Chapter 160

3:52. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers; and worthy to be praised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever: and blessed is the holy name of thy glory: and worthy to be praised and exalted above all, in all ages.

3:53. Blessed art thou in the holy temple of thy glory: and exceedingly to be praised and exalted above all for ever.

3:54. Blessed art thou on the throne of thy kingdom, and exceedingly to be praised and exalted above all for ever.

3:55. Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the cherubims: and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever.

3:56. Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise, and glorious for ever.

3:57. All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:58. O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:59. O ye heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:60. O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:61. O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:62. O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:63. O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:64. O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:65. O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:66. O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:67. O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:68. O ye dews and hoar frost, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:69. O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:70. O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:71. O ye nights and days, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:72. O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:73. O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:74. O let the earth bless the Lord: let it praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:75. O ye mountains and hills, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:76. O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:77. O ye fountains, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:78. O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:79. O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:80. O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:81. O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:82. O ye sons of men, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:83. O let Israel bless the Lord: let them praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:84. O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:85. O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:86. O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:87. O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.

3:88. O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever. For he hath delivered us from hell, and saved us out of the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the burning flame, and saved us out of the midst of the fire.

3:89. O give thanks to the Lord, because he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.

3:90. O all ye religious, bless the Lord, the God of gods: praise him, and give him thanks, because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.

3:91. Then Nabuchodonosor, the king, was astonished, and rose up in haste, and said to his nobles: Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered the king, and said: True, O king.

3:92. He answered, and said: Behold, I see four men loose, and walking in the midst of the fire, and there is no hurt in them, and the form of the fourth is like the son of God.

3:93. Then Nabuchodonosor came to the door of the burning fiery furnace, and said: Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the most high God, go ye forth, and come. And immediately Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, went out from the midst of the fire.

3:94. And the nobles, and the magistrates, and the judges, and the great men of the king, being gathered together, considered these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, and that not a hair of their head had been singed, nor their garments altered, nor the smell of the fire had passed on them.

3:95. Then Nabuchodonosor breaking forth, said: Blessed be the God of them, to wit, of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that believed in him: and they changed the king’s word, and delivered up their bodies, that they might not serve nor adore any god except their own God.

3:96. By me, therefore, this decree is made: That every people, tribe, and tongue, which shall speak blasphemy against the God of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, shall be destroyed, and their houses laid waste: for there is no other God that can save in this manner.

3:97. Then the king promoted Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, in the province of Babylon.

3:98. Nabuchodonosor, the king, to all peoples, nations, and tongues, that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you.

Nabuchodonosor, etc.... These last three verses are a kind of preface to the following chapter, which is written in the style of an epistle from the king.

3:99. The most high God hath wrought signs and wonders towards me. It hath seemed good to me, therefore, to publish

3:100. His signs, because they are great: and his wonders, because they are mighty: and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power to all generations.

Daniel Chapter 4

Nabuchodonosor’s dream, by which the judgments of God are denounced against him for his pride, is interpreted by Daniel, and verified by the event.

4:1. I, Nabuchodonosor, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace:

4:2. I saw a dream that affrighted me: and my thoughts in my bed, and the visions of my head, troubled me.

4:3. Then I set forth a decree, that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought in before me, and that they should shew me the interpretation of the dream.

4:4. Then came in the diviners, the wise men, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and I told the dream before them: but they did not shew me the interpretation thereof.

4:5. Till their colleague, Daniel, came in before me, whose name is Baltassar, according to the name of my god, who hath in him the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him.

Baltassar, according to the name of my god.... He says this, because the name of Baltassar, or Belteshazzar, is derived from the name of Bel, the chief god of the Babylonians.

4:6. Baltassar, prince of the diviners, because I know that thou hast in thee the spirit of the holy gods, and that no secret is impossible to thee, tell me the visions of my dreams that I have seen, and the interpretation of them.

4:7. This was the vision of my head in my bed: I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was exceeding great.

4:8. The tree was great and strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven: the sight thereof was even to the ends of all the earth.

4:9. Its leaves were most beautiful, and its fruit exceeding much: and in it was food for all: under it dwelt cattle and beasts, and in the branches thereof the fowls of the air had their abode: and all flesh did eat of it.

4:10. I saw in the vision of my head upon my bed, and behold a watcher, and a holy one came down from heaven.

A watcher.... A vigilant angel, perhaps the guardian of Israel.

4:11. He cried aloud, and said thus: Cut down the tree, and chop off the branches thereof: shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruits: let the beasts fly away that are under it, and the birds from its branches.

4:12. Nevertheless, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let it be tied with a band of iron and of brass, among the grass, that is without, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the wild beasts in the grass of the earth.

4:13. Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given him: and let seven times pass over him.

Let his heart be changed, etc.... It does not appear by scripture that Nabuchodonosor was changed from human shape; much less that he was changed into an ox; but only that he lost his reason, and became mad; and in this condition remained abroad in the company of beasts, eating grass like an ox, till his hair grew in such manner as to resemble the feathers of eagles, and his nails to be like birds’ claws.

4:14. This is the decree by the sentence of the watchers, and the word and demand of the holy ones: till the living know, that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men: and he will give it to whomsoever it shall please him, and he will appoint the basest man over it.

4:15. I, king Nabuchodonosor, saw this dream: thou, therefore, O Baltassar, tell me quickly the interpretation: for all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to declare the meaning of it to me: but thou art able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

4:16. Then Daniel, whose name was Baltassar, began silently to think within himself for about one hour: and his thought troubled him. But the king answering, said: Baltassar, let not the dream and the interpretation thereof trouble thee. Baltassar answered, and said: My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thy enemies.

4:17. The tree which thou sawest, which was high and strong, whose height reached to the skies, and the sight thereof into all the earth:

4:18. And the branches thereof were most beautiful, and its fruit exceeding much, and in it was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and the birds of the air had their abode in its branches.

4:19. It is thou, O king, who art grown great, and become mighty: for thy greatness hath grown, and hath reached to heaven, and thy power unto the ends of the earth.

4:20. And whereas the king saw a watcher, and a holy one come down from heaven, and say: Cut down the tree, and destroy it, but leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, and let it be bound with iron and brass, among the grass without, and let it be sprinkled with the dew of heaven, and let his feeding be with the wild beasts, till seven times pass over him.

4:21. This is the interpretation of the sentence of the most High, which is come upon my lord, the king.

4:22. They shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with cattle, and with wild beasts, and thou shalt eat grass, as an ox, and shalt be wet with the dew of heaven: and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth over the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

4:23. But whereas he commanded, that the stump of the roots thereof, that is, of the tree, should be left: thy kingdom shall remain to thee, after thou shalt have known that power is from heaven.

4:24. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and redeem thou thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy to the poor: perhaps he will forgive thy offences.

4:25. All these things came upon king Nabuchodonosor.

4:26. At the end of twelve months he was walking in the palace of Babylon.

4:27. And the king answered, and said: Is not this the great Babylon, which I have built, to be the seat of the kingdom, by the strength of my power, and in the glory of my excellence?

4:28. And while the word was yet in the king’s mouth, a voice came down from heaven: To thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, it is said: Thy kingdom shall pass from thee.

4:29. And they shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with cattle and wild beasts: thou shalt eat grass like an ox, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

4:30. The same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nabuchodonosor, and he was driven away from among men, and did eat grass, like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven: till his hairs grew like the feathers of eagles, and his nails like birds’ claws.

4:31. Now at the end of the days, I, Nabuchodonosor, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my sense was restored to me: and I blessed the most High, and I praised and glorified him that liveth for ever: for his power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom is to all generations.

4:32. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing before him: for he doth according to his will, as well with the powers of heaven, as among the inhabitants of the earth: and there is none that can resist his hand, and say to him: Why hast thou done it?

4:33. At the same time my sense returned to me, and I came to the honour and glory of my kingdom: and my shape returned to me: and my nobles, and my magistrates, sought for me, and I was restored to my kingdom: and greater majesty was added to me.

4:34. Therefore I, Nabuchodonosor, do now praise, and magnify, and glorify the King of heaven: because all his works are true, and his ways judgments, and them that walk in pride he is able to abase.

I, Nabuchodonosor, do now, etc.... From this place some commentators infer that this king became a true convert, and dying not long after, was probably saved.

Daniel Chapter 5

Baltasar’s profane banquet: his sentence is denounced by a handwriting on the wall, which Daniel reads and interprets.

5:1. Baltasar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his nobles: and every one drank according to his age.

Baltasar.... He is believed to be the same as Nabonydus, the last of the Chaldean kings, grandson to Nabuchodonosor. He is called his son, ver. 2, 11, etc., according to the style of the scriptures, because he was a descendant from him.

5:2. And being now drunk, he commanded that they should bring the vessels of gold and silver, which Nabuchodonosor, his father, had brought away out of the temple, that was in Jerusalem, that the king and his nobles, and his wives, and his concubines, might drink in them.

5:3. Then were the golden and silver vessels brought, which he had brought away out of the temple that was in Jerusalem: and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.

5:4. They drank wine, and praised their gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone.

5:5. In the same hour there appeared fingers, as it were of the hand of a man, writing over against the candlestick, upon the surface of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king beheld the joints of the hand that wrote.

5:6. Then was the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him: and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other.

5:7. And the king cried out aloud to bring in the wise men, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of Babylon: Whosoever shall read this writing, and shall make known to me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and shall have a golden chain on his neck, and shall be the third man in my kingdom.

5:8. Then came in all the king’s wise men, but they could neither read the writing, nor declare the interpretation to the king.

5:9. Wherewith king Baltasar was much troubled, and his countenance was changed: and his nobles also were troubled.

5:10. Then the queen, on occasion of what had happened to the king, and his nobles, came into the banquet-house: and she spoke, and said: O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, neither let thy countenance be changed.

The queen.... Not the wife, but the mother of the king.

5:11. There is a man in thy kingdom that hath the spirit of the holy gods in him: and in the days of thy father knowledge and wisdom were found in him: for king Nabuchodonosor, thy father, appointed him prince of the wise men, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, thy father, I say, O king:

5:12. Because a greater spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, and interpretation of dreams, and shewing of secrets, and resolving of difficult things, were found in him, that is, in Daniel: whom the king named Baltassar. Now, therefore, let Daniel be called for, and he will tell the interpretation.

5:13. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke, and said to him: Art thou Daniel, of the children of the captivity of Juda, whom my father, the king, brought out of Judea?

5:14. I have heard of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the gods, and excellent knowledge, and understanding, and wisdom are found in thee.

5:15. And now the wise men, the magicians, have come in before me, to read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof; and they could not declare to me the meaning of this writing.

5:16. But I have heard of thee, that thou canst interpret obscure things, and resolve difficult things: now if thou art able to read the writing, and to shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third prince in my kingdom.

5:17. To which Daniel made answer, and said before the king: thy rewards be to thyself, and the gifts of thy house give to another: but the writing I will read to thee, O king, and shew thee the interpretation thereof.

5:18. O king, the most high God gave to Nabuchodonosor, thy father, a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour.

5:19. And for the greatness that he gave to him, all people, tribes, and languages trembled, and were afraid of him: whom he would, he slew: and whom he would, he destroyed: and whom he would, he set up: and whom he would, he brought down.

5:20. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto pride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory was taken away.

5:21. And he was driven out from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses, and he did eat grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven: till he knew that the most High ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he will set over it whomsoever it shall please him.

5:22. Thou also, his son, O Baltasar, hast not humbled thy heart, whereas thou knewest all these things:

5:23. But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven: and the vessels of his house have been brought before thee: and thou, and thy nobles, and thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them: and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor feel: but the God who hath thy breath in his hand, and all thy ways, thou hast not glorified.

5:24. Wherefore, he hath sent the part of the hand which hath written this that is set down.

5:25. And this is the writing that is written: MANE, THECEL, PHARES.

5:26. And this is the interpretation of the word. MANE: God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.

5:27. THECEL: thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting.

5:28. PHARES: thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and Persians.

5:29. Then by the king’s command, Daniel was clothed with purple, and a chain of gold was put about his neck: and it was proclaimed of him that he had power as the third man in the kingdom.

5:30. The same night Baltasar, the Chaldean king, was slain.

5:31. And Darius, the Mede, succeeded to the kingdom, being threescore and two years old.

Darius.... He is called Cyaxares by the historians; and was the son of Astyages, and uncle to Cyrus.

Daniel Chapter 6

Daniel is promoted by Darius: his enemies procure a law forbidding prayer; for the transgression of this law Daniel is cast into the lions’ den: but miraculously delivered.

6:1. It seemed good to Darius, and he appointed over the kingdom a hundred and twenty governors, to be over his whole kingdom.

6:2. And three princes over them of whom Daniel was one: that the governors might give an account to them, and the king might have no trouble.

6:3. And Daniel excelled all the princes, and governors: because a greater spirit of God was in him.

6:4. And the king thought to set him over all the kingdom; whereupon the princes, and the governors, sought to find occasion against Daniel, with regard to the king: and they could find no cause, nor suspicion, because he was faithful, and no fault, nor suspicion was found in him.

6:5. Then these men said: We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, unless perhaps concerning the law of his God.

6:6. Then the princes, and the governors, craftily suggested to the king, and spoke thus unto him: King Darius, live for ever:

6:7. All the princes of the kingdom, the magistrates, and governors, the senators, and judges, have consulted together, that an imperial decree, and an edict be published: That whosoever shall ask any petition of any god, or man, for thirty days, but of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of the lions.

6:8. Now, therefore, O king, confirm the sentence, and sign the decree: that what is decreed by the Medes and Persians may not be altered, nor any man be allowed to transgress it.

6:9. So king Darius set forth the decree, and established it.

6:10. Now, when Daniel knew this, that is to say, that the law was made, he went into his house: and opening the windows in his upper chamber towards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored and gave thanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before.

6:11. Wherefore those men carefully watching him, found Daniel praying and making supplication to his God.

6:12. And they came and spoke to the king concerning the edict: O king, hast thou not decreed, that every man that should make a request to any of the gods, or men, for thirty days, but to thyself, O king, should be cast into the den of the lions? And the king answered them, saying: The word is true, according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, which it is not lawful to violate.

6:13. Then they answered, and said before the king: Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Juda, hath not regarded thy law, nor the decree that thou hast made: but three times a day he maketh his prayer.

6:14. Now when the king had heard these words, he was very much grieved, and in behalf of Daniel he set his heart to deliver him, and even till sunset he laboured to save him.

6:15. But those men perceiving the king’s design, said to him: Know thou, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree which the king hath made, may be altered.

6:16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of the lions. And the king said to Daniel: Thy God, whom thou always servest, he will deliver thee.

6:17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den: which the king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, that nothing should be done against Daniel.

6:18. And the king went away to his house, and laid himself down without taking supper, and meat was not set before him, and even sleep departed from him.

6:19. Then the king rising very early in the morning, went in haste to the lions’ den: