{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_8332/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_8332","id":"gutenberg_8332","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8332","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Daniel","Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"THE HOLY BIBLE\n\n\n\n\nTranslated from the Latin Vulgate\n\n\nDiligently Compared with the Hebrew, Greek,\nand Other Editions in Divers Languages\n\n\nTHE OLD TESTAMENT\nFirst Published by the English College at Douay\nA.D. 1609 & 1610\n\nand\n\nTHE NEW TESTAMENT\nFirst Published by the English College at Rheims\nA.D. 1582\n\n\nWith Annotations\n\n\nThe Whole Revised and Diligently Compared with\nthe Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner\nA.D. 1749-1752\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE PROPHECY OF DANIEL\n\nDANIEL, whose name signifies THE JUDGMENT OF GOD, was of the royal blood\nof the kings of Juda: and one of those that were first of all carried\naway into captivity. He was so renowned for wisdom and knowledge, that\nit became a proverb among the Babylonians, AS WISE AS DANIEL (Ezech.\n28.3). And his holiness was so great from his very childhood, that at\nthe time when he was as yet but a young man, he is joined by the SPIRIT\nof GOD with NOE and JOB, as three persons most eminent for virtue and\nsanctity, Ezech. 14. He is not commonly numbered by the Hebrews among\nTHE PROPHETS: because he lived at court, and in high station in the\nworld: but if we consider his many clear predictions of things to come,\nwe shall find that no one better deserves the name and title of A\nPROPHET: which also has been given him by the SON of GOD himself, Matt.\n24, Mark 13., Luke 21.\n\n\nDaniel Chapter 1\n\nDaniel and his companions are taken into the palace of the king of\nBabylon: they abstain from his meat and wine, and succeed better with\npulse and water. Their excellence and wisdom.\n\n1:1. In the third year of the reign of Joakim, king of Juda,\nNabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem, and beseiged it.\n\n1:2. And the Lord delivered into his hands Joakim, the king of Juda, and\npart of the vessels of the house of God: and he carried them away into\nthe land of Sennaar, to the house of his god, and the vessels he brought\ninto the treasure house of his god.\n\nHis god... Bel or Belus, the principal idol of the Chaldeans.\n\n1:3. And the king spoke to Asphenez, the master of the eunuchs, that he\nshould bring in some of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed,\nand of the princes,\n\n1:4. Children in whom there was no blemish, well favoured, and skilful\nin all wisdom, acute in knowledge, and instructed in science, and such\nas might stand in the king's palace, that he might teach them the\nlearning, and tongue of the Chaldeans.\n\n1:5. And the king appointed them a daily provision, of his own meat, and\nof the wine of which he drank himself, that being nourished three years,\nafterwards they might stand before the king.\n\n1:6. Now there was among them of the children of Juda, Daniel, Ananias,\nMisael, and Azarias.\n\n1:7. And the master of the eunuchs gave them names: to Daniel,\nBaltassar: to Ananias, Sidrach: to Misael, Misach: and to Azarias,\nAbdenago.\n\n1:8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled with\nthe king's table, nor with the wine which he drank: and he requested the\nmaster of the eunuchs that he might not be defiled.\n\nBe defiled, etc... Viz., either by eating meat forbidden by the law, or\nwhich had before been offered to idols.\n\n1:9. And God gave to Daniel grace and mercy in the sight of the prince\nof the eunuchs.\n\n1:10. And the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel: I fear my lord, the\nking, who hath appointed you meat and drink: who if he should see your\nfaces leaner than those of the other youths, your equals, you shall\nendanger my head to the king.\n\n1:11. And Daniel said to Malasar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had\nappointed over Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias:\n\n1:12. Try, I beseech thee, thy servants for ten days, and let pulse be\ngiven us to eat, and water to drink:\n\nPulse... That is, pease, beans, and such like.\n\n1:13. And look upon our faces, and the faces of the children that eat of\nthe king's meat: and as thou shalt see, deal with thy servants.\n\n1:14. And when he had heard these words, he tried them for ten days.\n\n1:15. And after ten days, their faces appeared fairer and fatter than\nall the children that ate of the king's meat.\n\n1:16. So Malasar took their portions, and the wine that they should\ndrink: and he gave them pulse.\n\n1:17. And to these children God gave knowledge, and understanding in\nevery book, and wisdom: but to Daniel the understanding also of all\nvisions and dreams.\n\n1:18. And when the days were ended, after which the king had ordered\nthey should be brought in: the prince of the eunuchs brought them in\nbefore Nabuchodonosor.\n\n1:19. And when the king had spoken to them, there were not found among\nthem all such as Daniel, Ananias, Misael, and Azarias: and they stood in\nthe king's presence.\n\n1:20. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king\nenquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the diviners,\nand wise men, that were in all his kingdom.\n\n1:21. And Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.\n\nDaniel Chapter 2\n\nDaniel, by divine revelation, declares the dream of Nabuchodonosor, and\nthe interpretation of it. He is highly honoured by the king.\n\n2:1. In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosor\nhad a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream went out of his\nmind.\n\nThe second year... Viz., from the death of his father Nabopolassar; for\nhe had reigned before as partner with his father in the empire.\n\n2:2. Then the king commanded to call together the diviners and the wise\nmen, and the magicians, and the Chaldeans: to declare to the king his\ndreams: so they came and stood before the king.\n\nThe Chaldeeans... That is, the astrologers, that pretended to divine by\nstars.\n\n2:3. And the king said to them: I saw a dream: and being troubled in\nmind I know not what I saw.\n\n2:4. And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac: O king, live for\never: tell to thy servants thy dream, and we will declare the\ninterpretation thereof.\n\n2:5. And the king, answering, said to the Chaldeans: The thing is gone\nout of my mind: unless you tell me the dream, and the meaning thereof,\nyou shall be put to death, and your houses shall be confiscated.\n\n2:6. but if you tell the dream, and the meaning of it, you shall receive\nof me rewards, and gifts, and great honour: therefore, tell me the\ndream, and the interpretation thereof.\n\n2:7. They answered again and said: Let the king tell his servants the\ndream, and we will declare the interpretation of it.\n\n2:8. The king answered and said: I know for certain, that you seek to\ngain time, since you know that the thing is gone from me.\n\n2:9. If, therefore, you tell me not the dream, there is one sentence\nconcerning you, that you have also framed a lying interpretation, and\nfull of deceit, to speak before me till the time pass away. Tell me,\ntherefore, the dream, that I may know that you also give a true\ninterpretation thereof.\n\n2:10. Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: There is no\nman upon earth, that can accomplish thy word, O king; neither doth any\nking, though great and mighty, ask such a thing of any diviner, or wise\nman, or Chaldean.\n\n2:11. For the thing that thou asketh, O king, is difficult: nor can any\none be found that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose\nconversation is not with men.\n\n2:12. Upon hearing this, the king in fury, and in great wrath, commanded\nthat all the wise men of Babylon should be put to death.\n\n2:13. And the decree being gone forth, the wise men were slain: and\nDaniel and his companions were sought for, to be put to death.\n\n2:14. Then Daniel inquired concerning the law and the sentence, of\nArioch, the general of the king's army, who was gone forth to kill the\nwise men of Babylon.\n\n2:15. And he asked him that had received the orders of the king, why so\ncruel a sentence was gone forth from the face of the king. And when\nArioch had told the matter to Daniel,\n\n2:16. Daniel went in, and desired of the king, that he would give him\ntime to resolve the question, and declare it to the king.\n\n2:17. And he went into his house, and told the matter to Ananias, and\nMisael, and Azarias, his companions:\n\n2:18. To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the God of\nheaven, concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions might\nnot perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.\n\n2:19. Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night:\nand Daniel blessed the God of heaven,\n\n2:20. And speaking, he said: Blessed be the name of the Lord from\neternity and for evermore: for wisdom and fortitude are his.\n\n2:21. And he changeth times and ages: taketh away kingdoms, and\nestablisheth them: giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that\nhave understanding:\n\n2:22. He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in\ndarkness: and light is with him.\n\n2:23. To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee:\nbecause thou hast given me wisdom and strength: and now thou hast shewn\nme what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king's\ndiscourse.\n\n2:24. After this Daniel went in to Arioch, to whom the king had given\norders to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke thus to him:\nDestroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I\nwill tell the solution to the king.\n\n2:25. Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel to the king, and said to\nhim: I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Juda, that\nwill resolve the question to the king.\n\n2:26. The king answered, and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltassar:\nThinkest thou indeed that thou canst tell me the dream that I saw, and\nthe interpretation thereof?\n\n2:27. And Daniel made answer before the king, and said: The secret that\nthe king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers, or\nthe diviners, or the soothsayers, can declare to the king.\n\n2:28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth mysteries, who hath\nshewn to thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, what is to come to pass in the\nlatter times. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are\nthese:\n\n2:29. Thou, O king, didst begin to think in thy bed, what should come to\npass hereafter: and he that revealeth mysteries shewed thee what shall\ncome to pass.\n\n2:30. To me also this secret is revealed, not by any wisdom that I have\nmore than all men alive: but that the interpretation might be made\nmanifest to the king, and thou mightest know the thought of thy mind.\n\n2:31. Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was as it were a great\nstatue: this statue, which was great and high, tall of stature, stood\nbefore thee, and the look thereof was terrible.\n\n2:32. The head of this statue was of fine gold, but the breast and the\narms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass.\n\n2:33. And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay.\n\n2:34. Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without\nhands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron\nand clay, and broke them in pieces.\n\n2:35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold\nbroken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's\nthreshing floor, and they were carried away by the wind: and there was\nno place found for them: but the stone that struck the statue became a\ngreat mountain, and filled the whole earth.\n\n2:36. This is the dream: we will also tell the interpretation thereof\nbefore thee, O king.\n\n2:37. Thou art a king of kings: and the God of heaven hath given thee a\nkingdom, and strength, and power, and glory:\n\n2:38. And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the\nfield do dwell: he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand,\nand hath put all things under thy power: thou, therefore, art the head\nof gold.\n\n2:39. And after thee shall rise up another kingdom, inferior to thee, of\nsilver: and another third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over all\nthe world.\n\nAnother kingdom... Viz., that of the Medes and Persians. Ibid. Third\nkingdom... Viz., that of Alexander the Great.\n\n2:40. And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron breaketh into\npieces, and subdueth all things, so shall that break, and destroy all\nthese.\n\nThe fourth kingdom, etc... Some understand this of the successors of\nAlexander, the kings of Syria and Egypt, others of the Roman empire, and\nits civil wars.\n\n2:41. And whereas thou sawest the feet, and the toes, part of potter's\nclay, and part of iron: the kingdom shall be divided, but yet it shall\ntake its origin from the iron, according as thou sawest the iron mixed\nwith the miry clay.\n\n2:42. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay:\nthe kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.\n\n2:43. And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall\nbe mingled indeed together with the seed of man, but they shall not\nstick fast one to another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.\n\n2:44. But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will set up a\nkingdom that shall never by destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be\ndelivered up to another people: and it shall break in pieces, and shall\nconsume all these kingdoms: and itself shall stand for ever.\n\nA kingdom... Viz., the kingdom of Christ in the Catholic Church which\ncannot be destroyed.\n\n2:45. According as thou sawest, that the stone was cut out of the\nmountain without hands, and broke in pieces the clay and the iron, and\nthe brass, and the silver, and the gold, the great God hath shewn the\nking what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is true, and the\ninterpretation thereof is faithful.\n\n2:46. Then king Nabuchodonosor fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel,\nand commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and\nincense.\n\n2:47. And the king spoke to Daniel, and said: Verily, your God is the\nGod of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of hidden things: seeing\nthou couldst discover this secret.\n\n2:48. Then the king advanced Daniel to a high station, and gave him many\nand great gifts: and he made him governor over all the provinces of\nBabylon: and chief of the magistrates over all the wise men of Babylon.\n\n2:49. And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Sidrach,\nMisach, and Abdenago, over the works of the province of Babylon: but\nDaniel himself was in the king's palace.\n\nDaniel Chapter 3\n\nNabuchodonosor set up a golden statue; which he commands all to adore:\nthe three children for refusing to do it are cast into the fiery\nfurnace; but are not hurt by the flames. Their prayer and canticle of\npraise.\n\n3:1. King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold, of sixty cubits high,\nand six cubits broad, and he set it up in the plain of Dura, of the\nprovince of Babylon.\n\n3:2. Then Nabuchodonosor, the king, sent to call together the nobles,\nthe magistrates, and the judges, the captains, the rulers, and\ngovernors, and all the chief men of the provinces, to come to the\ndedication of the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.\n\n3:3. Then the nobles, the magistrates, and the judges, the captains, and\nrulers, and the great men that were placed in authority, and all the\nprinces of the provinces, were gathered together to come to the\ndedication of the statue, which king Nabuchodonosor had set up. And they\nstood before the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.\n\n3:4. Then a herald cried with a strong voice: To you it is commanded, O\nnations, tribes and languages:\n\n3:5. That in the hour that you shall hear the sound of the trumpet, and\nof the flute, and of the harp, of the sackbut, and of the psaltery, and\nof the symphony, and of all kind of music, ye fall down and adore the\ngolden statue which king Nabuchodonosor hath set up.\n\n3:6. But if any man shall not fall down and adore, he shall the same\nhour be cast into a furnace of burning fire.\n\n3:7. Upon this, therefore, at the time when all the people heard the\nsound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and the\npsaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, all the nations,\ntribes, and languages fell down and adored the golden statue which king\nNabuchodonosor had set up.\n\n3:8. And presently at that very time some Chaldeans came and accused the\nJews,\n\n3:9. And said to king Nabuchodonosor: O king, live for ever:\n\n3:10. Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear\nthe sound of the trumpet, the flute, and the harp, of the sackbut, and\nthe psaltery, of the symphony, and of all kind of music, shall prostrate\nhimself, and adore the golden statue:\n\n3:11. And that if any man shall not fall down and adore, he should be\ncast into a furnace of burning fire.\n\n3:12. Now there are certain Jews, whom thou hast set over the works of\nthe province of Babylon, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago: these men, O\nking, have slighted thy decree: they worship not thy gods, nor do they\nadore the golden statue which thou hast set up.\n\n3:13. Then Nabuchodonosor in fury, and in wrath, commanded that Sidrach,\nMisach, ad Abdenago should be brought: who immediately were brought\nbefore the king.\n\n3:14. And Nabuchodonosor, the king, spoke to them, and said: Is it true,\nO Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, that you do not worship my gods, nor\nadore the golden statue that I have set up?\n\n3:15. Now, therefore, if you be ready, at what hour soever, you shall\nhear the sound of the trumpet, flute, harp, sackbut, and psaltery, and\nsymphony, and of all kind of music, prostrate yourselves, and adore the\nstatue which I have made: but if you do not adore, you shall be cast the\nsame hour into the furnace of burning fire: and who is the God that\nshall deliver you out of my hand?\n\n3:16. Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, answered, and said to king\nNabuchodonosor: We have no occasion to answer thee concerning this\nmatter.\n\n3:17. For behold our God, whom we worship, is able to save us from the\nfurnace of burning fire, and to deliver us out of thy hands, O king.\n\n3:18. But if he will not, be it known to thee, O king, that we will not\nworship thy gods, nor adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.\n\n3:19. Then was Nabuchodonosor filled with fury: and the countenance of\nhis face was changed against Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and he\ncommanded that the furnace should be heated seven times more than it had\nbeen accustomed to be heated.\n\n3:20. And he commanded the strongest men that were in his army, to bind\nthe feet of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, and to cast them into the\nfurnace of burning fire.\n\n3:21. And immediately these men were bound, and were cast into the\nfurnace of burning fire, with their coats, and their caps, and their\nshoes, and their garments.\n\n3:22. For the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace was heated\nexceedingly. And the flame of the fire slew those men that had cast in\nSidrach, Misach, and Abdenago.\n\n3:23. But these three men, that is, Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, fell\ndown bound in the midst of the furnace of burning fire.\n\n3:24. And they walked in the midst of the flame, praising God, and\nblessing the Lord.\n\nAnd they walked, etc... Here St. Jerome takes notice, that from this\nverse, to ver. 91, was not in the Hebrew in his time. But as it was in\nall the Greek Bibles, (which were originally translated from the\nHebrew,) it is more than probable that it had been formerly in the\nHebrew or rather in the Chaldaic, in which the book of Daniel was\nwritten. But this is certain: that it is, and has been of old, received\nby the church, and read as canonical scripture in her liturgy, and\ndivine offices.\n\n3:25. Then Azarias standing up, prayed in this manner, and opening his\nmouth in the midst of the fire, he said:\n\n3:26. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and thy name is\nworthy of praise, and glorious for ever:\n\n3:27. For thou art just in all that thou hast done to us, and all thy\nworks are true, and thy ways right, and all thy judgments true.\n\n3:28. For thou hast executed true judgments in all the things that thou\nhast brought upon us, and upon Jerusalem, the holy city of our fathers:\nfor according to truth and judgment, thou hast brought all these things\nupon us for our sins.\n\n3:29. For we have sinned, and committed iniquity, departing from thee:\nand we have trespassed in all things:\n\n3:30. And we have not hearkened to thy commandments, nor have we\nobserved nor done as thou hadst commanded us, that it might go well with\nus.\n\n3:31. Wherefore, all that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing\nthat thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgment:\n\n3:32. And thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies that are\nunjust, and most wicked, and prevaricators, and to a king unjust, and\nmost wicked beyond all that are upon the earth.\n\n3:33. And now we cannot open our mouths: we are become a shame, and a\nreproach to thy servants, and to them that worship thee.\n\n3:34. Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech thee, for thy name's sake,\nand abolish not thy covenant.\n\n3:35. And take not away thy mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, thy\nbeloved, and Isaac, thy servant, and Israel, thy holy one:\n\n3:36. To whom thou hast spoken, promising that thou wouldst multiply\ntheir seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea\nshore.\n\n3:37. For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are\nbrought low in all the earth this day for our sins.\n\n3:38. Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or\nholocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of first\nfruits before thee,\n\n3:39. That we may find thy mercy: nevertheless, in a contrite heart and\nhumble spirit let us be accepted.\n\n3:40. As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat\nlambs: so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it may\nplease thee: for there is no confusion to them that trust in thee.\n\n3:41. And now we follow thee with all our heart, and we fear thee, and\nseek thy face.\n\n3:42. Put us not to confusion, but deal with us according to thy\nmeekness, and according to the multitude of thy mercies.\n\n3:43. And deliver us, according to thy wonderful works, and give glory\nto thy name, O Lord:\n\n3:44. And let all them be confounded that shew evils to thy servants,\nlet them be confounded in all thy might, and let their strength be\nbroken:\n\n3:45. And let them know that thou art the Lord, the only God, and\nglorious over all the world.\n\n3:46. Now the king's servants that had cast them in, ceased not to heat\nthe furnace with brimstone and tow, and pitch, and dry sticks,\n\n3:47. And the flame mounted up above the furnace nine and forty cubits:\n\n3:48. And it broke forth, and burnt such of the Chaldeans as it found\nnear the furnace.\n\n3:49. But the angel of the Lord went down with Azarias and his\ncompanions into the furnace: and he drove the flame of the fire out of\nthe furnace,\n\n3:50. And made the midst of the furnace like the blowing of a wind\nbringing dew, and the fire touched them not at all, nor troubled them,\nnor did them any harm.\n\n3:51. Then these three, as with one mouth, praised and glorified and\nblessed God, in the furnace, saying:\n\n3:52. Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers; and worthy to be\npraised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever: and blessed is\nthe holy name of thy glory: and worthy to be praised and exalted above\nall, in all ages.\n\n3:53. Blessed art thou in the holy temple of thy glory: and exceedingly\nto be praised and exalted above all for ever.\n\n3:55. Blessed art thou that beholdest the depths, and sittest upon the\ncherubims: and worthy to be praised and exalted above all for ever.\n\n3:56. Blessed art thou in the firmament of heaven: and worthy of praise,\nand glorious for ever.\n\n3:57. All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:58. O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:59. O ye heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for\never.\n\n3:60. O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord: praise\nand exalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:61. O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:62. O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:63. O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:64. O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:65. O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:66. O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:67. O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:68. O ye dews and hoar frost, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:69. O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:70. O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:71. O ye nights and days, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:72. O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:73. O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:74. O let the earth bless the Lord: let it praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:76. O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord:\npraise and exalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:77. O ye fountains, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for\never.\n\n3:78. O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:79. O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord:\npraise and exalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:80. O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:81. O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:82. O ye sons of men, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all\nfor ever.\n\n3:83. O let Israel bless the Lord: let them praise and exalt him above\nall for ever.\n\n3:84. O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:85. O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him\nabove all for ever.\n\n3:86. O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: praise and\nexalt him above all for ever.\n\n3:87. O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord: praise and exalt\nhim above all for ever.\n\n3:88. O Ananias, Azarias, Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt\nhim above all for ever. For he hath delivered us from hell, and saved us\nout of the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the\nburning flame, and saved us out of the midst of the fire.\n\n3:89. O give thanks to the Lord, because he is good: because his mercy\nendureth for ever and ever.\n\n3:90. O all ye religious, bless the Lord, the God of gods: praise him,\nand give him thanks, because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.\n\n3:91. Then Nabuchodonosor, the king, was astonished, and rose up in\nhaste, and said to his nobles: Did we not cast three men bound into the\nmidst of the fire? They answered the king, and said: True, O king.\n\n3:92. He answered, and said: Behold, I see four men loose, and walking\nin the midst of the fire, and there is no hurt in them, and the form of\nthe fourth is like the son of God.\n\n3:93. Then Nabuchodonosor came to the door of the burning fiery furnace,\nand said: Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, ye servants of the most high\nGod, go ye forth, and come. And immediately Sidrach, Misach, and\nAbdenago, went out from the midst of the fire.\n\n3:94. And the nobles, and the magistrates, and the judges, and the great\nmen of the king, being gathered together, considered these men, that the\nfire had no power on their bodies, and that not a hair of their head had\nbeen singed, nor their garments altered, nor the smell of the fire had\npassed on them.\n\n3:95. Then Nabuchodonosor breaking forth, said: Blessed be the God of\nthem, to wit, of Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, who hath sent his angel,\nand delivered his servants that believed in him: and they changed the\nking's word, and delivered up their bodies, that they might not serve\nnor adore any god except their own God.\n\n3:96. By me, therefore, this decree is made: That every people, tribe,\nand tongue, which shall speak blasphemy against the God of Sidrach,\nMisach, and Abdenago, shall be destroyed, and their houses laid waste:\nfor there is no other God that can save in this manner.\n\n3:97. Then the king promoted Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago, in the\nprovince of Babylon.\n\n3:98. Nabuchodonosor, the king, to all peoples, nations, and tongues,\nthat dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied unto you.\n\nNabuchodonosor, etc... These last three verses are a kind of preface to\nthe following chapter, which is written in the style of an epistle from\nthe king.\n\n3:99. The most high God hath wrought signs and wonders towards me. It\nhath seemed good to me, therefore, to publish\n\n3:100. His signs, because they are great: and his wonders, because they\nare mighty: and his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power to\nall generations.\n\nDaniel Chapter 4\n\nNabuchodonosor's dream, by which the judgments of God are denounced\nagainst him for his pride, is interpreted by Daniel, and verified by the\nevent.\n\n4:1. I, Nabuchodonosor, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my\npalace:\n\n4:2. I saw a dream that affrighted me: and my thoughts in my bed, and\nthe visions of my head, troubled me.\n\n4:3. Then I set forth a decree, that all the wise men of Babylon should\nbe brought in before me, and that they should shew me the interpretation\nof the dream.\n\n4:4. Then came in the diviners, the wise men, the Chaldeans, and the\nsoothsayers, and I told the dream before them: but they did not shew me\nthe interpretation thereof.\n\n4:5. Till their colleague, Daniel, came in before me, whose name is\nBaltassar, according to the name of my god, who hath in him the spirit\nof the holy gods: and I told the dream before him.\n\nBaltassar, according to the name of my god... He says this, because the\nname of Baltassar, or Belteshazzar, is derived from the name of Bel, the\nchief god of the Babylonians.\n\n4:6. Baltassar, prince of the diviners, because I know that thou hast in\nthee the spirit of the holy gods, and that no secret is impossible to\nthee, tell me the visions of my dreams that I have seen, and the\ninterpretation of them?\n\n4:7. This was the vision of my head in my bed: I saw, and behold a tree\nin the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was exceeding great.\n\n4:8. The tree was great and strong, and the height thereof reached unto\nheaven: the sight thereof was even to the ends of all the earth.\n\n4:9. Its leaves were most beautiful, and its fruit exceeding much: and\nin it was food for all: under it dwelt cattle and beasts, and in the\nbranches thereof the fowls of the air had their abode: and all flesh did\neat of it.\n\n4:10. I saw in the vision of my head upon my bed, and behold a watcher,\nand a holy one came down from heaven.\n\nA watcher... A vigilant angel, perhaps the guardian of Israel.\n\n4:11. He cried aloud, and said thus: Cut down the tree, and chop off the\nbranches thereof: shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruits: let the\nbeasts fly away that are under it, and the birds from its branches.\n\n4:12. Nevertheless, leave the stump of its roots in the earth, and let\nit be tied with a band of iron and of brass, among the grass, that is\nwithout, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion\nbe with the wild beasts in the grass of the earth.\n\n4:13. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be\ngiven him: and let seven times pass over him.\n\nLet his heart be changed, etc... It does not appear by scripture that\nNabuchodonosor was changed from human shape; much less that he was\nchanged into an ox; but only that he lost his reason, and became mad;\nand in this condition remained abroad in the company of beasts, eating\ngrass like an ox, till his hair grew in such manner as to resemble the\nfeathers of eagles, and his nails to be like birds' claws.\n\n4:14. This is the decree by the sentence of the watchers, and the word\nand demand of the holy ones: till the living know, that the most High\nruleth in the kingdom of men: and he will give it to whomsoever it shall\nplease him, and he will appoint the basest man over it.\n\n4:15. I, king Nabuchodonosor, saw this dream: thou, therefore, O\nBaltassar, tell me quickly the interpretation: for all the wise men of\nmy kingdom are not able to declare the meaning of it to me: but thou art\nable, because the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.\n\n4:16. Then Daniel, whose name was Baltassar, began silently to think\nwithin himself for about one hour: and his thought troubled him. But the\nking answering, said: Baltassar, let not the dream and the\ninterpretation thereof trouble thee. Baltassar answered, and said: My\nlord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation\nthereof to thy enemies.\n\n4:17. The tree which thou sawest, which was high and strong, whose\nheight reached to the skies, and the sight thereof into all the earth:\n\n4:18. And the branches thereof were most beautiful, and its fruit\nexceeding much, and in it was food for all, under which the beasts of\nthe field dwelt, and the birds of the air had their abode in its\nbranches.\n\n4:19. It is thou, O king, who art grown great, and become mighty: for\nthy greatness hath grown, and hath reached to heaven, and thy power unto\nthe ends of the earth.\n\n4:20. And whereas the king saw a watcher, and a holy one come down from\nheaven, and say: Cut down the tree, and destroy it, but leave the stump\nof the roots thereof in the earth, and let it be bound with iron and\nbrass, among the grass without, and let it be sprinkled with the dew of\nheaven, and let his feeding be with the wild beasts, till seven times\npass over him.\n\n4:21. This is the interpretation of the sentence of the most High, which\nis come upon my lord, the king.\n\n4:22. They shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling shall be\nwith cattle, and with wild beasts, and thou shalt eat grass, as an ox,\nand shalt be wet with the dew of heaven: and seven times shall pass over\nthee, till thou know that the most High ruleth over the kingdom of men,\nand giveth it to whomsoever he will.\n\n4:23. But whereas he commanded, that the stump of the roots thereof,\nthat is, of the tree, should be left: thy kingdom shall remain to thee,\nafter thou shalt have known that power is from heaven.\n\n4:24. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and\nredeem thou thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with works of mercy\nto the poor: perhaps he will forgive thy offences.\n\n4:25. All these things came upon king Nabuchodonosor.\n\n4:26. At the end of twelve months he was walking in the palace of\nBabylon.\n\n4:27. And the king answered, and said: Is not this the great Babylon,\nwhich I have built, to be the seat of the kingdom, by the strength of my\npower, and in the glory of my excellence?\n\n4:28. And while the word was yet in the king's mouth, a voice came down\nfrom heaven: To thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, it is said: Thy kingdom\nshall pass from thee.\n\n4:29. And they shall cast thee out from among men, and thy dwelling\nshall be with cattle and wild beasts: thou shalt eat grass like an ox,\nand seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High\nruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.\n\n4:30. The same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nabuchodonosor, and he\nwas driven away from among men, and did eat grass, like an ox, and his\nbody was wet with the dew of heaven: till his hairs grew like the\nfeathers of eagles, and his nails like birds' claws.\n\n4:31. Now at the end of the days, I, Nabuchodonosor, lifted up my eyes\nto heaven, and my sense was restored to me: and I blessed the most High,\nand I praised and glorified him that liveth for ever: for his power is\nan everlasting power, and his kingdom is to all generations.\n\n4:32. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing before\nhim: for he doth according to his will, as well with the powers of\nheaven, as among the inhabitants of the earth: and there is none that\ncan resist his hand, and say to him: Why hast thou done it?\n\n4:33. At the same time my sense returned to me, and I came to the honour\nand glory of my kingdom: and my shape returned to me: and my nobles, and\nmy magistrates, sought for me, and I was restored to my kingdom: and\ngreater majesty was added to me.\n\n4:34. Therefore I, Nabuchodonosor, do now praise, and magnify, and\nglorify the King of heaven: because all his works are true, and his ways\njudgments, and them that walk in pride he is able to abase.\n\nI, Nabuchodonosor, do now, etc... From this place some commentators\ninfer that this king became a true convert, and dying not long after,\nwas probably saved.\n\nDaniel Chapter 5\n\nBaltasar's profane banquet: his sentence is denounced by a handwriting\non the wall, which Daniel reads and interprets.\n\n5:1. Baltasar, the king, made a great feast for a thousand of his\nnobles: and every one drank according to his age.\n\nBaltasar... He is believed to be the same as Nabonydus, the last of the\nChaldean kings, grandson to Nabuchodonosor. He is called his son, ver.\n2, 11, etc., according to the style of the scriptures, because he was a\ndescendant from him.\n\n5:2. And being now drunk, he commanded that they should bring the\nvessels of gold and silver, which Nabuchodonosor, his father, had\nbrought away out of the temple, that was in Jerusalem, that the king and\nhis nobles, and his wives, and his concubines, might drink in them.\n\n5:3. Then were the golden and silver vessels brought, which he had\nbrought away out of the temple that was in Jeursalem: and the king and\nhis nobles, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.\n\n5:4. They drank wine, and praised their gods of gold, and of silver, of\nbrass, of iron, and of wood, and of stone.\n\n5:5. In the same hour there appeared fingers, as it were of the hand of\na man, writing over against the candlestick, upon the surface of the\nwall of the king's palace: and the king beheld the joints of the hand\nthat wrote.\n\n5:6. Then was the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled\nhim: and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one\nagainst the other.\n\n5:7. And the king cried out aloud to bring in the wise men, the\nChaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise\nmen of Babylon: Whosoever shall read this writing, and shall make known\nto me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and\nshall have a golden chain on his neck, and shall be the third man in my\nkingdom.\n\n5:8. Then came in all the king's wise men, but they could neither read\nthe writing, nor declare the interpretation to the king.\n\n5:9. Wherewith king Baltasar was much troubled, and his countenance was\nchanged: and his nobles also were troubled.\n\n5:10. Then the queen, on occasion of what had happened to the king, and\nhis nobles, came into the banquet-house: and she spoke, and said: O\nking, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, neither let thy\ncountenance be changed.\n\nThe queen... Not the wife, but the mother of the king.\n\n5:11. There is a man in thy kingdom that hath the spirit of the holy\ngods in him: and in the days of thy father knowledge and wisdom were\nfound in him: for king Nabuchodonosor, thy father, appointed him prince\nof the wise men, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, thy father, I\nsay, O king:\n\n5:12. Because a greater spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, and\ninterpretation of dreams, and shewing of secrets, and resolving of\ndifficult things, were found in him, that is, in Daniel: whom the king\nnamed Baltassar. Now, therefore, let Daniel be called for, and he will\ntell the interpretation.\n\n5:13. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke,\nand said to him: Art thou Daniel, of the children of the captivity of\nJuda, whom my father, the king, brought out of Judea?\n\n5:14. I have heard of thee, that thou hast the spirit of the gods, and\nexcellent knowledge, and understanding, and wisdom are found in thee.\n\n5:15. And now the wise men, the magicians, have come in before me, to\nread this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof; and they\ncould not declare to me the meaning of this writing.\n\n5:16. But I have heard of thee, that thou canst interpret obscure\nthings, and resolve difficult things: now if thou art able to read the\nwriting, and to shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be\nclothed with purple, and shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck, and\nshalt be the third prince in my kingdom.\n\n5:17. To which Daniel made answer, and said before the king: thy rewards\nbe to thyself, and the gifts of thy house give to another: but the\nwriting I will read to thee, O king, and shew thee the interpretation\nthereof.\n\n5:18. O king, the most high God gave to Nabuchodonosor, thy father, a\nkingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour.\n\n5:19. And for the greatness that he gave to him, all people, tribes, and\nlanguages trembled, and were afraid of him: whom he would, he slew: and\nwhom he would, he destroyed: and whom he would, he set up: and whom he\nwould, he brought down.\n\n5:20. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit hardened unto\npride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory was\ntaken away.\n\n5:21. And he was driven out from the the sons of men, and his heart was\nmade like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses, and he\ndid eat grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven:\ntill he knew that the most High ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he\nwill set over it whomsoever it shall please him.\n\n5:22. Thou also, his son, O Baltasar, hast not humbled thy heart,\nwhereas thou knewest all these things:\n\n5:23. But hast lifted thyself up against the Lord of heaven: and the\nvessels of his house have been brought before thee: and thou, and thy\nnobles, and thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them: and\nthou hast praised the gods of silver, and of gold, and of brass, of\niron, and of wood, and of stone, that neither see, nor hear, nor feel:\nbut the God who hath thy breath in his hand, and all thy ways, thou hast\nnot glorified.\n\n5:24. Wherefore, he hath sent the part of the hand which hath written\nthis that is set down.\n\n5:25. And this is the writing that is written: MANE, THECEL, PHARES.\n\n5:26. And this is the interpretation of the word. MANE: God hath\nnumbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it.\n\n5:27. THECEL: thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting.\n\n5:28. PHARES: thy kingdom is divided, and is given to the Medes and\nPersians.\n\n5:29. Then by the king's command, Daniel was clothed with purple, and a\nchain of gold was put about his neck: and it was proclaimed of him that\nhe had power as the third man in the kingdom.\n\n5:30. The same night Baltasar, the Chaldean king, was slain.\n\n5:31. And Darius, the Mede, succeeded to the kingdom, being threescore\nand two years old.\n\nDarius... He is called Cyaxares by the historians; and was the son of\nAstyages, and uncle to Cyrus.\n\nDaniel Chapter 6\n\nDaniel is promoted by Darius: his enemies procure a law forbidding\nprayer; for the transgression of this law Daniel is cast into the lions'\nden: but miraculously delivered.\n\n6:1. It seemed good to Darius, and he appointed over the kingdom a\nhundred and twenty governors, to be over his whole kingdom.\n\n6:2. And three princes over them of whom Daniel was one: that the\ngovernors might give an account to them, and the king might have no\ntrouble.\n\n6:3. And Daniel excelled all the princes, and governors: because a\ngreater spirit of God was in him.\n\n6:4. And the king thought to set him over all the kingdom; whereupon the\nprinces, and the governors, sought to find occasion against Daniel, with\nregard to the king: and they could find no cause, nor suspicion, because\nhe was faithful, and no fault, nor suspicion was found in him.\n\n6:5. Then these men said: We shall not find any occasion against this\nDaniel, unless perhaps concerning the law of his God.\n\n6:6. Then the princes, and the governors, craftily suggested to the\nking, and spoke thus unto him: King Darius, live for ever:\n\n6:7. All the princes of the kingdom, the magistrates, and governors, the\nsenators, and judges, have consulted together, that an imperial decree,\nand an edict be published: That whosoever shall ask any petition of any\ngod, or man, for thirty days, but of thee, O king, shall be cast into\nthe den of the lions.\n\n6:8. Now, therefore, O king, confirm the sentence, and sign the decree:\nthat what is decreed by the Medes and Persians may not be altered, nor\nany man be allowed to transgress it.\n\n6:9. So king Darius set forth the decree, and established it.\n\n6:10. Now, when Daniel knew this, that is to say, that the law was made,\nhe went into his house: and opening the windows in his upper chamber\ntowards Jerusalem, he knelt down three times a day, and adored and gave\nthanks before his God, as he had been accustomed to do before.\n\n6:11. Wherefore those men carefully watching him, found Daniel praying\nand making supplication to his God.\n\n6:12. And they came and spoke to the king concerning the edict: O king,\nhast thou not decreed, that every man that should make a request to any\nof the gods, or men, for thirty days, but to thyself, O king, should be\ncast into the den of the lions? And the king answered them, saying: The\nword is true, according to the decree of the Medes and Persians, which\nit is not lawful to violate.\n\n6:13. Then they answered, and said before the king: Daniel, who is of\nthe children of the captivity of Juda, hath not regarded thy law, nor\nthe decree that thou hast made: but three times a day he maketh his\nprayer.\n\n6:14. Now when the king had heard these words, he was very much grieved,\nand in behalf of Daniel he set his heart to deliver him, and even till\nsunset he laboured to save him.\n\n6:15. But those men perceiving the king's design, said to him: Know\nthou, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree\nwhich the king hath made, may be altered.\n\n6:16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him\ninto the den of the lions. And the king said to Daniel: Thy God, whom\nthou always servest, he will deliver thee.\n\n6:17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den: which\nthe king sealed with his own ring, and with the ring of his nobles, that\nnothing should be done against Daniel.\n\n6:18. And the king went away to his house, and laid himself down without\ntaking supper, and meat was not set before him, and even sleep departed\nfrom him.\n\n6:19. Then the king rising very early in the morning, went in haste to\nthe lions' den:\n\n6:20. And coming near to the den, cried with a lamentable voice to\nDaniel, and said to him: Daniel, servant of the living God, hath thy\nGod, whom thou servest always, been able, thinkest thou, to deliver thee\nfrom the lions?\n\n6:21. And Daniel answering the king, said: O king, live for ever:\n\n6:22. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut up the mouths of the\nlions, and they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him justice hath\nbeen found in me: yea, and before thee, O king, I have done no offence.\n\n6:23. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and he commanded that\nDaniel should be taken out of the den: and Daniel was taken out of the\nden, and no hurt was found in him, because he believed in his God.\n\n6:24. And by the king's commandment, those men were brought that had\naccused Daniel: and they were cast into the lions' den, they and their\nchildren, and their wives: and they did not reach the bottom of the den,\nbefore the lions caught them, and broke all their bones in pieces.\n\n6:25. Then king Darius wrote to all people, tribes, and languages,\ndwelling in the whole earth: PEACE be multiplied unto you.\n\n6:26. It is decreed by me, that in all my empire and my kingdom, all men\ndread and fear the God of Daniel. For he is the living and eternal God\nfor ever: and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his power shall be\nfor ever.\n\n6:27. He is the deliverer, and saviour, doing signs and wonders in\nheaven, and in earth: who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions' den.\n\n6:28. Now Daniel continued unto the reign of Darius, and the reign of\nCyrus, the Persian.\n\nDaniel Chapter 7\n\nDaniel's vision of the four beasts, signifying four kingdoms: of God\nsitting on his throne: and of the opposite kingdoms of Christ and\nAntichrist.\n\n7:1. In the first year of Baltasar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream:\nand the vision of his head was upon his bed: and writing the dream, he\ncomprehended it in a few words: and relating the sum of it in short, he\nsaid:\n\n7:2. I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the\nheavens strove upon the great sea.\n\n7:3. And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of\nthe sea.\n\nFour great beasts... Viz., the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman\nempires. But some rather choose to understand the fourth beast of the\nsuccessors of Alexander the Great, more especially of them that reigned\nin Asia and Syria.\n\n7:4. The first was like a lioness, and had the wings of an eagle: I\nbeheld till her wings were plucked off, and she was lifted up from the\nearth, and stood upon her feet as a man, and the heart of a man was\ngiven to her.\n\n7:5. And behold another beast, like a bear, stood up on one side: and\nthere were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof,\nand thus they said to it: Arise, devour much flesh.\n\n7:6. After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had\nupon it four wings, as of a fowl, and the beast had four heads, and\npower was given to it.\n\n7:7. After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth\nbeast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong, it had great iron\nteeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with\nhis feet: and it was unlike to the other beasts which I had seen before\nit, and had ten horns.\n\nTen horns... That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. 17.12,) among which the\nempire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled. Or ten kings of the\nnumber of the successors of Alexander; as figures of such as shall be\nabout the time of Antichrist.\n\n7:8. I considered the horns, and behold another little horn sprung out\nof the midst of them: and three of the first horns were plucked up at\nthe presence thereof: and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in\nthis horn, and a mouth speaking great things.\n\nAnother little horn... This is commonly understood of Antichrist. It may\nalso be applied to that great persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes, as a\nfigure of Antichrist.\n\n7:9. I beheld till thrones were placed, and the ancient of days sat: his\ngarment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool: his\nthrone like flames of fire: the wheels of it like a burning fire.\n\n7:10. A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him: thousands of\nthousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand\nstood before him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened.\n\n7:11. I beheld, because of the voice of the great words which that horn\nspoke: and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was\ndestroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt:\n\n7:12. And that the power of the other beasts was taken away: and that\ntimes of life were appointed them for a time, and a time.\n\n7:13. I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and lo, one like\nthe Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the\nancient of days: and they presented him before him.\n\n7:14. And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom: and all peoples,\ntribes, and tongues shall serve him: his power is an everlasting power\nthat shall not be taken away: and his kingdom that shall not be\ndestroyed.\n\n7:15. My spirit trembled; I, Daniel, was affrighted at these things, and\nthe visions of my head troubled me.\n\n7:16. I went near to one of them that stood by, and asked the truth of\nhim concerning all these things, and he told me the interpretation of\nthe words, and instructed me:\n\n7:17. These four great beasts, are four kingdoms, which shall arise out\nof the earth.\n\n7:18. But the saints of the most high God shall take the kingdom: and\nthey shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever.\n\n7:19. After this I would diligently learn concerning the fourth beast,\nwhich was very different from all, and exceeding terrible: his teeth and\nclaws were of iron: he devoured and broke in pieces, and the rest he\nstamped upon with his feet:\n\n7:20. And concerning the ten horns that he had on his head: and\nconcerning the other that came up, before which three horns fell: and of\nthat horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was\ngreater than the rest.\n\n7:21. I beheld, and lo, that horn made war against the saints, and\nprevailed over them,\n\n7:22. Till the ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of\nthe most High, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom.\n\n7:23. And thus he said: The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom\nupon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall\ndevour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.\n\n7:24. And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings: and\nanother shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the\nformer, and he shall bring down three kings.\n\n7:25. And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the\nsaints of the most High: and he shall think himself able to change times\nand laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and\ntimes, and half a time.\n\nA time, and times, and half a time... That is, three years and a half;\nwhich is supposed to be the length of the duration of the persecution of\nAntichrist.\n\n7:26. And a judgment shall sit, that his power may be taken away, and be\nbroken in pieces, and perish even to the end.\n\n7:27. And that the kingdom, and power, and the greatness of the kingdom,\nunder the whole heaven, may be given to the people of the saints of the\nmost High: whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall\nserve him, and shall obey him.\n\n7:28. Hitherto is the end of the word. I, Daniel, was much troubled with\nmy thoughts, and my countenance was changed in me: but I kept the word\nin my heart.\n\nDaniel Chapter 8\n\nDaniel's vision of the ram and the he goat interpreted by the angel\nGabriel.\n\n8:1. In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar, a vision appeared\nto me. I, Daniel, after what I had seen in the beginning,\n\n8:2. Saw in my vision when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the\nprovince of Elam: and I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of\nUlai.\n\n8:3. And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: and behold a ram stood before the\nwater, having two high horns, and one higher than the other, and growing\nup. Afterward\n\nA ram... The empire of the Medes and Persians.\n\n8:4. I saw the ram pushing with his horns against the west, and against\nthe north, and against the south: and no beasts could withstand him, nor\nbe delivered out of his hand: and he did according to his own will, and\nbecame great.\n\n8:5. And I understood: and behold a he goat came from the west on the\nface of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground, and the he goat\nhad a notable horn between his eyes.\n\nA he goat... The empire of the Greeks, or Macedonians. Ibid. He touched\nnot the ground... He conquered all before him, with so much rapidity,\nthat he seemed rather to fly, than to walk upon the earth.-Ibid. A\nnotable horn... Alexander the Great.\n\n8:6. And he went up to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen\nstanding before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his\nstrength.\n\n8:7. And when he was come near the ram, he was enraged against him, and\nstruck the ram: and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand\nhim: and when he had cast him down on the ground, he stamped upon him,\nand none could deliver the ram out of his hand.\n\n8:8. And the he goat became exceeding great: and when he was grown, the\ngreat horn was broken, and there came up four horns under it towards the\nfour winds of heaven.\n\nFour horns... Seleucus, Antigonus, Philip, and Ptolemeus, the successors\nof Alexander, who divided his empire among them.\n\n8:9. And out of one of them came forth a little horn: and it became\ngreat against the south, and against the east, and against the strength.\n\nA little horn... Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of Seleucus. He grew\nagainst the south, and the east, by his victories over the kings of\nEgypt and Armenia: and against the strength, that is, against Jerusalem\nand the people of God.\n\n8:10. And it was magnified even unto the strength of heaven: and it\nthrew down of the strength, and of the stars, and trod upon them.\n\nUnto the strength of heaven... or, against the strength of heaven. So\nare here called the army of the Jews, the people of God.\n\n8:11. And it was magnified even to the prince of the strength: and it\ntook away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of\nhis sanctuary.\n\n8:12. And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice,\nbecause of sins: and truth shall be cast down on the ground, and he\nshall do and shall prosper.\n\n8:13. And I heard one of the saints speaking, and one saint said to\nanother I know not to whom, that was speaking: How long shall be the\nvision, concerning the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the\ndesolation that is made: and the sanctuary, and the strength be trodden\nunder foot?\n\n8:14. And he said to him: Unto evening and morning two thousand three\nhundred days: and the sanctuary shall be cleansed.\n\nUnto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days... That is, six\nyears and almost four months: which was the whole time from the\nbeginning of the persecution of Antiochus till his death.\n\n8:15. And it came to pass when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and sought the\nmeaning, that behold there stood before me as it were the appearance of\na man.\n\n8:16. And I heard the voice of a man between Ulai: and he called, and\nsaid: Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.\n\n8:17. And he came, and stood near where I stood: and when he was come, I\nfell on my face, trembling, and he said to me: Understand, O son of man,\nfor in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled.\n\n8:18. And when he spoke to me, I fell flat on the ground: and he touched\nme, and set me upright.\n\n8:19. And he said to me: I will shew thee what things are to come to\npass in the end of the malediction: for the time hath its end.\n\n8:20. The ram, which thou sawest with horns, is the king of the Medes\nand Persians.\n\n8:21. And the he goat, is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn\nthat was between his eyes, the same is the first king.\n\n8:22. But whereas when that was borken, there arose up four for it, four\nkings shall rise up of his nation, but not with his strength.\n\n8:23. And after their reign, when iniquities shall be grown up, there\nshall arise a king of a shameless face, and understanding dark\nsentences.\n\n8:24. And his power shall be strengthened, but not by his own force: and\nhe shall lay all things waste, and shall prosper, and do more than can\nbe believed. And he shall destroy the mighty, and the people of the\nsaints,\n\n8:25. According to his will, and craft shall be successful in his hand:\nand his heart shall be puffed up, and in the abundance of all things he\nshall kill many: and he shall rise up aginst the prince of princes, and\nshall be broken without hand.\n\n8:26. And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is\ntrue: thou, therefore, seal up the vision, because it shall come to pass\nafter many days.\n\n8:27. And I, Daniel, languished, and was sick for some days: and when I\nwas risen up, I did the king's business, and I was astonished at the\nvision, and there was none that could interpret it.\n\nDaniel Chapter 9\n\nDaniel's confession and prayer: Gabriel informs him concerning the\nseventy weeks to the coming of Christ.\n\n9:1. In the first year of Darius, the son of Assuerus, of the seed of\nthe Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans:\n\n9:2. The first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by books the\nnumber of the years, concerning which the word of the Lord came to\nJeremias, the prophet, that seventy years should be accomplished of the\ndesolation of Jerusalem.\n\n9:3. And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to pray and make\nsupplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.\n\n9:4. And I prayed to the Lord, my God, and I made my confession, and\nsaid: I beseech thee, O Lord God, great and terrible, who keepest the\ncovenant, and mercy to them that love thee, and keep thy commandments.\n\n9:5. We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly,\nand have revolted: and we have gone aside from thy commandments, and thy\njudgments.\n\n9:6. We have not hearkened to thy servants, the prophets, that have\nspoken in thy name to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, and to\nall the people of the land.\n\n9:7. To thee, O Lord, justice: but to us confusion of face, as at this\nday to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all\nIsrael, to them that are near, and to them that are far off, in all the\ncountries whither thou hast driven them, for their iniquities, by which\nthey have sinned against thee.\n\n9:8. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our princes, and to\nour fathers, that have sinned.\n\n9:9. But to thee, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness, for we have\ndeparted from thee:\n\n9:10. And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, our God, to\nwalk in his law, which he set before us by his servants, the prophets.\n\n9:11. And all Israel have transgressed thy law, and have turned away\nfrom hearing thy voice, and the malediction, and the curse, which is\nwritten in the book of Moses, the servant of God, is fallen upon us,\nbecause we have sinned against him.\n\n9:12. And he hath confirmed his words which he spoke against us, and\nagainst our princes that judged us, that he would bring in upon us a\ngreat evil, such as never was under all the heaven, according to that\nwhich hath been done in Jerusalem.\n\n9:13. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon\nus: and we entreated not thy face, O Lord our God, that we might turn\nfrom our iniquities, and think on thy truth.\n\n9:14. And the Lord hath watched upon the evil, and hath brought it upon\nus: the Lord, our God, is just in all his works which he hath done: for\nwe have not hearkened to his voice.\n\n9:15. And now, O Lord, our God, who hast brought forth thy people out of\nthe land of Egypt, with a strong hand, and hast made thee a name as at\nthis day: we have sinned, we have committed iniquity,\n\n9:16. O Lord, against all thy justice: let thy wrath and thy indignation\nbe turned away, I beseech thee, from thy city, Jerusalem, and from thy\nholy mountain. For by reason of our sins, and the iniquities of our\nfathers, Jerusalem, and thy people, are a reproach to all that are round\nabout us.\n\n9:17. Now, therefore, O our God, hear the supplication of thy servant,\nand his prayers: and shew thy face upon thy sanctuary, which is\ndesolate, for thy own sake.\n\n9:18. Incline, O my God, thy ear, and hear: open thy eyes, and see our\ndesolation, and the city upon which thy name is called: for it is not\nfor our justifications that we present our prayers before thy face, but\nfor the multitude of thy tender mercies.\n\n9:19. O Lord, hear: O Lord, be appeased: hearken, and do: delay not, for\nthy own sake, O my God: because thy name is invocated upon thy city, and\nupon thy people.\n\n9:20. Now while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins,\nand the sins of my people of Israel, and presenting my supplications in\nthe sight of my God, for the holy mountain of my God:\n\n9:21. As I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man, Gabriel, whom I\nhad seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at\nthe time of the evening sacrifice.\n\nThe man Gabriel... The angel Gabriel in the shape of a man.\n\n9:22. And he instructed me, and spoke to me, and said: O Daniel, I am\nnow come forth to teach thee, and that thou mightest understand.\n\n9:23. From the beginning of thy prayers the word came forth: and I am\ncome to shew it to thee, because thou art a man of desires: therefore,\ndo thou mark the word, and understand the vision.\n\nMan of desires... that is, ardently praying for the Jews then in\ncaptivity.\n\n9:24. Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people, and upon thy holy\ncity, that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and\niniquity may be abolished; and everlasting justice may be brought; and\nvision and prophecy may be fulfilled; and the Saint of saints may be\nanointed.\n\nSeventy weeks... Viz., of years, (or seventy times seven, that is, 490\nyears,) are shortened; that is, fixed and determined, so that the time\nshall be no longer.\n\n9:25. Know thou, therefore, and take notice: that from the going forth\nof the word, to build up Jerusalem again, unto Christ, the prince, there\nshall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks: and the street shall be built\nagain, and the walls, in straitness of times.\n\nFrom the going forth of the word, etc... That is, from the twentieth\nyear of king Artaxerxes, when by his commandment Nehemias rebuilt the\nwalls of Jerusalem, 2 Esd. 2. From which time, according to the best\nchronology, there were just sixty-nine weeks of years, that is, 483\nyears to the baptism of Christ, when he first began to preach and\nexecute the office of Messias.-Ibid. In straitness of times... angustia\ntemporum: which may allude both to the difficulties and opposition they\nmet with in building: and to the shortness of the time in which they\nfinished the wall, viz., fifty-two days.\n\n9:26. And after sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain: and the people\nthat shall deny him shall not be his. And a people, with their leader,\nthat shall come, shall destroy the city, and the sanctuary: and the end\nthereof shall be waste, and after the end of the war the appointed\ndesolation.\n\nA people with their leader... The Romans under Titus.\n\n9:27. And he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week: and in\nthe half of the week the victim and the sacrifice shall fail: and there\nshall be in the temple the abomination of desolation: and the desolation\nshall continue even to the consummation, and to the end.\n\nIn the half of the week... or, in the middle of the week, etc. Because\nChrist preached three years and a half: and then by his sacrifice upon\nthe cross abolished all the sacrifices of the law.-Ibid. The abomination\nof desolation... Some understand this of the profanation of the temple\nby the crimes of the Jews, and by the bloody faction of the zealots.\nOthers of the bringing in thither the ensigns and standard of the pagan\nRomans. Others, in fine, distinguish three different times of\ndesolation: viz., that under Antiochus; that when the temple was\ndestroyed by the Romans; and the last near the end of the world under\nAntichrist. To all which, as they suppose, this prophecy may have a\nrelation.\n\nDaniel Chapter 10\n\nDaniel having humbled himself by fasting and penance seeth a vision,\nwith which he is much terrified; but he is comforted by an angel.\n\n10:1. In the third year of Cyrus, king of the Persians, a word was\nrevealed to Daniel, surnamed Baltassar, and a true word, and great\nstrength: and he understood the word: for there is need of understanding\nin a vision.\n\n10:2. In those days I, Daniel, mourned the days of three weeks.\n\n10:3. I ate no desirable bread, and neither flesh, nor wine, entered\ninto my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment: till the days of\nthree weeks were accomplished.\n\n10:4. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, I was by the\ngreat river, which is the Tigris.\n\n10:5. And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw: and behold a man clothed in\nlinen, and his loins were girded with the finest gold:\n\n10:6. And his body was like the chrysolite, and his face as the\nappearance of lightning, and his eyes as a burning lamp: and his arms,\nand all downward even to the feet, like in appearance to glittering\nbrass: and the voice of his word like the voice of a multitude.\n\n10:7. And I, Daniel alone, saw the vision: for the men that were with me\nsaw it not: but an exceeding great terror fell upon them, and they fled\naway, and hid themselves.\n\n10:8. And I, being left alone, saw this great vision: and there remained\nno strength in me, and the appearance of my countenance was changed in\nme, and I fainted away, and retained no strength.\n\n10:9. And I heard the voice of his words: and when I heard I lay in a\nconsternation upon my face, and my face was close to the ground.\n\n10:10. And behold a hand touched me, and lifted me up upon my knees, and\nupon the joints of my hands.\n\n10:11. And he said to me: Daniel, thou man of desires, understand the\nwords that I speak to thee, and stand upright: for I am sent now to\nthee. And when he had said this word to me, I stood trembling.\n\n10:12. And he said to me: Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that\nthou didst set thy heart to understand, to afflict thyself in the sight\nof thy God, thy words have been heard: and I am come for thy words.\n\n10:13. But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and\ntwenty days: and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help\nme, and I remained there by the king of the Persians.\n\nThe prince, etc... That is, the angel guardian of Persia: who according\nto his office, seeking the spiritual good of the Persians was desirous\nthat many of the Jews should remain among them.\n\n10:14. But I am come to teach thee what things shall befall thy people\nin the latter days, for as yet the vision is for days.\n\n10:15. And when he was speaking such words to me, I cast down my\ncountenance to the ground, and held my peace.\n\n10:16. And behold as it were the likeness of a son of man touched my\nlips: then I opened my mouth and spoke, and said to him that stood\nbefore me: O my lord, at the sight of thee my joints are loosed, and no\nstrength hath remained in me.\n\n10:17. And how can the servant of my lord speak with my lord? for no\nstrength remaineth in me; moreover, my breath is stopped.\n\n10:18. Therefore, he that looked like a man, touched me again, and\nstrengthened me.\n\n10:19. And he said: Fear not, O man of desires, peace be to thee: take\ncourage, and be strong. And when he spoke to me, I grew strong, and I\nsaid: Speak, O my lord, for thou hast strengthened me.\n\n10:20. And he said: Dost thou know wherefore I am come to thee? And now\nI will return, to fight against the prince of the Persians. When I went\nforth, there appeared the prince of the Greeks coming.\n\n10:21. But I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth:\nand none is my helper in all these things, but Michael your prince.\n\nMichael your prince... The guardian general of the church of God.\n\nDaniel Chapter 11\n\nThe angel declares to Daniel many things to come, with regard to the\nPersian and Grecian kings: more especially with regard to Antiochus as a\nfigure of Antichrist.\n\n11:1. And from the first year of Darius, the Mede, I stood up, that he\nmight be strengthened, and confirmed.\n\n11:2. And now I will shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand yet\nthree kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be enriched exceedingly\nabove them all: and when he shall be grown mighty by his riches, he\nshall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.\n\nThree kings... Viz., Cambyses, Smerdes Magus, and Darius, the son of\nHystaspes.-Ibid. The fourth... Xerxes.\n\n11:3. But there shall rise up a strong king, and shall rule with great\npower: and he shall do what he pleaseth.\n\nA strong king... Alexander.\n\n11:4. And when he shall come to his height, his kingdom shall be broken,\nand it shall be divided towards the four winds of the heaven: but not to\nhis posterity, nor according to his power with which he ruled. For his\nkingdom shall be rent in pieces, even for strangers, besides these.\n\n11:5. And the king of the south shall be strengthened, and one of his\nprinces shall prevail over him, and he shall rule with great power: for\nhis dominions shall be great.\n\nThe king of the south... Ptolemeus the son of Lagus, king of Egypt,\nwhich lies south of Jerusalem.-Ibid. One of his princes... that is, one\nof Alexander's princes, shall prevail over him: that is, shall be\nstronger than the king of Egypt. He speaks of Seleucus Nicator, king of\nAsia and Syria, whose successors are here called the kings of the north,\nbecause their dominions lay to the north in respect to Jerusalem.\n\n11:6. And after the end of years they shall be in league together: and\nthe daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the\nnorth to make friendship, but she shall not obtain the strength of the\narm, neither shall her seed stand: and she shall be given up, and her\nyoung men that brought her, and they that strengthened her in these\ntimes.\n\nThe daughter of the king of the south... Viz., Berenice, daughter of\nPtolemeus Philadelphus, given in marriage to Antiochus Theos, grandson\nof Seleucus.\n\n11:7. And a plant of the bud of her roots shall stand up: and he shall\ncome with an army, and shall enter into the province of the king of the\nnorth: and he shall abuse them, and shall prevail.\n\nA plant, etc... Ptolemeus Evergetes, the son of Philadelphus.\n\n11:8. And he shall also carry away captive into Egypt their gods, and\ntheir graven things, and their precious vessels of gold and silver: he\nshall prevail aginst the king of the north.\n\nThe king of the north... Seleucus Callinicus.\n\n11:9. And the king of the south shall enter into the kingdom, and shall\nreturn to his own land.\n\n11:10. And his sons shall be provoked, and they shall assemble a\nmultitude of great forces: and he shall come with haste like a flood:\nand he shall return, and be stirred up, and he shall join battle with\nhis force.\n\nHis sons... Seleucus Ceraunius, and Antiochus the Great, the sons of\nCallinicus.-Ibid. He shall come... Viz., Antiochus the Great.\n\n11:11. And the king of the south being provoked, shall go forth, and\nshall fight against the king of the north, and shall prepare an\nexceeding great multitude, and a multitude shall be given into his\nhands.\n\nThe king of the south... Ptolemeus Philopator, son of Evergetes.\n\n11:12. And he shall take a multitude, and his heart shall be lifted up,\nand he shall cast down many thousands: but he shall not prevail.\n\n11:13. For the king of the north shall return, and shall prepare a\nmultitude much greater than before: and in the end of times, and years,\nhe shall come in haste with a great army, and much riches.\n\n11:14. And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the\nsouth, and the children of prevaricators of thy people shall lift up\nthemselves to fulfil the vision, and they shall fall.\n\n11:15. And the king of the north shall come, and shall cast up a mount,\nand shall take the best fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall\nnot withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up to resist, and they\nshall not have strength.\n\n11:16. And he shall come upon him, and do according to his pleasure, and\nthere shall be none to stand against his face: and he shall stand in the\nglorious land, and it shall be consumed by his hand.\n\nHe shall come upon him... Viz., Antiochus shall come upon the king of\nthe south.-Ibid. The glorious land... Judea.\n\n11:17. And he shall set his face to come to possess all his kingdom, and\nhe shall make upright conditions with him: and he shall give him a\ndaughter of women, to overthrow it: and she shall not stand, neither\nshall she be for him.\n\nAll his kingdom... Viz., all the kingdom of Ptolemeus Epiphanes, son of\nPhilopator.-Ibid. A daughter of women... That is, a most beautiful\nwoman, viz., his daughter Cleopatra.-Ibid. To overthrow it... Viz., the\nkingdom of Epiphanes: but his policy shall not succeed; for Cleopatra\nshall take more to heart the interest of her husband, than that of her\nfather.\n\n11:18. And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many:\nand he shall cause the prince of his reproach to cease, and his reproach\nshall be turned upon him.\n\nThe prince of his reproach... Seipio the Roman general, called the\nprince of his reproach, because he overthrew Antiochus, and obliged him\nto submit to very dishonourable terms, before he would cease from the\nwar.\n\n11:19. And he shall turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he\nshall stumble, and fall, ans shall not be found.\n\n11:20. And there shall stand up in his place one most vile, and unworthy\nof kingly honour: and in a few days he shall be destroyed, not in rage\nnor in battle.\n\nOne most vile... Seleucus Philopator, who sent Heliodorus to plunder the\ntemple: and was shortly after slain by the same Heliodorus.\n\n11:21. And there shall stand up in his place one despised, and the\nkingly honour shall not be given him: and he shall come privately, and\nshall obtain the kingdom by fraud.\n\nOne despised... Viz., Antiochus Epiphanes, who at first was despised and\nnot received for king. What is here said of this prince, is accommodated\nby St. Jerome and others to Antichrist; of whom this Antiochus was a\nfigure.\n\n11:22. And the arms of the fighter shall be overcome before his face,\nand shall be broken: yea, also the prince of the covenant.\n\nOf the fighter... That is, of them that shall oppose him, and shall\nfight against him.-Ibid. The prince of the covenant... or, of the\nleague. The chief of them that conspired against him: or the king of\nEgypt his most powerful adversary.\n\n11:23. And after friendships, he will deal deceitfully with him: and he\nshall go up, and shall overcome with a small people.\n\n11:24. And he shall enter into rich and plentiful cities: and he shall\ndo that which his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers: he shall\nscatter their spoils, and their prey, and their riches, and shall\nforecast devices against the best fenced places: and this until a time.\n\n11:25. And his strength, and his heart, shall be stirred up aginst the\nking of the south, with a great army: and the king of the south shall be\nstirred up to battle with many and very strong succours: and they shall\nnot stand, for they shall form designs against him.\n\nThe king... Ptolemeus Philometor.\n\n11:26. And they that eat bread with him, shall destroy him, and his army\nshall be overthrown: and many shall fall down slain.\n\n11:27. And the heart of the two kings shall be to do evil, and they\nshall speak lies at one table, and they shall not prosper: because as\nyet the end is unto another time.\n\n11:28. And he shall return into his land with much riches: and his heart\nshall be aginst the holy covenant, and he shall succeed, and shall\nreturn into his own land.\n\n11:29. At the time appointed he shall return, and he shall come to the\nsouth, but the latter time shall not be like the former.\n\n11:30. And the galleys and the Romans shall come upon him, and he shall\nbe struck, and shall return, and shall have indignation against\nthe covenant of the sanctuary, and he shall succeed: and he shall\nreturn, and shall devise against them that have forsaken the covenant\nof the sanctuary.\n\nThe galleys and the Romans... Popilius, and the other Roman ambassadors,\nwho came in galleys, and obliged him to depart from Egypt.\n\n11:31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile the\nsanctuary of strength, and shall take away the continual sacrifice: and\nthey shall place there the abomination unto desolation.\n\nThey shall place there the abomination, etc... The idol of Jupiter\nOlympius, which Antiochus ordered to be set up in the sanctuary of the\ntemple: which is here called the sanctuary of strength, from the\nAlmighty that was worshipped there.\n\n11:32. And such as deal wickedly against the covenant shall deceitfully\ndissemble: but the people that know their God shall prevail and succeed.\n\n11:33. And they that are learned among the people shall teach many: and\nthey shall fall by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and by\nspoil for many days.\n\n11:34. And when they shall have fallen, they shall be relieved with a\nsmall help: and many shall be joined to them deceitfully.\n\n11:35. And some of the learned shall fall, that they may be tried, and\nmay be chosen, and made white, even to the appointed time: because yet\nthere shall be another time.\n\n11:36. And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall be\nlifted up, and shall magnify himself against every god: and he shall\nspeak great things against the God of gods, and shall prosper, till the\nwrath be accomplished. For the determination is made.\n\n11:37. And he shall make no account of the God of his fathers: and he\nshall follow the lust of women, and he shall not regard any gods: for he\nshall rise up against all things.\n\n11:38. But he shall worship the god Maozim, in his place: and a god whom\nhis fathers knew not, he shall worship with gold, and silver, and\nprecious stones, and things of great price.\n\nThe god Maozim... That is, the god of forces or strong holds.\n\n11:39. And he shall do this to fortify Maozim with a strange god, whom\nhe hath acknowledged, and he shall increase glory, and shall give them\npower over many, and shall divide the land gratis.\n\nAnd he shall increase glory, etc... He shall bestow honours, riches and\nlands, upon them that shall worship his god.\n\n11:40. And at the time prefixed the king of the south shall fight\nagainst him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a\ntempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great navy, and he\nshall enter into the countries, and shall destroy, and pass through.\n\n11:41. And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall:\nand these only shall be saved out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the\nprincipality of the children of Ammon.\n\n11:42. And he shall lay his hand upon the lands: and the land of Egypt\nshall not escape.\n\n11:43. And he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of\nsilver, and all the precious things of Egypt: and he shall pass through\nLybia, and Ethiopia.\n\n11:44. And tidings out of the east, and out of the north, shall trouble\nhim: and he shall come with a great multitude to destroy and slay many.\n\n11:45. And he shall fix his tabernacle, Apadno, between the seas, upon a\nglorious and holy mountain: and he shall come even to the top thereof,\nand none shall help him.\n\nApadno... Some take it for the proper name of a place: others, from the\nHebrew, translate it his palace.\n\nDaniel Chapter 12\n\nMichael shall stand up for the people of God: with other things relating\nto Antichrist, and the end of the world.\n\n12:1. But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who\nstandeth for the children of thy people: and a time shall come, such as\nnever was from the time that nations began, even until that time. And at\nthat time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found\nwritten in the book.\n\n12:2. And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall\nawake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it\nalways.\n\n12:3. But they that are learned, shall shine as the brightness of the\nfirmament: and they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all\neternity.\n\nLearned... Viz., in the law of God and true wisdom, which consists in\nknowing and loving God.\n\n12:4. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to\nthe time appointed: many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be\nmanifold.\n\n12:5. And I, Daniel, looked, and behold as it were two others stood: one\non this side upon the bank of the river, and another on that side, on\nthe other bank of the river.\n\n12:6. And I said to the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon\nthe waters of the river: How long shall it be to the end of these\nwonders?\n\n12:7. And I heard the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon the\nwaters of the river, when he had lifted up his right hand, and his left\nhand to heaven, and had sworn by him that liveth for ever, that it\nshould be unto a time, and times, and half a time. And when the\nscattering of the band of the holy people shall be accomplished, all\nthese things shall be finished.\n\n12:8. And I heard, and understood not. And I said: O my lord, what shall\nbe after these things?\n\n12:9. And he said: Go, Daniel, because the words are shut up, and sealed\nuntil the appointed time.\n\n12:10. Many shall be chosen, and made white, and shall be tried as fire:\nand the wicked shall deal wickedly, and none of the wicked shall\nunderstand, but the learned shall understand.\n\n12:11. And from the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken\naway, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall\nbe a thousand two hundred ninety days.\n\n12:12. Blessed is he that waitesth, and cometh unto a thousand three\nhundred thirty-five days.\n\n12:13. But go thou thy ways until the time appointed: and thou shalt\nrest, and stand in thy lot unto the end of the days.\n\nDaniel Chapter 13\n\nThe history of Susanna and the two elders.\n\nThis history of Susanna, in all the ancient Greek and Latin Bibles, was\nplaced in the beginning of the book of Daniel: till St. Jerome, in his\ntranslation, detached it from thence; because he did not find it in the\nHebrew: which is also the case of the history of Bel and the Dragon. But\nboth the one and the other are received by the Catholic Church: and were\nfrom the very beginning a part of the Christian Bible.\n\n13:1. Now there was a man that dwelt in Babylon, and his name was\nJoakim:\n\n13:2. And he took a wife, whose name was Susanna, the daughter of\nHelcias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared God.\n\n13:3. For her parents being just, had instructed their daughter\naccording to the law of Moses.\n\n13:4. Now Joakim was very rich, and had an orchard near his house: and\nthe Jews resorted to him, because he was the most honourable of them\nall.\n\n13:5. And there were two of the ancients of the people appointed judges\nthat year, of whom the Lord said: That iniquity came out from Babylon,\nfrom the ancient judges, that seemed to govern the people.\n\n13:6. These men frequented the house of Joakim, and all that hand any\nmatters of judgment came to them.\n\n13:7. And when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went in, and\nwalked in her husband's orchard.\n\n13:8. And the old men saw her going in every day, and walking: and they\nwere inflamed with lust towards her:\n\n13:9. And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes,\nthat they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments.\n\n13:10. So they were both wounded with the love of her, yet they did not\nmake known their grief one to the other.\n\n13:11. For they were ashamed to declare to one another their lust, being\ndesirous to have to do with her:\n\n13:12. And they watched carefully every day to see her. And one said to\nthe other:\n\n13:13. Let us now go home, for it is dinner time. So going out, they\ndeparted one from another.\n\n13:14. And turning back again, they came both to the same place: and\nasking one another the cause, they acknowledged their lust: and then\nthey agreed together upon a time, when they might find her alone.\n\n13:15. And it fell out, as they watched a fit day, she went in on a\ntime, as yesterday and the day before, with two maids only, and was\ndesirous to wash herself in the orchard: for it was hot weather.\n\n13:16. And there was nobody there, but the two old men that had hid\nthemselves, and were beholding her.\n\n13:17. So she said to the maids: Bring me oil, and washing balls, and\nshut the doors of the orchard, that I may wash me.\n\n13:18. And they did as she bade them: and they shut the doors of the\norchard, and went out by a back door to fetch what she had commanded\nthem, and they knew not that the elders were hid within.\n\n13:19. Now when the maids were gone forth, the two elders arose, and ran\nto her, and said:\n\n13:20. Behold the doors of the orchard are shut, and nobody seeth us,\nand we are in love with thee: wherefore consent to us, and lie with us.\n\n13:21. But if thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a\nyoung man was with thee, and therefore thou didst send away thy maids\nfrom thee.\n\n13:22. Susanna sighed, and said: I am straitened on every side: for if I\ndo this thing, it is death to me: and if I do it not, I shall not escape\nyour hands.\n\n13:23. But it is better for me to fall into your hands without doing it,\nthan to sin in the sight of the Lord.\n\n13:24. With that Susanna cried out with a loud voice: and the elders\nalso cried out against her.\n\n13:25. And one of them ran to the door of the orchard, and opened it.\n\n13:26. So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the orchard,\nthey rushed in by the back door, to see what was the matter.\n\n13:27. But after the old men had spoken, the servants were greatly\nashamed: for never had there been any such word said of Susanna. And on\nthe next day,\n\n13:28. When the people were come to Joakim, her husband, the two elders\nalso came full of wicked device against Susanna, to put her to death.\n\n13:29. And they said before the people: Send to Susanna, daughter of\nHelcias, the wife of Joakim. And presently they sent.\n\n13:30. And she came with her parents, and children and all her kindred.\n\n13:31. Now Susanna was exceeding delicate, and beautiful to behold.\n\n13:32. But those wicked men commanded that her face should be uncovered,\n(for she was covered) that so at least they might be satisfied with her\nbeauty.\n\n13:33. Therefore her friends, and all her acquaintance wept.\n\n13:34. But the two elders rising up in the midst of the people, laid\ntheir hands upon her head.\n\n13:35. And she weeping, looked up to heaven, for her heart had\nconfidence in the Lord.\n\n13:36. And the elders said: As we walked in the orchard alone, this\nwoman came in with two maids, and shut the doors of the orchard, and\nsent away the maids from her.\n\n13:37. Then a young man that was there hid came to her, and lay with\nher.\n\n13:38. But we that were in a corner of the orchard, seeing this\nwickedness, ran up to them, and we saw them lie together.\n\n13:39. And him indeed we could not take, because he was stronger than\nus, and opening the doors, he leaped out:\n\n13:40. But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was, but\nshe would not tell us: of this thing we are witnesses.\n\n13:41. The multitude believed them, as being the elders, and the judges\nof the people, and they condemned her to death.\n\n13:42. Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said: O eternal\nGod, who knowest hidden things, who knowest all things before they come\nto pass,\n\n13:43. Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me: and\nbehold I must die, whereas I have done none of these things, which these\nmen have maliciously forged against me.\n\n13:44. And the Lord heard her voice.\n\n13:45. And when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the\nholy spirit of a young boy, whose name was Daniel:\n\n13:46. And he cried out with a loud voice: I am clear from the blood of\nthis woman.\n\n13:47. Then all the people turning themselves towards him, said: What\nmeaneth this word that thou hast spoken?\n\n13:48. But he standing in the midst of them, said: Are ye so foolish, ye\nchildren of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth,\nyou have condemned a daughter of Israel?\n\n13:49. Return to judgment, for they have borne false witness against\nher.\n\n13:50. So all the people turned again in haste, and the old men said to\nhim: Come, and sit thou down among us, and shew it us: seeing God hath\ngiven thee the honour of old age.\n\n13:51. And Daniel said to the people: Separate these two far from one\nanother, and I will examine them.\n\n13:52. So when they were put asunder one from the other, he called one\nof them, and said to him: O thou that art grown old in evil days, now\nare thy sins come out, which thou hast committed before:\n\n13:53. In judging unjust judgments, oppressing the innocent, and letting\nthe guilty to go free, whereas the Lord saith: The innocent and the just\nthou shalt not kill.\n\n13:54. Now then if thou sawest her, tell me under what tree thou sawest\nthem conversing together: He said: Under a mastic tree.\n\n13:55. And Daniel said: Well hast thou lied against thy own head: for\nbehold the angel of God having received the sentence of him, shall cut\nthee in two.\n\n13:56. And having put him aside, he commanded that the other should\ncome, and he said to him: O thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda,\nbeauty hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thy heart:\n\n13:57. Thus did you do to the daughters of Israel, and they for fear\nconversed with you: but a daughter of Juda would not abide your\nwickedness.\n\n13:58. Now, therefore, tell me, under what tree didst thou take them\nconversing together. And he answered: Under a holm tree.\n\n13:59. And Daniel said to him: Well hast thou also lied against thy own\nhead: for the angel of the Lord waiteth with a sword to cut thee in two,\nand to destroy you.\n\n13:60. With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and they\nblessed God, who saveth them that trust in him.\n\n13:61. And they rose up against the two elders, (for Daniel had\nconvicted them of false witness by their own mouth) and they did to them\nas they had maliciously dealt against their neighbour,\n\n13:62. To fulfil the law of Moses: and they put them to death, and\ninnocent blood was saved in that day.\n\n13:63. But Helcias, and his wife, praised God, for their daughter,\nSusanna, with Joakim, her husband, and all her kindred, because there\nwas no dishonesty found in her.\n\n13:64. And Daniel became great in the sight of the people from that day,\nand thence forward.\n\n13:65. And king Astyages was gathered to his fathers; and Cyrus, the\nPersian, received his kingdom.\n\nDaniel Chapter 14\n\nThe history of Bel, and of the great serpent worshipped by the\nBabylonians.\n\n14:1. And Daniel was the king's guest, and was honoured above all his\nfriends.\n\nThe king's guest... It seems most probable, that the king here spoken of\nwas Evilmerodach, the son and successor of Nabuchodonosor, and a great\nfavourer of the Jews.\n\n14:2. Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel: and there was spent\nupon him every day twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep,\nand six vessels of wine.\n\n14:3. The king also worshipped him, and went every day to adore him: but\nDaniel adored his God. And the king said to him: Why dost thou not adore\nBel?\n\n14:4. And he answered, and said to him: Because I do not worship idols\nmade with hands, but the living God, that created heaven and earth, and\nhath power over all flesh.\n\n14:5. And the king said to him: Doth not Bel seem to thee to be a living\ngod? Seest thou not how much he eateth and drinketh every day?\n\n14:6. Then Daniel smiled, and said: O king, be not deceived: for this is\nbut clay within, and brass without, neither hath he eaten at any time.\n\n14:7. And the king being angry, called for his priests, and said to\nthem: If you tell me not who it is that eateth up these expenses, you\nshall die.\n\n14:8. But if you can shew that Bel eateth these things, Daniel shall\ndie, because he hath blasphemed against Bel. And Daniel said to the\nking: Be it done according to thy word.\n\n14:9. Now the priests of Bel were seventy, beside their wives, and\nlittle ones, and children. And the king went with Daniel into the temple\nof Bel.\n\n14:10. And the priests of Bel said: Behold, we go out: and do thou, O\nking, set on the meats, and make ready the wine, and shut the door fast,\nand seal it with thy own ring:\n\n14:11. And when thou comest in the morning, if thou findest not that Bel\nhath eaten up all, we will suffer death, or else Daniel, that hath lied\nagainst us.\n\n14:12. And they little regarded it, because they had made under the\ntable a secret entrance, and they always came in by it, and consumed\nthose things.\n\n14:13. So it came to pass after they were gone out, the king set the\nmeats before Bel: and Daniel commanded his servants, and they brought\nashes, and he sifted them all over the temple before the king: and going\nforth, they shut the door, and having sealed it with the king's ring,\nthey departed.\n\n14:14. But the priests went in by night, according to their custom, with\ntheir wives, and their children: and they eat and drank up all.\n\n14:15. And the king arose early in the morning, and Daniel with him.\n\n14:16. And the king said: Are the seals whole, Daniel? And he answered:\nThey are whole, O king.\n\n14:17. And as soon as he had opened the door, the king looked upon the\ntable, and cried out with a loud voice: Great art thou, O Bel, and there\nis not any deceit with thee.\n\n14:18. And Daniel laughed: and he held the king, that he should not go\nin: and he said: Behold the pavement, mark whose footsteps these are.\n\n14:19. And the king said: I see the footsteps of men, and women, and\nchildren. And the king was angry.\n\n14:20. Then he took the priests, and their wives, and their children:\nand they shewed him the private doors by which they came in, and\nconsumed the things that were on the table.\n\n14:21. The king, therefore, put them to death, and delivered Bel into\nthe power of Daniel: who destroyed him and his temple.\n\n14:22. And there was a great dragon in that place, and the Babylonians\nworshipped him.\n\n14:23. And the king said to Daniel: Behold, thou canst not say now, that\nthis is not a living god: adore him, therefore.\n\n14:24. And Daniel said: I adore the Lord, my God: for he is the living\nGod: but that is no living god.\n\n14:25. But give me leave, O king, and I will kill this dragon without\nsword or club. And the king said, I give thee leave.\n\n14:26. Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and boiled them\ntogether: and he made lumps, and put them into the dragon's mouth, and\nthe dragon burst asunder. And he said: Behold him whom you worship.\n\n14:27. And when the Babylonians had heard this, they took great\nindignation: and being gathered together against the king, they said:\nThe king is become a Jew. He hath destroyed Bel, he hath killed the\ndragon, and he hath put the priests to death.\n\n14:28. And they came to the king, and said: Deliver us Daniel, or else\nwe will destroy thee and thy house.\n\n14:29. And the king saw that they pressed upon him violently: and being\nconstrained by necessity: he delivered Daniel to them.\n\n14:30. And they cast him into the den of lions, and he was there six\ndays.\n\nThe den of lions... Daniel was twice cast into the den of lions; one\nunder Darius the Mede, because he had transgressed the king's edict, by\npraying three times a day: and another time under Evilmerodach by a\nsedition of the people. This time he remained six days in the lions'\nden; the other time only one night.\n\n14:31. And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given to them\ntwo carcasses every day, and two sheep: but then they were not given\nunto them, that they might devour Daniel.\n\n14:32. Now there was in Judea a prophet called Habacuc, and he had\nboiled pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl: and was going into the\nfield, to carry it to the reapers.\n\nHabacuc... The same, as some think whose prophecy is found among the\nlesser prophets but others believe him to be different.\n\n14:33. And the angel of the Lord said to Habacuc: Carry the dinner which\nthou hast into Babylon, to Daniel, who is in the lions' den.\n\n14:34. And Habacuc said: Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the\nden.\n\n14:35. And the angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and\ncarried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon, over the\nden, in the force of his spirit.\n\n14:36. And Habacuc cried, saying: O Daniel, thou servant of God, take\nthe dinner that God hath sent thee.\n\n14:37. And Daniel said, Thou hast remembered me, O God, and thou hast\nnot forsaken them that love thee.\n\n14:38. And Daniel arose, and eat. And the angel of the Lord presently\nset Habacuc again in his own place.\n\n14:39. And upon the seventh day the king came to bewail Daniel: and he\ncame to the den, and looked in, and behold Daniel was sitting in the\nmidst of the lions.\n\n14:40. And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying: Great art thou,\nO Lord, the God of Daniel. And he drew him out of the lions' den.\n\n14:41. But those that had been the cause of his destruction, he cast\ninto the den, and they were devoured in a moment before him.\n\n14:42. Then the king said: Let all the inhabitants of the whole earth\nfear the God of Daniel: for he is the Saviour, working signs, and\nwonders in the earth: who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions' den.","title":"The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 32: Daniel: The Challoner Revision","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":18607}