THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES Old Testament Prophecy - Angelfire

which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who will disclose it in the
presence of the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with all flesh."
12 Then in great anger and wrath the king said to destroy all the wise men of
Babylon. 13 The decree came out, and the wise men started to be killed; they also
sought to slay Daniel and his friends. 14 Then Daniel replied with his advice and opinion
to Arioch, the chief butcher of the king, who had come out to slay the wise men of
Babylon. 15 He inquired of him, "O ruler of the king, why did this ruthless opinion come
out from the presence of the king?" Arioch made the account known to Daniel. A 16 Daniel
entered and petitioned the king that he might give him time, and that he might disclose
to the king its interpretation.
17 Daniel entered his house and made the account known to his friends Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah. 18 They sought acts of compassion from the God of heaven
concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the
rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision
during the night. Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20 he said, "May the name of God
be blessed from age to age, for wisdom and understanding B are his. 21 He changes
seasons and times; he installs and deposes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and
intelligence to those who are acquainted with understanding. 22 He reveals deep and
hidden things; he knows the things which are in darkness, and the light is with him. 23 I
acknowledge and praise you, O God of my fathers, for you gave me wisdom and power.
You made known to me the things which we expected from you; you made known to
me the vision of the king."
24 Daniel came to Arioch, whom the king appointed to destroy the wise men of
Babylon. He said to him, "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me into the
presence of the king, and I will disclose the interpretation to the king." 25 Then in haste
Arioch brought Daniel into the presence of the king and said to him, "I have found a
man from the sons of the captivity of Judea, who will disclose the interpretation to the
king." 26 The king replied and said to Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar, "Can you
disclose to me the dream which I saw as well as its interpretation?" 27 Daniel answered
in the presence of the king, "There is no one of the wise men, magicians, enchanters,
and Gazarenes C to disclose to the king the mystery about which the king inquired, 28 but
there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He made known to King
Nebuchadnezzar the things which must happen in the last days. Your dream and the
visions of your head while you were on your bed are as follows. 29 O king, your thoughts
while you were on your bed ascended to what must happen after this, and the one who
reveals mysteries made known to you the things which must happen. 30 This mystery
was revealed to me, not by wisdom which is in me beyond all the living, but for the
sake of making the interpretation known to the king, so that you may know the
thoughts of your heart.
31 You were watching, and behold, there was one image. That image was large, and
A Daniel V ¦ the king A
B wisdom and understanding V ¦ wisdom, understanding, and strength A
C "soothsayers," from Aram gezar, "to determine"