Daniel 5:3–6

²³But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

¹⁹Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

¹⁵The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

¹⁶They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;

¹⁷They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths.

¹⁸They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.

²⁰And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

²¹Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

²⁹Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

¹⁹The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

²⁰He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.

⁸I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

⁶They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yea, they worship.

⁷They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

⁴They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

⁵They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

⁶Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

⁷Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

⁸But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

⁹Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

⁴Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

⁵They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

⁶They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:

⁷They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

⁸They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

¹NEBUCHADNEZZAR the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

²Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

³Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁴Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,

⁵That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:

⁶And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

⁷Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

⁸¶ Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.

⁹They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.

¹⁰Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:

¹¹And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

¹²There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

¹³¶ Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Then they brought these men before the king.

¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

¹⁵Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

¹⁷If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

¹⁸But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

³⁷Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

⁸For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

⁹Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

¹¹I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

¹²And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

¹³And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.

¹⁷¶ They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

²³Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

²⁴And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

²⁴For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;

²⁵Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

²⁶Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:

²⁷So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

²⁸And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

³¹While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

²⁴Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

²⁵¶ And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

²⁶This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

²⁷TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

²⁸PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

²For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

³For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

¹⁴Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

⁵That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

³³The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.

¹⁵And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:

⁸Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

²⁰But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

¹HE, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

³⁰They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths,

³¹The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.

¹²And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

¹⁵And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

²⁸Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.

¹⁷All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.

¹⁰She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

⁵I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

⁷And it shall be, when they say unto thee, Wherefore sighest thou? that thou shalt answer, For the tidings; because it cometh: and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it cometh, and shall be brought to pass, saith the Lord God.

²³Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.

¹⁹¶ Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.

⁹Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.

¹⁰¶ Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

⁷Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:

⁸And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

¹AND in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

¹⁹¶ Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

¹²Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

²A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease.

³Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

⁴My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me.

³¶ Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

²⁷None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

²⁰The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.

²¹A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

²²He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

²³He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

²⁴Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

²⁵For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.

²⁶He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:

²⁷Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

¹⁹Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;

²⁰Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.

²¹There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

²²In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: every hand of the wicked shall come upon him.

²³When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

²⁴He shall flee from the iron weapon, and the bow of steel shall strike him through.

²⁵It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

²⁶All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

²⁷The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.

¹⁸Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction.

¹⁹How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! they are utterly consumed with terrors.

²⁰As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.