Part 566 (2/2)
2:16. Daniel went in, and desired of the king, that he would give him time to resolve the question, and declare it to the king.
2:17. And he went into his house, and told the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias, his companions:
2:18. To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the G.o.d of heaven, concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
2:19. Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night: and Daniel blessed the G.o.d of heaven,
2:20. And speaking, he said: Blessed be the name of the Lord from eternity and for evermore: for wisdom and fort.i.tude are his.
2:21. And he changeth times and ages: taketh away kingdoms, and establisheth them: giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding:
2:22. He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in darkness: and light is with him.
2:23. To thee, O G.o.d of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee: because thou hast given me wisdom and strength: and now thou hast shewn me what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king's discourse.
2:24. After this Daniel went in to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke thus to him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will tell the solution to the king.
2:25. Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel to the king, and said to him: I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Juda, that will resolve the question to the king.
2:26. The king answered, and said to Daniel, whose name was Balta.s.sar: Thinkest thou indeed that thou canst tell me the dream that I saw, and the interpretation thereof?
2:27. And Daniel made answer before the king, and said: The secret that the king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers, or the diviners, or the soothsayers, can declare to the king.
2:28. But there is a G.o.d in heaven that revealeth mysteries, who hath shewn to thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, what is to come to pa.s.s in the latter times. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:
2:29. Thou, O king, didst begin to think in thy bed, what should come to pa.s.s hereafter: and he that revealeth mysteries shewed thee what shall come to pa.s.s.
2:30. To me also this secret is revealed, not by any wisdom that I have more than all men alive: but that the interpretation might be made manifest to the king, and thou mightest know the thought of thy mind.
2:31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was as it were a great statue: this statue, which was great and high, tall of stature, stood before thee, and the look thereof was terrible.
2:32. The head of this statue was of fine gold, but the breast and the arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of bra.s.s.
2:33. And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay.
2:34. Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
2:35. Then was the iron, the clay, the bra.s.s, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's thres.h.i.+ng floor, and they were carried away by the wind: and there was no place found for them: but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
2:36. This is the dream: we will also tell the interpretation thereof before thee, O king.
2:37. Thou art a king of kings: and the G.o.d of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and strength, and power, and glory:
2:38. And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the field do dwell: he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand, and hath put all things under thy power: thou, therefore, art the head of gold.
2:39. And after thee shall rise up another kingdom, inferior to thee, of silver: and another third kingdom of bra.s.s, which shall rule over all the world.
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