Translation:Daniel

For other English-language translations of this work, see Daniel (Bible).

Chapter 1

¹ In the third year^[1] of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and besieged it.

² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his [Nebuchadnezzar's] hand, with a part 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 to the house of the treasury of his god.

³ And the king said to Ashkenaz, master of his court officials^[2], to bring, from the sons of Israel, and from the seed of the kingdom, and from the princes,

⁴ Men in whom there was no blemish, but were handsome^[3], apt in all knowledge, well informed^[4], quick to understand, and those who had the strength in them to stand in the king's palace, in order to teach them the writing system and language of the Chaldeans.

⁵ And the king assigned to them a daily amount of the king's food, and of the wine he drank; doing this for three years, that at the end they will stand in front of^[5] the king.

⁶ And among them were the children Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

⁷ And the chief of staff^[6] gave them names^[7]: he named Daniel Belteshazzar, and Hananiah Shadrach, and Mishael Meshach, and Azariah Abed-nego.

⁸ But Daniel put in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food nor with the wine he drank: and he requested the chief of staff that he should not defile himself.

⁹ And God brought Daniel to favor and love^[8] with^[9] the chief of staff.

¹⁰ And the chief of staff said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my Lord the king, who has assigned your food and your drink: for, why should he see your face looking worse than boys the same age as you? Then I may be executed by^[10] the king!

¹¹ Then Daniel said to the ^[11]steward, whom the prince of the court officials had assigned above Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

¹² "Test your servants, please, ten days. Let them give us vegetables, and we will eat them; and water, and we will drink it.

¹³ "And then, let our appearance appear in front of you,^[12] and the appearance of the which eat of the king's food, and do as you judge^[13] with your servants."

¹⁴ And he listened to them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

¹⁵ And at the end of the ten days, their appearances were better and fatter in flesh than any of the boys which ate of the king's food.

¹⁶ So the steward took away their food and the wine in their drinks, and gave them vegetables.

¹⁷ And to these four boys God gave them knowledge and skill in all writings and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in every vision, and dreams.

¹⁸ And at the end of the days that the king had said to bring them in, then the prince of the chief officials brought them before Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among them none were found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: and they stood in front of the king.

²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king asked them, he found them ten times^[14] better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in his kingdom.

²¹ And Daniel continued to the first year of Cyrus the king.^[15]

Chapter 2

¹ And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep was upon him.^{[16] 2} And the king had the astrologers, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans summoned to explain to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, "I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was disturbed about what it might mean."

⁴ Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic^[17], "O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants^[18] the dream, and we will interpret it. ⁵ The king said^[19] to the Chaldeans, "I have forgotten it;^[20] if you^[21] do not make the dream known to me, and explain it, you will be cut up, and your houses will be made into garbage dumps. ⁶ However, If you make known the dream and it's interpretation, you will receive gifts, rewards, and great honors from me. Now tell me the dream and its interpretation!" ⁷ Then the servants spoke for a second time and said, "O king, tell your servants the dream and we will tell you the interpretation." ⁸ Then the king said said, "I know with certainty that all of you are buying time because you see that I am serious^[22]; ⁹ that if you do not make the dream known to me, I will have only one decree for you. You have conspired among yourselves to say lying and corrupt words to me until the time has passed. Tell me the dream, and I will know that you can say its interpretation." ¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king, saying, "There is no person on Earth that can say what the king wants^[23]. Because of that, all great kings and rulers^[24] have not asked this to any of their magicians, conjurers, or Chaldeans. ¹¹ What the king is asking for is difficult, and nobody can answer it except for the Gods, whose do not dwell with us." ¹² The king was angry with all of this, and with great wrath said to kill all of the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ The king made the order that all the wise men were to be killed; Daniel and his fellow men would be killed.

¹⁴ Then Daniel talked sense^[25] to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was ordered by the king to kill the wise men of Babylon. ^{15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45}

Chapters 3 through 7

These chapters, in Aramaic, have not yet been translated.

Chapter 8

¹ In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one which appeared to me at first. ² And I saw in a vision, and as I looked, I was in the citadel Sushan, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in a vision, and I was by the river Ulai. ³ And I lifted my eyes, and saw, and there was a ram, standing before me, with two horns. And the two horns were tall, and the one was taller than the other, and the taller came up last. ⁴ I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no animals could withstand him, and there was none to rescue from his hand. He did as he wished, and became larger.

⁵ And as I considered, then a male goat came from the west across the whole face of the earth, and did not touch the ground, and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. ⁶ And he came to the two-horned ram, which I had seen standing in front of the river, and ran to him in a powerful rage. ⁷ And I saw him approach the ram, filled with wrath against him, and struck the ram, and shattered his two horns, and the ram did not have the strength to withstand him. And he cast him to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his hand.

⁸ And the male goat grew much larger, and when he was strong, the great horn was shattered, and there came up four conspicuous ones toward the four directions. ⁹ And from one of them came a single little horn, and it grew abundantly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful [land]. ¹⁰ And it grew as great as the army of the sky, and it threw down some of the army and some of the stars to to the ground and trampled them. ¹¹ And even up to the captain of the army he exalted himself, and by him was removed,^[26] and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. ¹² And an army will be given against the daily sacrifice in iniquity, and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it acted and prospered.

¹³ And I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one which spoke, How long is the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the desolating transgression, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trampled?

¹⁴ And he said to me, Until two thousand three hundred evenings, mornings, and then the sanctuary will be cleansed.

¹⁵ Now when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand, and there stood before me what appeared to be a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a human voice in the middle of Ulai, and it called, and said, Gabriel, Make this man understand the vision. ¹⁷ And he came near where I stood, and when he came, I was afraid, and fell on my face, and he said to me, Understand, human being, because the vision is of the end time.

¹⁸ And as he spoke with me, I was unconscious with my face to the ground, and he touched me, and made me stand upright. ¹⁹ And he said, Now I will teach you what will happen at the end of the indignations, at the end time. ²⁰ The ram which you saw with two horns is the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ And the male goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn that is between its eyes is the first king. ²² And as it was broken and four rose in its place, four kingdoms will rise up from the nation, but not with his power. ²³ And at the latter days of their kingdom, as it were the culmination of sinners, there will arise a king bold-faced and skilled in intrigues. ²⁴ And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power. He will carry out incredible feats of destruction, and act, and destroy the mighty and the holy. ²⁵ And by his cunning he will make fraud prosper in his hand, and he will think himself great, and in peace destroy many. And he will stand against the prince of princes, and he will be broken, but not by hand. ²⁶ And the vision of evening and morning which was told is true. And you must conceal the vision, because it will be many days. ²⁷ And I, Daniel, was exhausted^[27] and sick for days. Then I rose and did the king's business. And I was appalled by the vision, and no one understood it.

Chapter 9

¹ In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of Media, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans, ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, considered in the books the number of the years, as the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet, that were to be accomplished for the desolations of Jerusalem, seventy years.

³ And I set face to My Lord God, to seek with prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to Yahweh my god, and confessed, and said, O My Lord, great and terrifying God, keeping covenant and loyalty to those who love him, and to those who keep his commandments. ⁵ We have sinned, and done wickedly, and transgressed, and turned from your commandments and your customs. ⁶ And we have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our nobles, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷ To you, My Lord, righteousness belongs, but to us shame-facedness, as it is today for the men of Judah, and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and for all Israel, those near and far away, in all the lands where you have exiled them because of their sin which they have committed against you.

⁸ Yahweh, shame-facedness is ours, and our kings', and our nobles', and our fathers, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ But to the Lord our god belong mercies and pardons, although we have rebelled against him. ¹⁰ And we have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our god, by walking in his laws, which he set before us by the hand of his servants the prophets. ¹¹ And all Israel have transgressed your law, by turning away from obeying your voice. And the curse is poured upon us, and the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. ¹² And he has confirmed his words which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great catastrophe, because under the whole sky nothing has been done like was done to Jerusalem.

¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this catastrophe has come upon us, and we did not pray before Yahweh our god, turning from our guilt and understanding the truth. ¹⁴ And Yahweh has been vigilant over the disaster, and brought it upon us, because Yahweh our god is righteous in all his works which he does, and we did not obey his voice. ¹⁵ Therefore, Lord our god, you have brought your people out from the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and made a name for yourself, as at this day. We have done wickedly.

¹⁶ My Lord, with all your righteousness, please, let your anger and rage turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because with our sins, and the wrongs of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become an object of contempt to all those around us. ¹⁷ Therefore, our god, hear the prayer of your servant, and his petitions, and let your face shine upon your desolate sanctuary, for My Lord's sake. ¹⁸ My god, incline your ear and hear, open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by your name, because it is not on account of our righteousness, but rather on account of your great mercies. ¹⁹ My Lord, hear; My Lord, forgive; My Lord, hear and act. Do not delay, for your own sake, my god, because your city and your people are called by your name.

²⁰ While I was yet speaking, and praying, and confession my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and making my petition before Yahweh my god concerning the holy hill of my god. ²¹ Yes, while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in a vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, reaching me about the time of the evening meal-offering. ²² And he taught me, and spoke with me, and said, Daniel, I have come now to give you wisdom and understanding. ²³ At the beginning of your petitions the commandment went out, and I came out with an announcement, because you are beloved. Now understand this thing, and consider the vision. ²⁴ Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and for your holy city, to bring an end to transgression and to finish sins, and to atone for guilt, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the holy of holies. ²⁵ Know and understand: from the going out of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to an anointed ruler will be seven weeks and sixty two weeks. The streets will be built again, and the wall, and in times of distress. ²⁶ And after sixty-two weeks the anointed one will be cut off, and not for himself, and the people of the coming ruler will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end will be with a flood ²⁷ And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, and for half the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offerings, and on the wing of abominations will be a desolator, until when the decreed end will be poured upon the desolator.

Chapter 10

¹ In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar, and the message was true, and a great warfare. And he understood the message; he understood the vision. ² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full months. ³ I ate no pleasant food, and neither flesh nor wine passed my lips, nor did I anoint myself at all until three full weeks passed.

⁴ And in the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was beside the great River, the Tigris,^{[28] 5} and I lifted my eyes and saw, and there was a man, clothed in linen,^[29] and his loins were girded with the gold of Uphaz. ⁶ And his body was like tarshish,^[30] and his face appearing like lightning, and his eyes like lamps of fire, and his arms and feet gleaming like burnished bronze, and his voice as he spoke like the voice of a multitude.

⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great terror fell upon them, and they fled to hide. ⁸ And I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me, and my natural color turned deathly pale, and I retained no strength. ⁹ And I heard the sound of his words, and when I heard the sound of his words, I became unconscious on my face, with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ Then a hand touched me, and set me on my knees and the palms of my eyes. ¹¹ And he said to me, Daniel, highly favored one, understand the words that I say to you, and stand upright, because I have been sent to you. And as he told me this message, I stood trembling.

¹² And he said to me, Do not be afraid, Daniel, because from the first day you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your god, your words were heard, and I have come on account of your words. ¹³ And the ruler of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, until Michael, one of the chief rulers, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ And I have come to teach you what will happen to your people in latter days, because the vision is still a ways off.

¹⁵ And when he had said these things to me, I set my face to the ground, and I was silent. ¹⁶ And someone who looked like a human being touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and spoke, and said to the man standing before me, My lord, the vision has caused me pain, and I am weak. ¹⁷ And how can my lord's servant speak with my lord? And I immediately was emptied of strength, and breathless.

¹⁸ Then one who appeared like a human being touched me and strengthened me. ¹⁹ And he said, Do not be afraid, highly favored man. Peace be with you. Be strong.

And when he spoke to me, I because strong, and said, Speak, my lord, because you have strengthened me.

²⁰ And he said, Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight with the ruler of Persia, and when I have gone out, the ruler of Greece will come. ²¹ But I will show you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is no one allied with me in these things except Michael your ruler.

Chapter 11

¹ And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood to strengthen and encourage him. ² And now I will tell you the truth. There will yet rise up three kings of Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than them all, in his wealth and by his strength rouse up the whole kingdom of Greece. ³ And a warrior-king will arise, and he will dominate with great dominion, and do as he wishes. ⁴ And when he arises, his kingdom will be shattered, and divided according to the four winds of heaven, and not to his descendants, and not according to the strength of his reign, because his kingdom will be uprooted for others besides these.

⁵ And the king of the south will be strong, and one of his commanders will be stronger than him, and he will rule; a great rule is his rule. ⁶ After some years they will make an alliance, and the southern king's daughter will come to the northern king to make an agreement. But she will not retain the power of the arm, and he will not stand, and his arm. And she will be given up, along with those who brought her, and her father, and the one who obtained her in [those] times. ⁷ And a branch from her roots will stand in his place, and come into the stronghold of the king of the north, and act against them, and prevail. ⁸ He will carry into captivity in Egypt their gods, with their princes, with their precious things of silver and gold. And he will stand years longer than the king of the north.

⁹ And the king of the south will come into his kingdom, and return to his land. ¹⁰ And his sons will be wage war, and they will assemble a great military horde. He will come, and overwhelm, and pass through. And he will return, and they will wage war as far as his fortress.

¹¹ And the king of the south will rage, and come out to fight with him, with the king of the north, and he will raise a great horde, and the horde will be delivered into his hand. ¹² And the multitude will be taken away; his heart will be lifted up. And he will fell myriads, but he will not be strong. ¹³ And the king of the north will return, and raise a horde greater than the first, and when a number of years has passed he will surely come with a great army and great possessions.

¹⁴ And in those times many will arise against the king of the south, and the lawbreakers of your people will lift themselves up to confirm prophecy, and they will stumble. ¹⁵ And the king of the north will come, and cast up a siege mound, and seize fortified cities. And the arms of the south will not withstand, nor his chosen people, and there will be no strength to withstand. ¹⁶ And the one who comes up against him will do as he pleases, and none will stand before him, and he will stand in the beautiful land with destruction in his hand.

¹⁷ And he will set his face to enter with the might of his whole kingdom, and an agreement with them, and he will make. And he will give the daughter of women to him, corrupting her, and she will not stand or be for him. ¹⁸ And he will turn his face toward the coast-lands, and seize many, and a commander will put an end to his insult; instead, he will repay his insult. ¹⁹ And he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, and he will stumble and fall, and not be found.

²⁰ And there will arise in his place one who sends an exactor for the glory of his kingdom, and in a few days he will be shattered, and not in anger or in battle. ²¹ And there will arise in his place a contemptible one, upon whom royal majesty has not been conferred, and he will come in peace, and he will seize the kingship by intrigues. ²² And with the arms of flood they will be overwhelmed before him, and will be shattered, and even the ruler of the covenant. ²³ And by his alliances he will deal treacherously, and he will go up, and become strong with a small nation. ²⁴ Unawares and he will come into the fattest of the provinces, and do what his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers. He will distribute to them spoil, and plunder, and wealth. And he will devise devices against fortresses -- for a time.

²⁵ And he will rouse his strength and his courage against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south will stir himself up for battle with a large and powerful army, but he will not stand, because they will devise devices against him. ²⁶ And those who eat of his provision will break him, and his army will overflow, and many fall slain. ²⁷ And both kings will have ill intent, and they will speak lies at one table, but it will not succeed, because the end is at the appointed time. ²⁸ And he will return to his land with great riches, and he will act with his heart against the holy covenant, and return to his land. ²⁹ At the appointed time he will turn back and go south, and it will not be as before or after. ³⁰ And ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and turn, and rage against the holy covenant. And he will act, and turn, and show favor toward those who abandon the holy covenant. ³¹ And his supporters will stand and defile the sanctuary-fortress, and remove the daily offering, and put there the appalling abomination. ³² And by intrigue he will pervert those who act wickedly against the covenant, while the people who know their god will be strong, and act. ³³ And those of the people who are wise will teach many, but they will fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, for some time. ³⁴ And as they fall, they will be aided will a little aid, and many will join themselves to them by intrigues. ³⁵ And among the wise some will fall, for refining and purification and cleansing, until the time of the end, because the appointed time is yet to come.

³⁶ And the king will do as he pleases, and exalt himself, and magnify himself above every deity, and speak shocking things against the God of Gods, and succeed until the wrath is complete, because what is decreed must come to pass. ³⁷ And he will not consider the god of his father, or the desire of women, nor will he consider any god, because he will magnify himself above all. ³⁸ And in his place he will honor a god of fortresses. He will honor a god whom his fathers did not know with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and valuables. ³⁹ So he will do in fortified strongholds with a foreign god, whom he will favor abundantly with honor. And he will make them rule over the many, and divide the land for profit.

⁴⁰ And at the time of the end the king of the south will advance against him, and the king of the north will sweep against him with chariots and horsemen and many ships. And he will enter the lands, and flood and pass through. ⁴¹ And he will enter the beautiful land, and many will be overthrown, but these will escape from his hand: Edom and Moab, and the remnant^[31] of the Ammonites. ⁴² And will stretch out his hand against the lands, and the land of Egypt will not be spared. ⁴³ And he will rule over treasures of gold and silver, and over all the valuables of Egypt, and Lubim and Kushim will be at his steps. ⁴⁴ And news will alarm him from the east, and from the north, and go forth with great fury to destroy, and exterminate many. ⁴⁵ And he will plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will come to his end, and none will help him.

Chapter 12

¹ And at that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who stands for the sons of your people, and there will be a time of distress, such as has never been since nations were until that time. And at that time your people will escape, all who are found written in the book. ² And many of those sleeping in the earth's dust will arise, some to life everlasting and other to reproach, to everlasting contempt. ³ And the wise will shine like the shining of the firmament, and those who teach righteousness to many, like the stars, forever and ever.

⁴ And you, Daniel, conceal the words and seal up the book until the time of the end. And many will run to and fro, and knowledge will increase.

⁵ And I, Daniel, looked, and there stood another two, one on this side of the riverbank, and one on the other side of the riverbank. ⁶ And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long until the end of these wonders?

⁷ And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the water of the river, and he held up his right hand and left hand toward the sky, and swore by the ever-living one that it will be for a time, times, and a half. And when the smashing of the arm of the holy people is complete, and these things will be completed.

⁸ And I heard, but I did not understand, and I stand, My lord, what will happen after these things?

⁹ And he said, Go, Daniel, because the words are closed and sealed until the end time. ¹⁰ Many will be purified and whitened and refined, and the wicked will do wickedly, and all the wicked will not understand, but the wise will understand.

¹¹ And from the time that the daily offering is removed, until the time that the desolating abomination is set up, will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹² Fortunate is he who waits and reached the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

¹³ And go your way until the end, and you will rest and stand in your lot until the end of the days.

Footnotes

1. That is, 605 BC
2. Literally, Eunuchs.
3. Literally, good in appearance.
4. Literally, familiar with knowledge
5. Alternatively, before.
6. Literally, Eunuchs.
7. Put names on them
8. Literally, gave Daniel to kindness and compassion
9. Or before
10. Literally, Then you will make my head endangered to
11. Hebrew. Melzar
12. Or before
13. see
14. Literally, hands
15. That is, till 539 BC, 66 years after he was taken as a youth from Judah.
16. (2:1) and his sleep was upon him. The phrase has puzzled interpreters, and one suggestion is that a single Hebrew letter be added, to give the literally and his sleep was off from upon him, meaning, he could not sleep.
17. (2:4) The second half of Daniel 2:4 up to Daniel 8:1 is written in Aramaic and not Hebrew.
18. (2:4) singluar in the original
19. (2:5) The text commonly say "spoke and said." This is removed because it is redundant in modern English.
20. (2:5) literally "the word is surely from me"
21. Each mention of "you" in 2:5-2:6 is plural in the original text.
22. (2:8) Literally "the word is assured from me"
23. (2:10) Literally, "can declare the kings matter/word"
24. (2:10) Literally "rulers of things"
25. (2:14) literally "restored council and judgement"
26. (8:11) by him was removed. Following the Qere. The Kethib reads, from him he removed.
27. (8:27) exhausted. The Hebrew term here is obscure, and "exhausted" is one possible interpretation.
28. (10:4) the Tigris. The Peshitto reads, the Euphrates.
29. (10:5) linen. Hebrew bad, a term that refers to some sort of clothing associated with, among other things, the priesthood.
30. (10:6) tarshish. Some kind of precious stone, exact identity unknown.
31. (11:4) remnant. Emending the Masoretic "chief" (rʾšyt) to "remnant" (šʾryt).