HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1148
D A N IEL 6
17 Daniel answered the king, “Keep your gifts
or give them to someone else, but I will tell you
what the writing means. 18 Your Majesty, the
Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory,
and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar. 19 He made him so great that people of all
races and nations and languages trembled before him in fear. He killed those he wanted to kill
and spared those he wanted to spare. He honored those he wanted to honor and disgraced
those he wanted to disgrace. 20 But when his
heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance,
he was brought down from his royal throne
and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven from
human society. He was given the mind of a wild
animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys.
He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched
with the dew of heaven, until he learned that
the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of
the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule
over them.
22 “You are his successor,* O Belshazzar, and
you knew all this, yet you have not humbled
yourself. 23 For you have proudly defied the
Lord of heaven and have had these cups from
his Temple brought before you. You and your
nobles and your wives and concubines have
been drinking wine from them while praising
gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and
stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know
anything at all. But you have not honored the
God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! 24 So God has sent this hand
to write this message.
25 “This is the message that was written:
Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is what
these words mean:
27
28
Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered
the days of your reign and has brought it
to an end.
Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been
weighed on the balances and have not
measured up.
Parsin* means ‘divided’—your kingdom has
been divided and given to the Medes and
Persians.”
29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was
dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung
around his neck, and he was proclaimed the
third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian*
king, was killed.*
31*And Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
1*Darius the Mede decided to divide the
kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. 2 The king also chose Daniel and two
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others as administrators to supervise the high
officers and protect the king’s interests. 3 Daniel
soon proved himself more capable than all the
other administrators and high officers. Because
of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to
place him over the entire empire.
4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way
Daniel was handling government affairs, but
they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and
completely trustworthy. 5 So they concluded,
“Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules
of his religion.”
6 So the administrators and high officers went
to the king and said, “Long live King Darius!
7 We are all in agreement—we administrators,
officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will
be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the
next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. 8 And
now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it
cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes
and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 9 So King
Darius signed the law.
10 But when Daniel learned that the law had
been signed, he went home and knelt down as
usual in his upstairs room, with its windows
open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times
a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks
to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to
Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. 12 So they went straight to the
king and reminded him about his law. “Did you
not sign a law that for the next thirty days any
person who prays to anyone, divine or human—
except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into
the den of lions?”
“Yes,” the king replied, “that decision
stands; it is an official law of the Medes and
Persians that cannot be revoked.”
13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring
you and your law. He still prays to his God three
times a day.”
14 Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled,
and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He
spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get
Daniel out of this predicament.
15 In the evening the men went together to the
king and said, “Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians,
no law that the king signs can be changed.”
16 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel
5:22 Aramaic son. 5:28 Aramaic Peres, the singular of Parsin.
5:30a Or Chaldean. 5:30b The Persians and Medes conquered
Babylon in October 539 b.c. 5:31 Verse 5:31 is numbered 6:1
in Aramaic text. 6:1 Verses 6:1-28 are numbered 6:2-29 in
Aramaic text.