar, was ^sdismayed for a while, and ^this thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, ^umay the dream be for those who hate you ^uand its interpretation for your enemies! 20 ^vThe tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 ^wwhose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 22 ^xit is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. ^yYour greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, ^yand your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw ^za watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ^a‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till ^bseven periods of time pass over him,’ 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 ^cthat you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made ^dto eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and ^bseven periods of time shall pass over you, till ^eyou know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 26 And as it was commanded ^fto leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by ^gpracticing righteousness, ^hand your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, ⁱthat there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, ^j“Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by ^kmy mighty power as a royal residence and for ^kthe glory of my majesty?” 31 ^lWhile the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 ^mand you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, ^muntil you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. ^mHe was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

34 ⁿAt the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and ^omy reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored ^phim who lives forever,

36 At the same time ^vmy reason returned to me, and for ^wthe glory of my kingdom, ^wmy majesty and splendor returned to me. ^xMy counselors and ^ymy lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was ^zadded to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, ^apraise and extol and honor the ^bKing of heaven, ^cfor all his works are right and his ways are just; and ^dthose who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

1 ^bIn the first year of ^cDarius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a ^dMede, who was made king over the realm of the ^eChaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to ^fthe word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by ^gprayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and ^hmade confession, saying, ⁱ“O Lord, the ⁱgreat and awesome God, who ^jkeeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 ^kwe have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly ^land rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 ^mWe have not listened to ⁿyour servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to ^oour kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, ^pO Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, ^qthose who are near and ^qthose who are far away, in ^rall the lands to which you have driven them, because of ^sthe treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because ^kwe have sinned against you. 9 ^tTo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 ^mand have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by ⁿhis servants the prophets. 11 ^uAll Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, ^vrefusing to obey your voice. ^wAnd the curse and oath ^xthat are written in the Law of ^yMoses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because ^kwe have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ^zour rulers who ruled us,¹ by ^abringing upon us a great calamity. ^bFor under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 ^xAs it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, ^cturning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 ^dTherefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, ^efor the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and ^fwe have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt ^gwith a mighty hand, and ^hhave made a name for yourself, as at this day, ⁱwe have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord, ^jaccording to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, ^kyour holy hill, ^lbecause for our sins, and for ^mthe iniquities of our fathers, ⁿJerusalem and your people have become ^oa byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord,^{2 p}make your face to shine upon ^qyour sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 ^rO my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ^sour desolations, and ^tthe city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. ^uDelay not, ^vfor your own sake, O my God, because ^tyour city and ^wyour people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

20 ^xWhile I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for ^ythe holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^zGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, ^acame to me in swift flight at ^bthe time of the evening sacrifice. 22 ^cHe made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you ^dinsight and understanding. 23 ^eAt the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, ^fand I have come to tell it to you, for ^gyou are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word ^hand understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

24 ⁱ“Seventy weeks³ are decreed about your people and ^jyour holy city, to finish ^kthe transgression, to put an end to sin, ^land to atone for iniquity, ^mto bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and ⁿto anoint a most holy place.⁴ 25 ^oKnow therefore and understand that ^pfrom the going out of the word to restore and ^qbuild Jerusalem to the coming of an ^ranointed one, a ^sprince, there shall be seven weeks. And for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again⁵ with squares and moat, ^tbut in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall ^ube cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come ^vshall destroy the city and the sanctuary. ^wIts⁶ end shall come with a flood, ^xand to the end there shall be war. ^yDesolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,⁷ and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. ^zAnd on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until ^athe decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”