When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, ¹  trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must ²  bow down and pay homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has erected.

So I issued an order ¹  for all the wise men of Babylon to be brought ²  before me so that they could make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

As for me, this mystery was revealed to me not because I possess more wisdom ¹  than any other living person, but so that the king may understand ²  the interpretation and comprehend the thoughts of your mind. ³ 

“After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ¹  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²  It had two large rows ³  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

The king then asked Daniel (whose name was also Belteshazzar), “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I saw, as well as its interpretation?”

But Daniel made up his mind ¹  that he would not defile ²  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ³  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

this is the interpretation, O king! It is the decision of the Most High that this has happened to my lord the king.

Then compare our appearance ¹  with that of ²  the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; ³  deal with us ⁴  in light of what you see.”

In the days of those kings the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever.

You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music.

Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening ¹  to the den. The king sealed ²  it with his signet ring and with those ³  of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.

So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. ¹  Then he said to me, “Understand, son of man, ²  that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

In that the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, the latter stages of this kingdom will be partly strong and partly fragile.

We have not obeyed ¹  the LORD our God by living according to ²  his laws ³  that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

Let his mind ¹  be altered from that of a human being, and let an animal’s mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time ²  go by for ³  him.

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!”

Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ¹  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ² 

So they brought the gold and silver ¹  vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God ²  in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them.

So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

In every matter of wisdom and ¹  insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times ²  better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.