The Daily Audio Bible

Daniel Interprets the Dream

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went in to Ar′i-och, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then Ar′i-och brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshaz′zar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery which the king has asked, ²⁸ but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnez′zar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹ To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But as for me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living has this mystery been revealed to me, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

³¹ “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. ³² The head of this image was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it smote the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces; ³⁵ then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷ You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, ³⁸ and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the sons of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. ³⁹ After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things; and like iron which crushes, it shall break and crush all these. ⁴¹ And as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the miry clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,^[a] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever; ⁴⁵ just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel and His Friends Promoted

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnez′zar fell upon his face, and did homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸ Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel remained at the king’s court.

The Golden Image

3 King Nebuchadnez′zar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ² Then King Nebuchadnez′zar sent to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnez′zar had set up. ³ Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, were assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnez′zar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnez′zar had set up. ⁴ And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnez′zar has set up; ⁶ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” ⁷ Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image which King Nebuchadnez′zar had set up.

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chalde′ans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. ⁹ They said to King Nebuchadnez′zar, “O king, live for ever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image; ¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego. These men, O king, pay no heed to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnez′zar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego be brought. Then they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnez′zar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, well and good; but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace; and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnez′zar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.^{[b] 18} But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”

The Fiery Furnace

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnez′zar was full of fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was wont to be heated. ²⁰ And he ordered certain mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their mantles,^[c] their tunics,^[d] their hats, and their other garments, and they were cast into the burning fiery furnace. ²² Because the king’s order was strict and the furnace very hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.^[e]

The Prayer of Azariah in the Furnace

¹ And they walked about in the midst of the flames, singing hymns to God and blessing the Lord. ² Then Azari′ah stood and offered this prayer; in the midst of the fire he opened his mouth and said:

The Song of the Three Jews

²³ Now the king’s servants who threw them in did not cease feeding the furnace fires with naphtha, pitch, tow, and brush. ²⁴ And the flame streamed out above the furnace forty-nine cubits, ²⁵ and it broke through and burned those of the Chalde′ans whom it caught about the furnace. ²⁶ But the angel of the Lord came down into the furnace to be with Azari′ah and his companions, and drove the fiery flame out of the furnace, ²⁷ and made the midst of the furnace like a moist whistling wind, so that the fire did not touch them at all or hurt or trouble them.

²⁸ Then the three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and blessed God in the furnace, saying:

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnez′zar was astonished and rose up in haste. He said to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” ²⁵ He answered, “But I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnez′zar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego came out from the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their mantles^[g] were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. ²⁸ Nebuchadnez′zar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set at nought the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed′nego in the province of Babylon.

⁷ The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. ⁸ Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. ⁹ Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. ¹⁰ As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: ¹¹ whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice in so far as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. ¹⁴ If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory^[a] and of God rests upon you. ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a wrongdoer, or a mischief-maker; ¹⁶ yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God. ¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And

¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.

Tending the Flock of God

5 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed. ² Tend the flock of God that is your charge,^[b] not by constraint but willingly,^[c] not for shameful gain but eagerly, ³ not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd is manifested you will obtain the unfading crown of glory. ⁵ Likewise you that are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. ⁷ Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. ⁸ Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen^[d] you. ¹¹ To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings and Benediction

¹² By Silva′nus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God; stand fast in it. ¹³ She who is at Babylon,^[e] who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark. ¹⁴ Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you that are in Christ.