Then I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai. It called out, “Gabriel, ¹  enable this person to understand the vision.”

I listened to his voice, ¹  and as I did so ²  I fell into a trance-like sleep with my face to the ground.

While these words were still on the king’s lips, ¹  a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, ²  King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!

His body resembled yellow jasper, ¹  and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches; ²  his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice ³  thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd.

As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, ¹  “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”

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.

The LORD was mindful of the calamity, and he brought it on us. For the LORD our God is just ¹  in all he has done, ²  and we have not obeyed him. ³ 

“All Israel has broken ¹  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ²  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ³  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ⁴ 

He called out loudly ¹  as follows: ²  ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches! Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit! Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches!

“Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching ¹  until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into ²  the flaming fire.

Then the herald ¹  made a loud ²  proclamation: “To you, O peoples, nations, and language groups, the following command is given: ³ 

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!

“Then ¹  a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs ²  in its mouth between its teeth. ³  It was told, ⁴  ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

Then I heard a holy one ¹  speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”

The king called out loudly ¹  to summon ²  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ³  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ⁴  and have a golden collar ⁵  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.