Lexicon :: Strong's G3739 - hos

So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.

In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times[fn] better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom.

“What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard,[fn] who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

I offer thanks and praise to you,

God of my ancestors,

because you have given me

wisdom and power.

And now you have let me know

what we asked of you,

for you have let us know

the king’s mystery.[fn]

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation? ”

Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about.

“But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these:

“Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future.[fn] The revealer of mysteries has let you know what will happen.

“The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze,

“As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it,[fn] struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.

“Your Majesty, you are king of kings. The God of the heavens has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.

“After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth.

“A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others.[fn]

“You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron ​— ​it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay,

“You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it,[fn] and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”

So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue the king had set up. Then they stood before the statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

“When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither,[fn] lyre,[fn] harp, drum,[fn] and every kind of music, you are to fall facedown and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

“But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”

Therefore, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and every kind of music, people of every nation and language fell down and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

“You as king have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music must fall down and worship the gold statue.

“There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men have ignored you, the king; they do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue I have set up?

“Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But if you don’t worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire ​— ​and who is the god who can rescue you from my power? ”

“If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can[fn] rescue us from the power of you, the king.

“But even if he does not rescue us,[fn] we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary,

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel[fn] and rescued his servants who trusted in him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

“Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”

Finally Daniel, named Belteshazzar after the name of my god ​— ​and a spirit of the holy gods is in him ​— ​came before me. I told him the dream:

“Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, because I know that you have the spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery puzzles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation.

“This word is by decree of the watchers,

and the decision is by command from the holy ones.

This is so that the living will know

that the Most High is ruler

over human kingdoms.

He gives them to anyone he wants

and sets the lowliest of people over them.

“This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can make the interpretation known to me. But you can, because you have a spirit of the holy gods.”

Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was stunned for a moment, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.”

Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!

“The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky and was visible to the whole earth,

“The king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share food with the wild animals for seven periods of time.’

“This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree of the Most High that has been issued against my lord the king:

“You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.

“As for the command to leave the tree’s stump with its roots, your kingdom will be restored[fn] to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven[fn] rules.

the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory? ”

“You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals, and you will feed on grass like cattle for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.”

At that moment the message against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people. He ate grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing,

and he does what he wants with the army of heaven

and the inhabitants of the earth.

There is no one who can block his hand

or say to him, “What have you done? ”