1853. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh. Second Series. London: Murray, 1853.
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Khorsabad were contemporary structures, and that the north-west palace at Nimroud had a much higher antiquity than either."
That portion of the subject which applies most to our purpose is the result obtained from the inscriptions with which the sculptures are accompanied. In the language of the review already quoted — "The king of Assyria himself is represented superintending the building of the mounds upon which the palace with its bulls is to be built. This king, as the cuneiform inscription shews, is Sennacherib; and the sculptures, as Rawlinson and the initiated are permitted to read, celebrate the building at Nineveh of the great palace and its adjacent temples — the work of this great king. The inscriptions on the bulls at Kouyunjik record most minutely the manner in which the edifice was built, its general plan, and the various materials employed in decorating the halls, chambers, and roofs. Some of the inscriptions have a thrilling interest. They indicate that the Jews, taken in captivity by the Assyrian king, were compelled to assist in the erection of the palaces of their conquerors, and that wood for the building was brought from Mount Lebanon, precisely as Solomon had conveyed its cedars for the choice woodwork of the temple of the Lord. There is an awful strangeness in thus being brought face to face, as it were, with the solemn mysteries of the Bible and with our own earliest sacred recollections.
"During the month of December (1848) the treasure-seekers were rewarded with a rare harvest. A facade of the south-east side of the palace at Kouyunjik, forming apparently the chief entrance to the building, was discovered. It was 180 feet long, and presented no fewer than ten colossal bulls, with six human figures of gigantic proportions. The bulls were more or less injured; some of them were even shattered to pieces, but fortunately the lower parts of all remained untouched, and consequently the inscriptions were preserved. Two of these inscriptions contained the annals of six years of the reign of Sennacherib, 'besides numerous particulars connected with the religion of the Assyrians, their gods, their temples, and the erection of their palaces.' There can be no reasonable doubt of the accuracy of the translation made of these writings, and now given in Mr. Layard's volume. 587 The very differences and variations that occur when the cuneiform character is submitted to more than one translator attest to the correctness of the general interpretation. Colonel Rawlinson has translated into English the particular inscriptions of which we speak; and Dr. Hincks, an equally competent scholar, has done the same — both independently of each other; and there is no material discrepancy in their views. The inscription informs us that in the first year of his reign Sennacherib defeated Berodach-Baladan, king of Car-Duniyas, a city and country frequently mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions. It is not for the first time that the reader hears of this king, for he will remember how, When Hezekiah was sick, 'at that time Berodach-
587Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon. Being the result of a Second Expedition, undertaken for the trustees of the British Museum. By Austin H. Layard, M.P. London: Murray, 1853. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh. Second Series. London: Murray, 1853.
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Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah,' who boastfully shewed to the messengers all the treasures of his house. The Assyrian monument and holy writ thus begin to reflect light upon each other. But this is only a gleam of the illumination that follows. In the third year of his reign, according to the inscriptions, Sennacherib overran with his armies the whole of Syria. 'Hezekiah,' so runs the cuneiform writing, 'king of Judah, who had not submitted to my authority, forty-six of his principal cities, and fortresses and villages depending upon them of which I took no account, I captured, and carried away their spoil. I shut up himself within Jerusalem, his capital city.' The next passage, says Mr. Layard, is somewhat defaced, but enough remains to shew that he took from Hezekiah the treasure he had collected in Jerusalem — thirty talents of gold and eight hundred talents of silver, besides his sons, his daughters, and his slaves. The reader has not waited for us to remind him that in the 2nd Book of Kings it is written how 'in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib, king of Assyria, come up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them… And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah, king of Judah, three hundred talents of silver and Thirty Talents of Gold And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house.' It is something to have won from the earth such testimony on behalf of inspired Scripture. It is also something to have obtained from holy writ such evidence in favor of the monumental records of long-buried Nineveh.
"At a later period a chamber was discovered in which the sculptures were in better preservation than any before found at Kouyunjik. The slabs were almost entire, and the inscription was complete. The bas-reliefs represented the siege and capture, by the Assyrians, of a city of great extent and importance. 'In no other sculptures were so many armed warriors seen drawn up in array before a besieged city.' The sculptures occupied thirteen slabs, and told the whole narrative of the attack, the conquest, and the destruction of the enemy. The captives, as they appear in the bas-reliefs, have been stripped of their ornaments and fine raiment, are barefooted and half-clothed. But it is impossible to mistake the race to which they belong. They are Jews; for the stamp is on the countenance as it is impressed upon the features of their descendants at this very hour. The Assyrian sculptor has noted the characteristic lines and drawn them with surprising truth. To what city they belong we likewise know, for, above the figure of the king, who commands in person, it is declared, that 'Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment before the city of Lachish, gives permission for its slaughter.' That it was slaughtered we have good reason to believe, for is it not written in the Bible that Sennacherib had quitted Lachish, having vanquished it, before his generals returned with the tribute extorted from Hezekiah?
"If evidence were still wanting to prove the identity of the king who built
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Kouyunjik with the Sennacherib of the Old Testament, it would be sufficient to call attention to one other most remarkable discovery that has been made in these mysterious mounds. In a passage in the south-west corner of the Kouyunjik palace, Mr. Layard stumbled upon a large number of pieces of fine clay, bearing the impressions of seals, which there can be no doubt had been affixed, like modern official seals of wax, to documents written on leather or parchment. The writings themselves have, of course, decayed, but, curiously enough, the holes for the string by which the seal was fastened are still visible; and in some instances the ashes of the string itself may be seen, together with the unmistakable marks of the finger and thumb. Four of these seals are purely Egyptian. Two of them are impressions of a royal signet. 'It is,' says Mr. Layard, 'one well known to Egyptian scholars, as that of the second Sabaco, the AEthiopian of the twenty-fifth dynasty. On the same piece of clay is impressed an Assyrian seal, with a, device representing a priest ministering before the king, probably a royal signet.' We entreat the reader's attention to what follows. Sabaco reigned in Egypt at the end of the seventh century before Christ, the very time at which Sennacherib ascended the throne. 'He is probably the So mentioned in the 2 Kings 17:4 as having received ambassadors from Hoshea, king of Israel, who, by entering into a league with the Egyptians, called down the vengeance of Shalmaneser, whose tributary he was, which led to the first great captivity of the people of Samaria. Shalmaneser we know to have been an immediate predecessor of Sennacherib, and Tirhakah, the Egyptian king, who was defeated by the Assyrians near Lachish, was the immediate successor of Sabaco II. It would seem, that a peace having been concluded between the Egyptians and one of the Assyrian monarchs, probably Sennacherib, the royal signets of the two kings, thus found together, were attached to the treaty, which was deposited among the archives of the kingdom.' The document itself has perished, but the proof of the alliance between the two kings remains, and is actually reproduced from the archive-chamber of the old Assyrian king. The illustration of Scripture-history is complete, and the testimony in favor of the correct interpretation of the cuneiform character perfect."
Long as this extract is, it gives but a slight specimen of the surprising amount of scriptural illustration derived from this new and unexpected source. We add a last and final one: — "Ten years have scarcely elapsed since the first discovery of ruins on the site of Nineveh was made, and already there lies before us an amount of information, having regard to the history of the old Assyrian people, of which we had previously not the most distant conception. When Mr. Layard published, in 1849, the account of his first Assyrian researches, the monuments recovered were comparatively scanty, and the inscriptions impressed upon them could not be deciphered. Now, a completed history can be traced in the sculptured remains, and the inscriptions may be followed with the same facility as the Greek or any other character. That they may be read with immense profit and instruction is
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evident from the startling facts which they have hitherto revealed. Some of these facts we venture briefly to place before the reader. We have previously hinted that the earliest king of whose reign we have any detailed account is the builder of the north-west palace at Nimrod, the most ancient edifice yet beheld in Assyria. His records, however, furnish the names of five, if not seven, of his predecessors, some of whom it is believed founded palaces, afterwards erected by their successors. The son of this king, it is certain, built the center palace of Nimroud, and raised the obelisk, now in the British Museum, upon which the principal events of his reign are inscribed. Upon that obelisk are names corresponding to names that are found in the Old Testament. The fortunate coincidence furnishes at once the means of fixing specific dates, and enables Mr. Layard to place the accession of the Assyrian monarch who built the oldest Nimroud palace at the latter part of the tenth century before Christ. The builder of the palace of Khorsabad is proved to have been the Sargon mentioned by Isaiah. The ruins of his palace supply the most complete details of his reign; and from the reign of Sargon a complete list has been obtained of all the kings down to the fall of the empire. The son of Sargon was Sennacherib, who ascended the throne in the year 703 b.c. We know from the Bible that Sennacherib was succeeded by his son Esarhaddon, and we now ascertain from the monuments that one of the palaces at Nimroud was the work of his reign. The son of Esarhaddon built; the south-east palace on the mound of Nimroud; and, although no part of his history has been as yet recovered, there is good reason for concluding him to have been the Sardanapalus who, conquered (b.c. 606) by the Medes and Babylonians under Cyaxares, made one funeral pile of his palace, his wealth, and his wives.
"While it is certain that there is no mention of Nineveh before the 12th century b.c. Mr. Layard is still of opinion that the city and empire existed long before that period. Egyptian remains found at Karnak refer to a country called Assyria, and the enterprising explorer is not without hope that further investigation will supply him with still more ancient records than any he now possesses. The monuments of Nineveh, as far as they go, corroborate all extant history in describing the monarch as a thorough Eastern despot, 'unchecked by popular opinion, and having complete power over the lives and property of his subjects; rather adored as a god than feared as a man, and yet himself claiming that authority and general obedience in virtue of his reverence for the national deities and the national religion.' The dominion of the king, according to the inscriptions, extended to the central provinces of Asia Minor and Armenia northward; to the western provinces of Persia eastward; to the west as far as Lydia and Syria; and to the south to Babylonia and the northern part of Arabia. 'The empire appears to have been at all times a kind of confederation formed by many tributary States, whose kings were so far independent that they were only bound to furnish troops to the supreme lord in time of war, and to pay them yearly a certain tribute.'
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The Jewish tribes, it is now proved, held their dependent position upon the Assyrian king from a very early period; and it is curious to observe that, wherever an expedition against the kings of Israel is mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions, it is invariably stated to have been undertaken on the ground that they had not paid their customary tribute.
"At every step sacred history is illustrated, illuminated, and explained by the speaking stones of Nineveh; and in this regard alone the Assyrian discoveries have a significance beyond any revelation that has been made in modern times. Even the architecture of the sacred people may be rendered visible to the eye by comparing it with that of the Assyrian structures; and certainly not the least instructive result of all Mr. Layard's labors is the ingenious analogy drawn by Mr. Fergusson in his 'Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis Restored,' between the temple of Solomon and the palace of the Assyrian king."
Historical Scripture
Translations
Translation: Daniel 1
CHAPTER 1
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon arrived at Jerusalem and besieged it.
2 And God delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, and part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar, into the house of his god; and he placed the vessels in the treasure-house of his god.
3 Then the king commanded Aspenaz, the chief of the eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel, and of the royal seed, and of the nobles, 4 Youths in whom there was no blemish, but of beautiful aspect, skilled in all prudence, and understanding knowledge, and capable of expressing their thoughts, and in whom was rigor, that they might stand in the king's palace and be taught the literature and language of the Chaldees.
5 And the king appointed them a daily allotment of the royal food, and of the wine of his own drinking; thus nourishing them for three years, that at the end they should stand before the king.
6 Now, among these youths there were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Misael, and Azariah.
7 The chief of the eunuchs gave them each names: he called Daniel, Belteshazzar; Hananiah, Shadrach; and Misael, Meshach; and Azariah, Abednego.
8 And Daniel determined in his heart not to pollute himself with the portion of the king's food and drink: and he requested the chief of the eunuchs that he might not thus defile himself.
9 Now, God had placed Daniel in favor and pity before the chief of the eunuchs.
10 And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, — I am afraid of my lord the king, he has appointed your food and drink, for he will observe your
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faces emaciated when compared with the youths your equals, thus ye will endanger my head with the king.
11 Then said Daniel to Meltzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Misael, and Azariah, — 12 Try thy servants for ten days: let nothing but pulse be given us to eat and water to drink.
13 Then let our countenances be inspected before thy face, and the countenances of the youths who eat a portion of the royal diet, and deal with thy servants, according to what thou shalt behold.
14 So he listened to their advice, and proved them for ten days. 15 And at the end of the ten days their countenances appeared plump, and they were fatter than all the other youths who had partaken of the royal diet.
16 Then Meltzar removed both their portion of food and of wine, and gave them pulse.
17 Thus God gave to these four youths knowledge, and science in all literature, and wisdom; and Daniel received the power of understanding all visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the period at which the king commanded them to be brought before him, the chief of the eunuchs introduced them to Nebuchadnezzar.
19 Then the king addressed them: and among them all none was like Daniel, Hananiah, Misael, and Azariah, as they stood before the king.
20 And in every expression of wisdom and intelligence, in which they were examined by the king, he found them ten times superior to all the soothsayers and astrologers throughout his whole realm.
21 And Daniel continued until the first year of king Cyrus.
Translation: Daniel 2
CHAPTER
1 Now, in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams: and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep became interrupted.
2 Then the king commanded them to call together the astrologers and soothsayers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled for understanding the dream, 4 And the Chaldeans said to the king in Syriac: O king, live for ever! Tell thy servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, — The matter is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me both the dream and its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces and your bones shall become a dunghill: 6 But if ye will show the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive from me large rewards, and gifts, and much honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.
7 They answered a second time and said: Let the king narrate the dream to his servants, and we will declare its interpretation.
8 The king answered and said: In truth I perceive that ye would gain time, because ye know that the dream has fallen out of your mind, 9 Besides, if ye will not declare to me the dream, there is but one sentence for you: as ye have prepared a lying and corrupt discourse to relate before me, until the time be changed, wherefore narrate the dream to me, and I shall know your ability to declare its interpretation.
10 The Chaldeans replied before the king, saying: There is not a man upon earth who can explain the king's matter; besides, no king, or prince, or
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prefect ever made such a request to any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean: 11 And the subject of the king's inquiry is precious, and none can explain it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 On this account the king was filled with anger and fury, and ordered the destruction of all the wise men of Babylon.
13 Then the edict went forth, and the wise men were slain, and they sought Daniel and his companions for the purpose of slaying them.
14 Then Daniel inquired concerning the counsel, and the edict of Arioch the captain of the royal guards, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.
15 He announced and said to Arioch, the king's captain: Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king's presence? Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel entered and asked the king to give him time, and he would bring the interpretation to the king.
17 Then Daniel went home, and opened the subject to Hananiah, and Misael, and Azariah, his companions: 18 That they might implore mercy from the God of heaven concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision by night: then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever! Wisdom and might are his: 21 It is he who changeth times and seasons: He appoints and removes kings: He gives wisdom to the wise, And knowledge to those who are skilled in science.
22 He reveals hidden and secret things, He knows what lies hid in darkness, And light dwells with him.
23 O God of my fathers, I confess to thee and praise thee: For thou hast given me wisdom and strength: Thou hast now revealed to me what we desired of thee: Thou hast made known to us the king's request.
24 Therefore Daniel went unto Arioch, whom the king had ordered to slay the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: Introduce me to the king, and I will show him the interpretation.
25 Then Arioch hastily introduced Daniel to the king, and said thus to him: I have found a man among the sons of the captivity of Judah, who will make known the interpretation to the king.
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to tell me the dream which I saw, as well as its interpretation?
27 Daniel answered the king by saying: The wise men and the magi, the astrologers and sorcerers, cannot declare to the king what he demands; 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets: He has declared to
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King Nebuchadnezzar the events of the latter days: This is thy dream, this is the vision of thy head upon thy couch.
29 Thy thoughts, O king, came up to thee upon thy bed, as to what shall be hereafter: He who reveals secrets has explained the future to thee.
30 And as to me, this secret was not revealed to me through my superiority in wisdom over other living men, but that I should explain the interpretation to the king, and that thou shouldst know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, wast looking, and beheld a great image! This great image and its excellent splendor stood before thee, And its form was terrible.
32 The head of this image was of pure gold: Its breast and its arms were of silver: Its belly and thighs of brass.
33 Its legs of iron: Its feet partly of iron and partly of clay: 34 Thou wast looking until a stone was cut out without human hand, It struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them.
35 Then the iron and the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer thrashingfloor; and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them: and the stone which struck the image became a great mountains and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will declare its interpretation before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: For the God of heaven has given to thee a kingdom of power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wherever the dwelling—place of the children of men, of the beasts of the field, and of the fowls of heaven exists, He hath given it into thine handy and hath made thee ruler over all, Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after this shall arise another kingdom inferior to them, And another of brass — a third kingdom shall succeed, And it shall bear sway over all the earth.
40 Then a fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: For as iron breaks all things in pieces and reduces them to atoms, And as iron bruises all these things, So shall this empire bruise and brake to pieces.
41 And whereas thou didst behold the feet and the toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron: The kingdom shall be divided: the strength of iron shall be in it: Because thou sawest iron mingled with the moistened clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay; So that kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile: 43 And whereas thou didst behold iron mixed with testaceous clay, So they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: But they shall not adhere to one another, as iron will not mingle with clay.
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: And this kingdom shall not be left to any other people, But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, And it shall stand for ever.
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45 Besides this thou didst behold the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and gold. The great God has made known the coming events of futurity: The dream is true, and the interpretation of it is correct.
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel; and commanded men to offer to him a sacrifice and a sweet-smelling fragrance.
47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Truly your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since thou hast been able to reveal this secret.
48 Then the king exalted Daniel, and gave him many valuable presents, and appointed him ruler of the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the elders over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 Then Daniel made a request of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was at the king's gate.
Translation: Daniel 3
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made a golden image; its height was sixty cubits, its breadth six cubits. He erected it on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
2 Then King: Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather together the princes, the satraps, and the magistrates, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the presidents, and all the governors of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
3 Then the princes, the senators, and the magistrates, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the presidents, and all the governors of the provinces collected together at the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. And when they stood before the image which Nebuchadnezzar had erected, 4 A herald proclaimed in the midst of the multitude, O people, nations, and languages, to you it is spoken: 5 Whenever ye shall hear the sound of the trumpet, harp, pipe, psaltery, sackbut, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye must fall down and worship the golden image which King Nebuchadnezzar has erected.
6 And whosoever shall not bend the knee and adore, shall be instantly cast into the midst of a furnace of burning fire.
7 Therefore at the very same hour, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, harp, pipe, psaltery, sackbut, dulcimer, and all musical instruments, all people, languages, and nations, fell down adoring the golden image which King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.
8 Wherefore the Chaldeans immediately approached and vociferously accused the Jews.
9 They spoke, and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
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10 Thou, O king, hast issued an edict, that as soon as every man shall hear the sound of the trumpet, harp, pipe, psaltery, sackbut, dulcimer, and all musical instruments, he shall fall down and adore the golden image.
11 And he who shall not fall down and adore, shall be east into the midst of a furnace of burning fire.
12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the administration of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: these men have not paid attention to thee, O king: they do not worship thy gods, and they do not adore the image which thou hast erected.
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar, with rage and fury, commanded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be brought before him: then those men (the Chaldeans) brought them up before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that ye do not worship my gods, nor yet adore the image which I have erected?
15 Now, are ye prepared, as soon as ye shall hear the sound of the trumpet, harp, pipe, psaltery, sackbut, dulcimer, and all musical instruments, to fall down and adore the image which I have made? For if ye will not adore it, ye shall be east the stone hour into the midst of a furnace of burning fire: and who is that God who shall deliver you from my hand?
16 Shadrach, Meshaeh, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, we are not anxious about our reply to thee concerning this matter.
17 Behold! our God whom we worship is powerful. He can free us from the furnace of burning fire, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not worship thy gods, and we will not adore the golden image which thou hast erected.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the figure of his face was changed towards Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: he spoke and commanded the furnace to be heated seven times more than it was usual to heat it.
20 And he commanded the very strongest of his attendants to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to east them into the furnace of burning fire.
21 Then those men were bound in their mantles, and turbans, and garments, and were east into the furnace of burning fire.
22 Because the king's order was urgent, and he had commanded the furnace to be made so exceedingly hot, the extremity of the flame slew the men who had taken up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
23 And those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound in the midst of the furnace of burning fire.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was terrified, and rose in haste, and spoke, and said to his counselors, Did we not cast these men bound into the furnace? They answered and said to the king, True, O king!
25 He answered and said, But I see four men loose, walking in the fire,
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and they have no hurt: and the aspect of the fourth is like the Son of a God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of burning fire; he spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most High God, come forth and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the midst of the fire.
27 Then the satraps, generals, prefects, and counselors of the king assembled to behold those men, over whose body the fire had no power, and a hair of their head was not burnt, neither were their garments changed, nor had the smell of fire passed over them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and preserved his servants, who have trusted in him and changed the king's edict, and delivered up their bodies, that they might neither worship nor adorn any god except their own God.
29 Hence I issue a decree, that any nation, people, and tongue, which shall utter a perverse speech against the God of these men, namely, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and his house shall be reduced to a dungheap: because there is no other God who can deliver after this method.
30 Then the king rendered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego prosperous in the province of Babylon.
Translation: Daniel 4
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king unto all people, nations, and tongues, which dwell on the whole earth, peace be multiplied unto you!
2 It pleases me to narrate the signs and wonders which the High God has wrought towards me.
3 How great are his signs! how mighty his wonders! His kingdom everlasting — his dominion from age to age.
4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace: 5 I saw a dream which terrified me: and the thoughts upon my bed, and the visions of my head disturbed me.
6 And I issued a decree for bringing all the wise men of Babylon before me, who should explain the interpretation of my dream to me.
7 Then the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers entered, and I told my dream before them, and they did not furnish me with its interpretation.
8 At length Daniel was brought before me, whose name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and I told my dream before him.
9 O Belteshazzar, prince of the magi, because I know the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret overcomes thee, explain the visions of the dream which I saw and its interpretation.
10 These were the visions of my head upon my bed: I saw, and behold! a tree in the midst of the land, and its height was great.
11 The tree grew and became strong, and its height reached to heaven, and its aspect to the extremity of the earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful, and its fruit plentiful, and food for all was in it: the beast of the field took shelter under it, and the fowls of heaven dwelt
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in its branches, and all flesh was nourished by it.
13 I was gazing in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven.
14 He cried with a loud voice, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and tear off its leaves, pluck off its boughs, and scatter its fruits: Let the beast flee away from its shadow, and the birds from its branches.
15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and with a band of iron and brass, in the herb of the field; and let it be wet with the rain of heaven, and let its portion be with the beast in the herb of the field.
16 Let his heart be changed from a human heart, and let the heart of a beast be given to him: and let seven times pass over him.
17 The edict is in the decree of the watchers, and the demand in the word of the holy ones, That living men may know the Most High to be ruler in the kingdom of men, He will give it to whom he will, And will raise up the humble man as its ruler: 18 I King Nebuchadnezzar saw this dream: and do thou Belteshazzar declare the interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom cannot unfold it to me: but thou canst do it, because the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.
19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, became stupified for almost one hour, and his thoughts disturbed him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream and its interpretation distress thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, O my lord, may the dream be for thine enemies, and its interpretation for thy foes.
20 The tree which thou sawest so great and strong, whose magnitude reached to heaven, and its aspect over the whole earth; 21 Whose foliage was beautiful, and whose fruit was copious, In which was food for all, and under which dwelt the beasts of the field, and on whose branches rested the birds of heaven, 22 Is thyself, O king; Thou hast become great and strong; Thy magnitude has been multiplied, and extended to the heavens; Thy power to the ends of the earth.
23 When the king saw a watcher and a holy one descend from heaven, who said, Hew down the tree and destroy it; leave only the stump of its roots in the earth; and let it be with a band of iron and brass in the herb of the field, and let it be washed with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the beast of the field, until seven times pass over it.
24 This is the interpretation, O king: this is the decree of the most High, which concerns the lord my king.
25 They shall drive thee from men, and thy habitation shall be with the beasts of the field; they shall feed thee with grass like oxen, and shall moisten thee with the dew of heaven; and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou shalt acknowledge the most High as the ruler over the kingdom of men, who will give it to whomsoever he will.
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26 And when they spoke of leaving the stump of the tree's roots: thy kingdom shall stand for thee, from which thou shalt acknowledge that there is dominion in the heavens.
27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee; break away thy sins by righteousness, and thy iniquities by pity to the poor. Behold, there shall be a prolongation to thy peace, (a medicine for thine errors.)
28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 After twelve months he was walking in the palace of his kingdom at Babylon.
30 The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon which I have built for the royal seat of the kingdom, in the mightiness of my valor, and in the splendor of my excellency?
31 While the speech was in the mouth of the king, a voice descended from heaven, They say unto thee, O King Nebuchadnezzar, thy kingdom has departed from thee.
32 They shall expel thee from among men, and thy habitation shall be with the beasts of the field; they shall make thee eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou shalt acknowledge a lofty ruler in the kingdom of men, and who shall give it to whomsoever he pleases.
33 In that hour was the word completed upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was cast out from men, and eat grass like oxen, and was moistened by the dew of heaven, until his nails became like claws, and his hair like the wings of eagles.
34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar raised my eyes to heaven, and my intellect returned to me, and I blessed him on high, and praised and glorified him living for ever, because his power is eternal, and his kingdom of perpetual duration.
35 And all the dwellers on the earth are considered as nothing; and he does according to his pleasure in the army of the heavens, and among the dwellers upon earth; there is none who can hinder his hand, or say unto him, Why dost thou act thus?
36 At the determined time my intellect returned to me, and I returned to the excellency of my kingdom; my honor and my dignity was restored to me, and my counselors and elders consulted me again; and I was established in my kingdom, and more ample dignity was added to me.
37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, and extol, and glorify the king of heaven, because all his works are truth, and his ways are judgment: and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Translation: Daniel 5
1 Belshazzar the king made a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles, and drank wine before the thousand.
2 Belshazzar having tasted the wine, commanded (men) to bring the vessels of gold and silver which Nebuchadnezzar his father had brought from the Temple at Jerusalem, that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them.
3 Then they brought the golden vessels which had been taken from the house of God at Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, of brass and iron, of wood and stone.
5 In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand came forth, and wrote in the neighborhood of the candlestick on the surface of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the palm of the hand as it was writing.
6 Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts affrighted him, and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote against each other.
7 The king cried mightily that the magi, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers, should be brought in; and the king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and declare its interpretation to me, shall be clothed in purple, with a chain of gold about his neck, and shall rank third in the kingdom.
8 Then entered all the king's wise men, and were unable to read the writing, and to explain to the king its interpretation.
9 Then king Belshazzar was much frightened, and his countenance was changed, and his princes became anxious.
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10 The queen, in consequence of the words of the king and his nobles, entered into the banqueting-house, and spoke and said: O king! live for ever — Let not thy thoughts frighten thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.
11 There is a man in thy kingdom in whom exists the spirit of the holy gods, and in the days of thy father, intelligence, and knowledge, and wisdom, like that of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar, thy father — the king, I say, thy father — made him chief of the magi, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
12 Because an enlarged mind, and a discerning understanding, the interpretation of dreams, the revelation of secrets, and the solution of difficulties were found in him, namely, Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar; now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.
13 Then Daniel was introduced before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel: Art thou that Daniel of the sons of the captivity of Judah, whom my father led away from Judah?
14 I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee; and intelligence, knowledge, and superior wisdom have been found in thee.
15 And now the wise men and magicians have been brought before me for the purpose of reading this writing, and of unfolding its interpretation to me; and they cannot declare the interpretation of the matter.
16 And I heard of thee, that thou canst solve difficulties and unravel secrets; now, if thou canst read this writing, and explain its interpretation to me, thou shalt be clothed in purple with a chain of gold round thy neck, and shalt hold the third rank in the kingdom.
17 Then answered Daniel and said before the king: Let thy gifts be for thyself, and give thy rewards to another. Yet I will read the writing to the king, and reveal its interpretation to him.
18 O king, the High God gave to King Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, an empire, and magnificence, and loftiness, and splendor.
19 And on account of the magnificence which God conferred upon him, all people, nations, and tongues trembled, and were frightened at the sight of him; whom he wished to slay, was slain, (vol. 1 p. 332, note,) and whom he wished, he raised up, and whom he wished, he cast down.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened to pride, he was cast down from the throne of his kingdom, and they deprived him of his glory.
21 And he was driven away from the children of men, and his heart was placed among the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was moistened with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged the rule of the most high God in the kingdom of men, and his appointing over it whom he wills.
22 And thou, O Belshazzar his son, hast not humbled thine heart, although thou knowest all this.
23 And thou hast raised thyself against the God of heaven when they
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brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thy nobles, thy wives and concubines, drank wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron, of wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor understand; and thou hast not honored God, in whose hand is thy breath, and in whose power are all things.
24 At that time a portion of a hand was sent from God's presence, and this writing was marked down.
25 And this is the writing which was engraven. Mene, Mene, it has been numbered. Tekel, it has been weighed. Upharsin, and they are dividing.
26 This is the interpretation of the sentence, — Mene, God has numbered and finished thy kingdom.
27 Tekel, weigh, or it has been weighed — thou hast been weighed in a balance, and hast been found wanting.
28 Peres for Upharsin, thy kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
29 Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel in purple, and a chain of gold was placed around his neck, and they cried out before him that he was the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 In that night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, when he was sixty-two years old.
Translation: Daniel 6
1 It pleased Darius, and he set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty presidents of the provinces, who should be over the whole kingdom.
2 And over them were three satraps, of whom Daniel was one, that the presidents of the provinces should render an account to them, and the king should suffer no loss.
3 Then Daniel himself was superior to the satraps and presidents of the provinces, because a nobler spirit was in him; and the king was thinking of elevating him over the whole kingdom.
4 Then the satraps and presidents of the provinces sought to find an occasion against Daniel in his administration of the kingdom, and they could find neither occasion nor fault, because he was trustworthy, and neither fault nor crime was found in him.
5 Then those men said, we shall not find in this Daniel any occasion, unless we find it against him as to the law of his God.
6 Then the satraps and presidents of the provinces came in a body to the king, and spoke thus to him, King Darius, live for ever!
7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the senators and governors of provinces, the counselors and the generals, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to confirm the edict, that whoever should ask a petition from any god or man for thirty days, except of thee, O king, shall be cast into the lions' den.
8 Now, O king, establish the edict, and sign the writing which is immutable, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not pass away.
9 Wherefore King Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 But when Daniel knew the writing to have been signed, he entered into
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his house, and his windows being open in his chamber towards Jerusalem, three times every day he bent upon his knees and prayed, and confessed before his God, as he was accustomed to do.
11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel uttering prayers and supplications before his God.
12 Then they approached, and said before the king concerning the edict: Hast thou not signed an diet, that if any man shall ask anything from any god or man even for thirty days, except of thee, O king, he should be cast into the lions' den? The king answered and said, — The saying is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which passes not away.
13 Then they spoke, and said before the king: Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, has not given his mind to thee, O king, nor to the edict which thou hast signed, but prays according to his custom three times a day.
14 Then the king, on hearing those words, was much grieved within himself, and applied his heart to deliver Daniel, and was anxious to snatch him away even to the setting of the sun.
15 Then those men assembled around the king and said, — Know, O king, this is the law of the Medes and Persians; No edict or statute which the king has established can be changed.
16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and east him into the lions' den. The king answered, and said to Daniel: Thy God, whom thou servest continually, will surely deliver thee.
17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the cave; and the king sealed it with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, lest the decree concerning Daniel should be changed.
18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting, and musical instruments were not brought before him, and sleep departed from him.
19 Then the king rose in the morning, as soon as it was light, and came in haste to the lions' den.
20 And when he approached the den, he cried with a sorrowful voice to Daniel, and the king spoke and said to Daniel, Daniel! servant of the living God: Could thy God, whom thou servest continually, preserve thee from the lions?
21 Then Daniel said unto the king, O king, live for ever! 22 My God sent his angel, and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me, since integrity before him was found in me, and also before thee, O king, I have committed nothing wrong.
23 Then the king was highly delighted within himself, and commanded Daniel to be brought out of the den; and Daniel was brought out of the den, and no injury was found upon him, because he trusted in his God.
24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had invented the accusation against Daniel, and they were cast into the den, them-
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selves, their children, and their wives, and before they arrived at the pavement of the den, the lions obtained the mastery of them, and broke in pieces all their bones.
25 Then King Darius wrote to all people, nations, and languages, which dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you!
26 I have issued a decree throughout the whole of the dominions of my kingdom, that they may fear and be afraid at the presence of the God of Daniel, because he is the living God, and endureth for ever; and his kingdom shall not be overthrown, and his dominion shall be for ever.
27 In delivering and rescuing, and uttering signs and wonders in heaven and earth; for he delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
28 So Daniel himself lived prosperously in the reigns of Darius, and of Cyrus the Persian.
Translation: Daniel 7
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream, and visions of his head upon his bed. He wrote the dream at the time, and related the sum of the words.
2 Daniel spoke and explained; I saw in my vision by night, and behold! four winds of heaven contending in a great sea.
3 And four large beasts came forth from the sea, differing among themselves.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings; I kept looking till the wings were plucked, and it was raised from the ground, and stood on its feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
5 And behold a second beast following, like a bear, and it was raised on one side, and three tusks were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, Arise, devour much flesh.
6 After this I looked, and behold another beast like a leopard, and the wings of a bird were on its back; the beast had four heads, and dominion was granted to it.
7 I looked again after this in the visions of the night, and behold! a fourth beast, formidable and terrible, and exceedingly strong; it had large iron teeth, devouring and crushing, and trampling the remnants under its feet; it was different from all the former beasts, and had ten horns.
8 I was attentive to the horns, and behold another small horn grew up among the others; and three of the former horns were torn away from its face; and behold! eyes like human eyes were in that horn, and a mouth speaking boastfully.
9 I continued looking till thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days was seated. His raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like
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clean wool; his throne was sparks of fire, and its wheels burning flame.
10 A river of fire flowed forth, and went out from his presence; a thousand thousand waited upon him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; judgment was fixed, and books were opened.
11 Then I continued looking on account of the utterance of boasting words which the horn uttered; I continued gazing till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and given up to the burning of fire.
12 And they had taken away their dominion from the rest of the beasts, and long life was given to them even for a time and a time.
13 I saw in visions of the night, and behold in the clouds of heaven, as it were, the Son of man came, and advanced even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And power was given unto him, and glory, and a kingdom, and all people, nations, and languages, shall serve him; his dominion is an eternal dominion which shall never be taken away, and his kingdom shall never be abolished.
15 As to me, Daniel, my breath was stopped within my bodyand the visions of my head frightened me.
16 I approached one of those who were present, and inquired of him the truth concerning all these things, and he informed me, and opened up for me the explanation of these events.
17 These four great beasts which thou sawest, are four kingdoms which shall arise out of the earth: 18 And they shall possess the kingdom of the saints of the most High, and these shall obtain the dominion even for an age, and for ages of ages.
19 Then I desired the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, and very terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and his claws of brass, devouring, and crushing, and trampling the remnants under its feet.
20 Also concerning the ten horns which were on its head, and of the last which rose up when the three former ones had fallen, namely, the horn which had eyes, and a mouth speaking grandly, whose aspect was more mighty than its fellows.
21 I continued gazing, and this horn made war with the holy ones, and prevailed against them.
22 Then came the Ancient of days, and judgment was given to the saints of the lofty ones, and the time arrived, and the saints received the kingdom.
23 Thus he stated, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all the former kingdoms, and shall devour the Whole earth, and shall crush it, and break it completely in pieces.
24 Also the ten horns from that kingdom are ten kings which shall arise, and another shall arise after them, which shall be distinguished from the former ones, and shall afflict the three kings.
25 And he shall speak words towards the region of the Highest, and he
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shall crush the saints of the lofty ones, and shall presume to alter times and the law; and it shall be delivered into his hand for a time, and times, and the division of a time.
26 And judgment shall be established, and they shall take away his power, to disperse and destroy it even unto the end.
27 Then the kingdom and the power, and the magnitude of their sway under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the holy lofty ones, which kingdom is everlasting, and all powers shall serve it and become obedient to it.
28 Therefore an end of the matter. As to me Daniel, my thoughts troubled me much; And my countenance was changed upon me, And I laid up the matter in my heart.
Translation: Daniel 8
1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me Daniel, in addition to the vision previously offered to me.
2 I saw in a vision, and while I was seeing, I happened to be in Susan the capital, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in a vision, and behold I was near the river Ulai.
3 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, A single ram stood before the river; it had two horns: The horns were lofty, and one was higher than the other, And this lofty one grew up last.
4 I saw the ram butting westward, and northward, and southward; No beasts could stand before him: No one could snatch anything from his hand: Thus he did according to his pleasure, and magnified himself.
5 And I was attentive, and behold! A he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, And yet he never touched the ground: The goat, too, had a remarkable horn between its eyes.
6 Then he approached the ram possessing the two horns, which I had seen standing on the river's bank, And he ran at him with the fury of his bravery.
7 Then I saw him approach the ram, and exasperate himself against him, He smote the ram, and broke both his horns; The ram had no power to stand before his face: For he threw the ram upon the ground and trampled upon him, And no one could deliver the ram from his power.
8 Then the he-goat magnified himself amazingly; And when he was in his strength, his mighty horn was broken; The four conspicuous ones arose in its place towards the four winds of heaven.
9 And from one of these came forth a single small horn, And magnified himself surprisingly towards the south, and the east, and the desirable land.
10 Then it magnified itself towards the heavenly army, And it cast down
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upon the earth some of that army and of the stars, and trampled upon them.
11 Besides this, it magnified itself against the prince of the army, and the continual sacrifice was removed from him, and the place of his sanctuary was profaned.
12 And time was given to the continual sacrifice, in consequence of wickedness, and it shall cast forth truth upon the ground, and shall succeed, and fare prosperously.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, And the speaking holy one said to the wonderful one, How long will the vision of the perpetual sacrifice, and the desolating wickedness be permitted to last? How long will the sanctuary and the army be trampled down?
14 And he said to me, Unto evenings and mornings 2300: Then the sanctuary shall be re-cleansed.
15 know it happened while I Daniel was gazing on the vision, and was seeking intelligence, Behold! there stood before me as it were the appearance of a man.
16 Then I heard a man's voice in Ulai, which cried, and said, Gabriel, teach this man the vision.
17 Then he approached my standing-place; And at his arrival I was frightened and fell upon my face, Then he said to me, Understand, O son of man; Because the vision is for a definite time.
18 Moreover, while he was talking to me, I swooned away with my face to the ground; then he touched me, and restored me to my place as before.
19 Then he said, Behold! I will inform thee of what shall happen at the close of the indignation: For the end of the period is determined.
20 The ram which thou sawest with two horns, represents the kings of the Medes and Persians.
21 The he-goat is the king of Greece, (Jayan,) and the great horn between his eyes is the first king.
22 But this was broken, and as four horns stood forth in its stead, so four kingdoms shall arise out of the nation, yet not to be compared with him in strength.
23 And at the end of their kingdom, when these wicked ones have departed, a king shall exist, fierce of countenance, and skilled in enigmas.
24 And his fortitude shall be strengthened, but not by his own strength: He shall overthrow wonderfully, and prosper, and succeed, and destroy the mighty, and the people of the holy ones.
25 And according to his intelligence his craft shall prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in peace he shall destroy multitudes. Even against the prince of princes shall he stand up, and shall be broken without hand.
26 The vision of the morning and evening which has been pronounced is truth. Do thou therefore seal up the vision, because it extends to many days.
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27 Then I Daniel suffered deep sorrow and languor for some days: Yet I rose and did the king's business; I was struck with astonishment at the vision, yet no one perceived it.
Translation: Daniel 9
1 In the first year of Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was appointed king over the kingdom of the Chaldees.
2 In the first year of this reign, I Daniel diligently considered in books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had come to Jeremiah the Prophet, to complete the seventy years appointed for the desolation of Jerusalem.
3 Then I raised my face towards the Lord God, to inquire by prayer and supplication, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to Jehovah my God, and confessed, and said, O Lord God, great and terrible, keeping the covenant and mercy towards those who love thee and keep thy commandments; 5 We have sinned and acted perversely: We have conducted ourselves wickedly, and have rebelled: We have transgressed thy precepts and thy judgments: 6 We have not listened to thy servants the prophets, who have spoken in thy name to our kings, our princes, cur fathers, and all the people of the land.
7 With thee, O Lord, is righteousness, but with us confusion of face, As at this day: to all Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, far and near, whither thou hast driven them, on account of their transgression by which they have transgressed against thee.
8 O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, To our kings, our princes, our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, Although we have been rebellious against him.
10 We have not listened to the voice of Jehovah our God, that we should
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walk in his laws, which he has set before our face by the hands of his servants the prophets.
11 Even all Israel have transgressed thy law, and have declined to listen to thy voice, Therefore the curse is poured down upon us: And the oath which is written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, Because we have sinned against him.
12 And he has established his word which he had spoken against us, and against our rulers who governed us, by bringing upon us a great calamity: For under the whole heaven nothing has occurred like that which has happened to Jerusalem.
13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: Yet we have not deprecated the wrath of Jehovah our God, to turn away from our iniquities, and to become attentive to thy truth.
14 And Jehovah has watched over the evil, and sent it forth upon us: Because Jehovah our God is just in all the works which he performs, And yet we have not listened to his voice.
15 And now, O Lord our God, who didst lead thy people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made thyself a name as the fact itself has proved, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 O Lord, according to all thy righteous dealings, let thine anger be turned away, I pray thee: Let thine indignation cease from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain; For through our sins, and through the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a reproach to all our neighbors.
17 Hearken now, O our God, to the prayers of thy servant, and to his supplications: Make thy face to shine on the desolated sanctuary, for the Lord's sake.
18 Incline, O my God, thine ear, and hear: open thine eyes and behold our distresses, and the desolation of the city called by thy name: Because we do not pour out our supplications before thy face on account of our own righteousness, but by reason of thy many mercies.
19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, be propitious; O Lord, attend and perform; Delay not for thine own sake, O my God, since thy name is invoked in behalf of thy city and thy people.
20 And while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins, and those of my people Israel, and while I was speaking my petition before Jehovah my God, on behalf of the mountain of the sanctuary of my God; 21 Even, while I was yet uttering my prayer, The man Gabriel, whom I had before seen in a vision, flying swiftly, Touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 Then he taught me, and spoke to me, and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth, to afford thee needful information.
23 At the beginning of thy prayers the word went forth, which I am come to declare, because thou art greatly beloved: Attend therefore to the word,
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and understand the vision.
24 Seventy weeks have been determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close up wickedness, and seal up sin, and expiate iniquity, and bring in eternal righteousness, and seal up the vision and the prophecy, and anoint the holy of holies.
25 Take notice therefore and understand, From the going forth of the word concerning the return of the people, And the rebuilding of Jerusalem to Messiah the Leader, Seventy weeks, and sixty-two weeks; then the people shall be brought back, And the street and the wall shall be rebuilt, and that too amidst the perplexities (or "in the narrow limit") of the times.
26 Then after the sixty—two weeks, Christ shall be cut off, and become nothing: The people of the coming leader shall destroy the city and the sanctuary: Its end shall be with an inundation: And at the close of the war a completion of desolation's.
27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week; And for half a week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease; And upon the spreading of abominations he shall be astonished, And at the close, he shall pour the full accomplishment upon the desolator.
Translation: Daniel 10
1 In the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, a revelation was made to Daniel, called Belteshazzar; and the word was most true and the times most extended; and he understood the word, and fully comprehended the vision.
2 In those days I Daniel gave myself up to mourning for three weeks of days.
3 I did not eat any delicate food; neither flesh nor wine entered my mouth: Nor did I anoint myself at all, till three weeks of days were fulfilled.
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was upon the banks of the great river Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold! a man clothed in linen vesture, His loins were girt with the gold of Uphaz: 6 His body was like the chrysolite, His face like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes like lamps of fire, His arms and his feet were as bright as polished brass, And the voice of his words like the sound of a tumult.
7 I Daniel alone saw the vision: For the men who were with me saw no vision; Yea, rather, great terror fell upon them, and they fled into hiding places.
8 Then I Daniel was left alone, And I saw this great vision: Then there remained no strength within me: My comeliness was turned to corruption, and I did not retain my strength.
9 Yet I heard the voice of his words; And when I heard the voice of his words, I fell down in a swoon with my face towards the ground.
10 And behold! a hand touched me, and raised me upon my knees, and upon the palms of my hands.
11 Then he said to me, O Daniel! a man of desires, Understand the words which I address to thee, And stand upright, because I am now sent unto thee.
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When he had spoken this word unto me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day on which thou didst apply thy heart to understanding, and to afflicting thyself before the face of thy God, thy words were heard. And I am come through thy words.
13 The prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me for twenty-one days; And, lo, Michael, one of the chief leaders, came to my assistance; And I was left among the kings of the Persians.
14 Now I am come to disclose to thee what shall occur to thy people at the close of the days; for still the vision is for days.
15 While he was speaking to me according to these words, I placed my face upon the ground, and became dumb.
16 When, lo! one bearing the form of the sons of men touched my lips; And I opened my mouth and spoke, and said to the person standing before me, O lord, my sorrows are turned upon me in vision, and I cannot retain my strength.
17 And how could the servant of this my lord speak with this my lord? Henceforth no strength remained in me and no breath was left in me.
18 Then a second time, he who bore a human appearance, touched me, and strengthened me, and said, 19 Fear not, O man of desires, peace be to thee, Take courage and be strong. And while he was addressing me, I became strong, Then I said, Let my Lord speak, because thou hast strengthened me.
20 He said next, Surely thou knowest why I am come to thee, I am now going to return to contend with the prince of Persia; And when I am gone, behold, the prince of Javan (Greece) will come.
21 But I will declare unto thee what is deeply graven in the scripture of truth: For there is not one who will stand by me in these affairs, Except Michael your prince.
Translation: Daniel 11
1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood both to strengthen and to succor him: and now I will declare to thee the truth.
2 Behold, three kings shall yet stand up in Persia, and a fourth shall be enriched with great riches above them all: and when he is grown strong through his wealth, he shall stir up the whole against the kingdom of Jayan (Greece.)
3 Then a mighty king shall stand up, and shall rule with extended dominion, and shall do according to his will.
4 And when he shall be established, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be dispersed towards the four winds of heaven, yet not to his posterity, nor yet according to the dominion which he exercised; for his kingdom shall be extirpated, and shall be for others, who are not of his posterity.
5 A king of the south shall then become strong, being one of his princes, and he shall be strengthened against him, and shall become supreme, and his dominion shall be extensive.
6 At the end of the years, they shall become allies, and the daughter of the king of the south shall, come to the king of the north for the purpose of making peace: Yet his arm shall not retain its strength; neither shall he stand, nor his seed, but she shall be delivered up with her attendants, and her mother, and whoever supported her at that time.
7 Yet there shall stand up a shoot from her root in its own rank: it shall come with an army, and shall reach the fortifications of the king of the north, and shall act among the people, and shall prevail.
8 Their gods also with their molten images, with their precious vessels of silver and gold, shall they carry into captivity to Egypt, and he shall stand for more years than the king of the north.
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9 And the king of the north shall come into the kingdom, and shall return to his own land.
10 But his sons shall be provoked, and shall assemble a multitude of mighty forces; and shall advance rapidly, and overflow, and pass through: he shall return and shall be stirred up even to his own fortress.
11 Then the king of the south shall be exasperated, and shall go forth to make war against the king of the north: he shall set in motion a large multitude, and that multitude shall be delivered into his hand.
12 Then that multitude shall be taken away, and his heart shall be elated: He shall east down tens of thousands, and yet he shall not become strong.
13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall collect a greater multitude than before And at the end of the times of the years, he shall come swiftly with a great army, and with much wealth.
14 And at those times many shall stand up against the king of the south (Egypt), and sons, robbers of thy people, shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, but yet they shall fail.
15 For the king of the north shall come, and shall east up a rampart, and shall take the city of fortifications, and the arms of the south shall not stand, nor yet the people of his levies, for there shall be no strength for standing.
16 Also when coming he shall do unto him according to his will, and none shall stand before his face, and he shall stand in the desirable land which shall be consumed in his hand.
17 And he shall set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom to make alliances with him; he shall accomplish this: he shall give the daughter of women to him to corrupt her, but she shall not stand by him, nor be under his power.
18 Then he shall turn his face towards the islands, and shall take many: and a prince shall set at rest his reproach against him: hence he shall not turn his reproach upon himself.
19 And he shall turn his face towards the fortifications of his own land, and shall stumbles and fall, and never be found.
20 Next there shall stand up in his place one who shall send forth an exactor, or raiser of tribute, in honor of his kingdom, but within a few days he shall perish, yet not either in anger or in battle.
21 Then a contemptible person shall succeed him, on whom they shall not confer the honor of royalty, but he shall come stealthily, and shall seize the kingdom by flatteries.
22 His auxiliaries shall be overwhelmed by a deluge before his sight: they shall be utterly broken, as well as the leader of the covenant.
23 After conjunction with him shall he practice deceit, and shall ascend, and prevail with a small band.
24 He shall advance in peace into the richest portion of the province, and shall do what neither his father nor his father's father had done: he shall distribute among them spoils, and booty, and wealth, and he shall think
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many thoughts respecting fortified cities, and that for a time.
25 And he shall stir up his strength and his breast against the king of the south, with a great army; and the king of the south shall be roused up to battle with a large and very powerful army: and he shall not stand, because they shall agitate perfidious counsels against him.
26 Those who partake of his table shall ruin him, and his army shall be overwhelmed, and many shall fall wounded.
27 The heart of both these kings shall be inclined to evil; at the same table shall they speak deceitfully: yet it shall not prosper, because the end is yet for a defined period.
28 Then shall he return to his own land with great wealth; and his heart shall be towards the covenant of holiness, and he shall accomplish his purpose, and return to his own land.
29 After a time he shall return, and shall come to the south; But this expedition small not succeed as the former one.
30 For ships of Chittim shall advance against him, and he shall be humbled, and return, and shall be indignant against the holy covenant, and shall do his work, and return and apply his mind to the deserters of the holy covenant.
31 And arms shall stand up from him; and they shall profane the sanctuary of Ms strength, and abolish the continual sacrifice, and set up the abomination which shall make desolate.
32 Now those who act impiously against the covenant will he seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall be strengthened and will practice it.
33 And the wise among the people shall teach many, yet they shall fall by the sword, and by the flame, by exile, and by rapine, for many days.
34 Yet in their fall they shall be assisted with moderate help, and many shall join themselves to them through flatteries.
35 Also some of those who have understanding shall fall, to prove, and purge, and whiten them even for a definite time, since it is still for an appointed time.
36 And the king shall act according to his will, and shall raise himself, and magnify himself above every deity, and against the God of gods shall he speak wonderful things; He shall prosper also unto the consummation of the anger, Since the decision has been made.
37 He shall not attend to either the God of his fathers, nor to the desire of women: He shall not attend to any deity, for he shall magnify himself above them all.
38 And the God of fortresses shall he honor in his own place; And a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and with desirable things.
39 Then he shall attack the fortifications of strength with the strange god whom he has acknowledged: He shall multiply the glory, and cause them to
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reign over many; for he shall divide the land for a price.
40 After a fixed time, the king of the south shall attack him; Then the king of the north shall rush at him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter his lands, and shall overflow and pass through.
41 He shall also arrive at the land of desire, (Judea;) Many regions shall fall, but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, Moab, and the heads of the children of Ammon.
42 Then he shall extend his hand over the lands, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 He shall have dominion over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt, and Libya and Ethiopia in his progress.
44 But rumors shall disturb him from the east and from the north; he shall go forth with great anger to destroy many, and to devote them to utter destruction.
45 And he shall fix the tabernacle of his palace between the seas, near the mountain of the desire of holiness; Then he shall come to his end, and no one shall help him.
Translation: Daniel 12
1 Moreover, at that time shall Michael the mighty prince stand up, standing for the sons of thy people; And there shall be a time of affliction, such as was not from the existence of nations until that period. Yet at this period thy people shall escape, every one who shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of those who sleep, and have been reduced to earth and dust, shall awake; some to perpetual life, and others to shame and continued abomination.
3 Then the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; And those who have turned many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
4 And thou, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal up the book, till the time appointed. Many shall investigate, and knowledge shall be increased.
5 Then I Daniel was gazing, and behold two others standing, One on this side, and the other on that of the river's bank.
6 And one of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be to the end of these wonders?"
7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river; He raised his right hand and his left towards the heavens, and swore by him who liveth for ever, That it should be for the appointed time, times, and half a time; And at the completion of the dispersion of the holy people, All these things shall be accomplished.
8 Then I heard, but I did not understand; and I said, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these events?
9 Then he said, Depart, Daniel, because the words are closed and sealed up to the time appointed.
10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; Yet the impious shall act impiously: And the impious will not understand, but the prudent
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will understand.
11 From the time of taking away the continual sacrifice, to the setting up of the desolating abomination, shall be 1290 days.
12 Blessed is he who shall have waited, and shall have arrived at the 1335 days.
13 And do thou go until the end, and rest; And thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the days.