All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. ¹  He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps ²  his hand and says to him, ‘What have you done?’

His intention ¹  will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. ²  He will give the king of the south ³  a daughter ⁴  in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage.

These who are wise among the people will teach the masses. ¹  However, they will fall ²  by the sword and by the flame, ³  and they will be imprisoned and plundered for some time. ⁴ 

Due to the noise ¹  caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother ²  then entered the banquet room. She ³  said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!

But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ¹  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel ¹  to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

So those men were tied up while still wearing their cloaks, trousers, turbans, and other clothes, ¹  and were thrown into the furnace ²  of blazing fire.

But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its ¹  interpretation.

What he will honor is a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honor with gold, silver, valuable stones, and treasured commodities.

At an appointed time he will again invade the south, but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did.

Wherever human beings, ¹  wild animals, ²  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ³  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

“There will arise in his ¹  place one from her family line ²  who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully. ³ 

He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. ¹  But in the middle of that week he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt. On the wing ²  of abominations will come ³  one who destroys, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”

Then all the color drained from the king’s face ¹  and he became alarmed. ²  The joints of his hips gave way, ³  and his knees began knocking together.

Then the king departed to his palace. But he spent the night without eating, and no diversions ¹  were brought to him. He was unable to sleep. ² 

It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, ¹  from whom ²  the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary ³  was thrown down.

Then he will enter the beautiful land. ¹  Many ²  will fall, but these will escape: ³  Edom, Moab, and the Ammonite leadership.

But he ¹  responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided ²  your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? ³  If that happened, ⁴  you would endanger my life ⁵  with the king!”

Therefore when they all ¹  heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, ²  and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.

There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ¹  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ²  of the gods. ³  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ⁴