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urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it-just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.

And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another, but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.

And just as you saw a stone cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy."

So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,

So they were tied up, wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace.

The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the fiery flames killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the burning fiery furnace and called out, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,

So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me.

This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of mankind, and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.'

For a time, Daniel, who was also known as Belteshazzar, was perplexed, and his thoughts alarmed him. So the king said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you." "My lord," replied Belteshazzar, "may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!

Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.

So all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.

So Daniel was brought before the king, who asked him, "Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?

and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.

Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, "O King Darius, may you live forever!