Dec 6th

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god.

Then the king said for Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal seed and of the nobles,

youths in whom was no defect, who were good in appearance, showing insight in every branch of wisdom, being thoroughly knowledgeable and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to stand in the king’s palace; and he said for him to teach them the literature and tongue of the Chaldeans.

And the king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to stand before the king.

Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Then the commander of the officials set names for them; and for Daniel he set the name Belteshazzar, for Hananiah Shadrach, for Mishael Meshach, and for Azariah Abed-nego.

But Daniel set in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.

Now God granted Daniel lovingkindness and compassion before the commander of the officials,

and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.”

But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

“Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Then let our appearance be observed before you and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

At the end of ten days it was seen that their appearance was better and that they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food.

So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.

And as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and insight in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams.

Then at the end of the days which the king had spoken of for bringing them in, the commander of the officials brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they stood in service before the king.

And as for every matter of wisdom in understanding which the king sought from them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his kingdom.

And Daniel continued until the first year of Cyrus the king.

Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.

Then the king said to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

Then the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”

Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Say the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.

But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great glory; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.”

They answered a second time and said, “Let the king say the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”

The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you are buying time, inasmuch as you have seen that the word from me is firm,

that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one law for you. Indeed, you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the time is changed; therefore say the dream to me, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.”

The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who is able to declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or powerful ruler has ever asked about a matter like this of any magician, conjurer, or Chaldean.

Moreover, the matter which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with flesh.”

Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and said for them to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

So the law went forth that the wise men were to be killed; and they sought out Daniel and his friends to kill them.

Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;

he answered and said to Arioch, a powerful official for the king, “For what reason is the law from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.

So Daniel went in and sought from the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.

Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to his friends, to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

so that they might seek compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;

Daniel answered and said,

Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”

Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him: “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!”

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?”

Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king is asking, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the last days. This was your dream and the visions of your head while on your bed.

As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would happen in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will happen.

But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me by any wisdom which is in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

“You, O king, were looking, and behold, there was a single great image; that image, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was rising up in front of you, and its appearance was awesome.

The head of that image was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,

its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

and especially those who go after the flesh in its corrupt lust and despise authority.

Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they blaspheme glorious ones,

whereas angels who are greater in strength and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.

But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, blaspheming where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,

suffering unrighteousness as the wages of their unrighteousness, considering it a pleasure to revel in the daytime—they are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they feast with you,

having eyes full of adultery and unceasing sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed—they are accursed children.

Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

but he received a rebuke for his own lawlessness, for a mute donkey, speaking out with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.

These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been kept.

For speaking out arrogant words of vanity, they entice by sensual lusts of the flesh, those who barely escape from the ones who conducted themselves in error,

promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.

For if they are overcome, having both escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and having again been entangled in them, then the last state has become worse for them than the first.

For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.

The message of the true proverb has happened to them, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles,

knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,

and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,

through which the world at that time was destroyed, being deluged with water.

But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some consider slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be found out.

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens burning will be destroyed, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle.

The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal: