Daniel 3 - 4, Hebrews 13, Proverbs 18

Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image

3Nebuchadnezzar the king made an ^aimage of gold, the height of which was ¹sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the ^bprovince of Babylon. ²Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the ^asatraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. ³Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they were standing before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴Then the herald loudly called out: “To you it is said, ^aO peoples, nations, and men of every tongue, ⁵that at the time you ^ahear the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, ²trigon, ³psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. ⁶“But whoever does not fall down and worship shall ¹immediately be ^acast into the midst of a ^bfurnace of blazing fire.” ⁷Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

We Will Not Serve Your Gods

⁸For this reason at that time certain ^aChaldeans came near and ¹^,^bbrought charges against the Jews. ⁹They answered and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “^aO king, live forever! ¹⁰“You, O king, have ^amade a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to ^bfall down and worship the golden image. ¹¹“But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. ¹²“There are certain Jews whom you have ^aappointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These men, O king, do not pay attention to you; they do not serve your gods and do not worship the golden image which you have set up.”

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar in ^arage and wrath said to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you are not serving ^amy gods and do not worship the golden image that I have set up? ¹⁵“Now if you are ready, ^aat the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, ¹lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, then you shall fall down and worship the image that I have made. But if you do not worship, you will ²immediately be ^bcast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and ^cwhat god is there who can save you out of my hands?”

¹⁶^aShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to respond to you with an answer concerning this matter. ¹⁷“¹If it be so, our ^aGod whom we serve is able to save us from the furnace of blazing fire; ²and ^bHe will save us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸“^aBut if not, ^blet it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods, and we will not worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Daniel’s Friends Delivered

¹⁹Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with ^awrath, and the image of his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He answered and said to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰And he said to certain mighty men of valor who were in his military ¹host to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹Then these men were tied up in their ¹^,^atrousers, their ²coats, their caps, and their other clothes and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. ²²For this reason, because the king’s word was ¹^,^aurgent and the furnace had been heated to an extraordinary degree, the flame of the fire killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. ²³But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ^afell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and hurriedly stood up; he answered and said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast tied up into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “Certainly, O king.” ²⁵He answered and said, “Look! I see four men loosed and ^awalking about in the midst of the fire ¹without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the ^bgods!” ²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he answered and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the ^aMost High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ^bcame out of the midst of the fire. ²⁷Then the ^asatraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the ^bfire had no power over ¹the bodies of these men, nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their ²^,^ctrousers ³damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the ^aGod of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has ^bsent His angel and saved His servants who put their ^ctrust in Him, ¹violating the king’s word, and gave up their bodies so as ^dnot to serve and not to worship any god except their own God. ²⁹“Therefore I ^amake a decree that any people, nation, or tongue that says anything offensive against the God of ^bShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their ^chouses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is ^dno other god who is able to deliver in this way.” ³⁰Then the king ^acaused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to succeed in the province of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar Declares the Most High God

4¹Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue that inhabit all the earth: “May your ²^,^apeace abound! ²“It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the ^aMost High God has done for me.

³“How great are His ^asigns,And how strong are His wonders!His ^bkingdom is an everlasting kingdom,And His ¹dominion is from generation to generation.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Great Tree

⁴“¹I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and ^aflourishing in my palace. ⁵“I saw a ^adream, and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the ^bvisions in my head kept alarming me. ⁶“So I gave a decree to ^abring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷“Then the ¹^,^amagicians, the conjurers, the ²Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I said the dream ³to them, but they could not make its ^binterpretation known to me. ⁸“But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name is ^aBelteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is ¹^,^ba spirit of the holy gods; and I said the dream ²to him: ⁹‘O Belteshazzar, ^achief of the magicians, since I know that ^ba spirit of the holy gods is in you, and ^cno mystery is difficult for you, ^dsay to me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

¹⁰‘Now these were the ^avisions in my head as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a ^btree in the midst of the ¹earth, and its height was great.

¹¹‘The tree grew large and became strong,And its height ^areached to the sky,And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.¹²‘Its foliage was ^abeautiful and its fruit abundant,And in it was food for all.The ^bbeasts of the field found ^cshade under it,And the ^dbirds of the sky inhabited its branches,And all flesh fed itself from it.

¹³‘I was looking in the ^avisions in my head as I lay on my bed, and behold, ^ba ¹watcher, a ^choly one, descended from heaven.

¹⁴‘He called out loudly and said thus:“^aChop down the tree and cut off its branches,Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;Let the ^bbeasts flee from under itAnd the birds from its branches.¹⁵“Yet ^aleave the stump ¹with its roots in the earth,But with a band of iron and bronze around itIn the new grass of the field;And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,And let ²him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.¹⁶“Let his heart be changed from that of a man,And let the heart of a beast be given to him,And let ^aseven ¹periods of time pass over him.¹⁷“This edict is by the resolution of the watchers,And the decision is a command of the holy ones,In order that the living may ^aknowThat the Most High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankindAnd ^bgives it to whom He wishesAnd sets up over it the ^clowliest of men.”

¹⁸‘This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, say to me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the ^awise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a ^bspirit of the holy gods is in you.’

Daniel Interprets the Dream

¹⁹“Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his ^athoughts were alarming him. The king answered and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not ^blet the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar answered and said, ‘^cMy lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to ^dyour adversaries! ²⁰‘The ^atree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth, ²¹and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field inhabited, and in whose branches the birds of the sky dwelt— ²²it is ^ayou, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your greatness has become even greater and reached to the sky and your ¹^,^bdominion to the end of the earth. ²³‘But in that the king saw a watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “^aChop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump ¹with its roots in the earth, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let ²him share with the beasts of the field until ^bseven ³periods of time pass over him,” ²⁴this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the resolution of the Most High, which has ^areached my lord the king: ²⁵that you be ^adriven away from mankind and your place of habitation be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven ¹periods of time will pass over you, until you know that the ^bMost High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind and ^cgives it to whomever He wishes. ²⁶‘And in that they said to ^aleave the stump ¹with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will endure for you after you know that it is ^bHeaven that rules with power. ²⁷‘Therefore, O king, may my ^aadvice seem good to you: ¹^,^bbreak away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by ^cshowing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a ^dprolonging of your prosperity.’

The Dream Is Accomplished

²⁸“All this ^areached Nebuchadnezzar the king. ²⁹“^aAt the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰“The king answered and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the ^agreat, which I myself have built as a royal house by the strength of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ ³¹“While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice ¹came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is said: the kingdom has been removed from you, ³²and ^ayou will be driven away from mankind, and your place of habitation will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and ^bseven ¹periods of time will pass over you until you know that the ^cMost High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whomever He wishes.’ ³³“Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was accomplished; and he was ^adriven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

³⁴“But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes toward heaven, and my knowledge returned to me, and I blessed the ^aMost High and praised and honored ^bHim who lives forever; For His ¹dominion is an ^ceverlasting ²dominion,And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

³⁵“^aAnd all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,But ^bHe does according to His will in the host of heavenAnd among the inhabitants of earth;And ^cno one can strike against His handOr say to Him, ‘^dWhat have You done?’

³⁶“At that time my ^aknowledge returned to me. And my majesty and ^bsplendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my high officials and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my kingdom, and extraordinary ^cgreatness was added to me. ³⁷“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of ^aheaven, for ^ball His works are ¹true and His ways ²just, and He is able to humble those who ^cwalk in pride.”

Sacrifices Pleasing to God

13Let ^alove of the brothers continue. ²Do not neglect to ^ashow hospitality to strangers, for by this some have ^bentertained angels without knowing it. ³^aRemember ^bthe prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you yourselves also are in the body. ⁴^aMarriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled, ^bfor the sexually immoral and adulterers God will judge. ⁵Make sure that your way of life is ^afree from the love of money, ^bbeing content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “^cI will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” ⁶so that we confidently say, “^aThe ¹Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.What will man do to me?”

⁷Remember your ^aleaders, who spoke ^bthe word of God to you; and considering the ¹result of their conduct, ^cimitate their faith. ⁸^aJesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹^aDo not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to ^bbe strengthened by grace, not by ^cfoods, ^dthrough which those who ¹were so occupied were not benefited. ¹⁰We have an altar ^afrom which those ^bwho serve the tabernacle have no authority to eat. ¹¹For ^athe bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. ¹²Therefore Jesus also, ^athat He might sanctify the people ^bthrough His own blood, suffered ^coutside the gate. ¹³So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, ^abearing His reproach. ¹⁴For here ^awe do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking ^bthe one to come. ¹⁵^aThrough Him then, let us continually offer up a ^bsacrifice of praise to God, that is, ^cthe fruit of lips that confess His name. ¹⁶And do not neglect doing good and ^asharing, for ^bwith such sacrifices God is pleased.

¹⁷^aObey your leaders and submit to them—for ^bthey keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account—so that they will do this with joy and not with groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.

¹⁸^aPray for us, for we are convinced that we have a ^bgood conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves well in all things. ¹⁹And I urge you all the more to do this, ^aso that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Benediction

²⁰Now ^athe God of peace, who ^bbrought up from the dead the ^cgreat Shepherd of the sheep ¹through ^dthe blood of the ^eeternal covenant, our Lord Jesus, ²¹^aequip you in every good thing to do His will, by ^bdoing in us ^cwhat is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, ^dto whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²But ^aI urge you, ^bbrothers, ¹bear with ²this ^cword of exhortation, for ^dI have written to you briefly. ²³Know that ^aour brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. ²⁴Greet ^aall of your leaders and all the ¹^,^bsaints. Those from ^cItaly greet you.

²⁵^aGrace be with you all.

18He who separates himself seeks his own desire,He ^abreaks out in dispute against all sound wisdom.²A fool does not delight in discernment,But only ^ain revealing his own heart.³When a wicked man comes, despising also comes,And with disgrace comes reproach.⁴The words of a man’s mouth are ^adeep waters;¹The fountain of wisdom is a flowing brook.⁵To ^ashow partiality to the wicked is not good,Nor to ^bthrust aside the righteous in judgment.⁶A fool’s lips come with strife,And his mouth calls for ^abeatings.⁷A ^afool’s mouth is his ruin,And his lips are the snare of his soul.⁸The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,And they go down into the ¹innermost parts of the stomach.⁹He also who is ^aslack in his work^bIs brother to him who destroys.¹⁰The ^aname of Yahweh is a ^bstrong tower;The righteous runs into it and is ^cset securely on high.¹¹A ^arich man’s wealth is his strong city,And like a high wall in his own delusion.¹²^aBefore destruction the heart of man is haughty,But ^bhumility goes before glory.¹³He who ^aresponds with a word before he hears,It is folly and shame to him.¹⁴The ^aspirit of a man can endure his sickness,But as for a ^bbroken spirit, who can bear it?¹⁵The ^aheart of the understanding acquires knowledge,And the ^bear of the wise seeks knowledge.¹⁶A man’s ^agift makes room for himAnd leads him into the presence of great men.¹⁷The first ¹to plead his case seems right,Until ²another comes and examines him.¹⁸The cast ^alot puts an end to contentionsAnd ¹decides between the mighty ones.¹⁹A brother offended is harder to win over than a strong city,And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.²⁰From the ¹^,^afruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;^bWith the produce of his lips he will be satisfied.²¹^aDeath and life are in the ¹power of the tongue,And those who love it will eat its ^bfruit.²²He who finds a ^awife finds a good thingAnd ^bobtains favor from Yahweh.²³The ^apoor man speaks supplications,But the ^brich man ^canswers with strong words.²⁴A man of too many friends comes to ¹ruin,But there is ^aa ²friend who sticks closer than a brother.