Study Desk

When the men of magic and the Chaldeans came, I told them about the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant.

So they brought the gold cups that had been taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his officials, his wives, and his women slaves drank from them.

As they were drinking, they gave praise to their idol gods, which were only statues made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

So they brought Daniel to the king and he asked, "Is your name Daniel, one of the captives my father the king brought here from Judah?

The wise men and the men of magic were brought to me to read this writing on the wall. I wanted them to explain to me what it means, but they could not explain it.

No, you did not become humble. Instead, you have turned against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the drinking cups from his Temple to be brought to you. Then you and your royal officials, your wives, and your slave women drank wine from those cups. You gave praise to the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone. They are not really gods; they cannot see or hear or understand anything. But you did not give honor to the God who has the power over your life and everything you do.

But when the other supervisors and the satraps heard about this, they were very jealous. They tried to find reasons to accuse Daniel. So they watched what Daniel did as he went about doing the business of the government. But they could not find anything wrong with him, so they could not accuse him of doing anything wrong. Daniel was a man people could trust. He did not cheat the king, and he worked very hard.

So the two supervisors and the satraps went as a group to the king. They said, "King Darius, live forever!

So they went to the king and talked to him about the law he had made. They said, "King Darius, you signed a law that says, for the next 30 days anyone who prays to any god or man except you, the king, would be thrown into the lions' den. You did sign that law, didn't you?" The king answered, "Yes, I signed that law, and the laws of the Medes and Persians cannot be canceled or changed."

Then they said to the king, "That man Daniel is not paying any attention to you. He is one of the captives from Judah, and he is not paying attention to the law you signed. Daniel still prays to his God three times every day."

So King Darius gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May the God you serve save you!"

King Darius was very happy. He told his servants to lift Daniel out of the lions' den. And when Daniel was lifted out of the den, they did not find any injury on his body. The lions did not hurt Daniel because he trusted in his God.

Then the king gave a command to bring the men who had accused Daniel to the lions' den. The men and their wives and children were thrown into the lions' den. The lions grabbed them before they hit the floor. The lions ate their bodies and then chewed on their bones.

The authority and rule of the other animals had been taken from them. But they were permitted to live for a certain period of time.

But God's holy people will receive the kingdom, and they will have the kingdom forever and ever.'

The little horn kept killing God's holy people until the Ancient King came and judged him. The Ancient King announced his decision about the little horn. This judgment helped God's holy people, and they received the kingdom.

That horn broke off and four horns grew in its place. The four horns are four kingdoms. Those four kingdoms will come from the nation of the first king, but they will not be as strong as the first king.

"This king will be very smart and tricky. He will use his wisdom and lies to be successful. He will think that he is very important. He will destroy many people, when they least expect it. He will try to fight even the Prince of Princes. But that cruel king's power will be destroyed, and it will not be a human hand that destroys him.

The prophets were your servants. They spoke for you to our kings, to our leaders, to our fathers, and to the common people in our country. But we did not listen to them.

"Lord, you are innocent, and the shame belongs to us, even now. Shame belongs to the people from Judah and Jerusalem, and to all the people of Israel, to those who are near and to those you scattered among many nations. They should be ashamed of all the evil things they did against you.