Lexicon :: Strong's G3756 - ou

Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.

The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to attend the king.

“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.”

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

“As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

“Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

“You saw the iron mixed with clay ​— ​the peoples will mix with one another[fn] but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.

“In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.

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?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question.

“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 King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire? ”

“Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king.

He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”[fn]

When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on[fn] the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

“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.”

“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 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.”

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? ”

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? ”

“Now the wise men and mediums were brought before me to read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not give its interpretation.

“But you his successor, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.

“Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.[fn]

Then these men said, “We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.”

So they approached the king and asked about his edict: “Didn’t you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den? ”

The king answered, “As a law of the Medes and Persians, the order stands[fn] and is irrevocable.”

Then they replied to the king, “Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict you signed, for he prays three times a day.”

Then these men went together to the king and said to him, “You know, Your Majesty, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or ordinance the king establishes can be changed.”

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No diversions[fn] were brought to him, and he could not sleep.

“My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths; and they haven’t harmed me, for I was found innocent before him. And also before you, Your Majesty, I have not done harm.”

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to take Daniel out of the den. When Daniel was brought up from the den, he was found to be unharmed, for he trusted in his God.

The king then gave the command, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel[fn] were brought and thrown into the lions’ den ​— ​they, their children, and their wives. They had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

“I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:

For he is the living God,

and he endures forever;

his kingdom will never be destroyed,

and his dominion has no end.

As I was observing, a male goat appeared, coming from the west across the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn[fn] between his eyes.

I saw him approaching the ram and, infuriated with him, he struck the ram, breaking his two horns, and the ram was not strong enough to stand against him. The goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his power.

“The four horns that took the place of the broken horn represent four kingdoms. They will rise from that nation, but without its power.

“His power will be great,

but it will not be his own.

He will cause outrageous destruction

and succeed in whatever he does.

He will destroy the powerful

along with the holy people.

I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it.

and have not obeyed the LORD our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers[fn] by bringing on us a disaster that is so great that nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever been done under all of heaven.

Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquities and paying attention to your truth.

So the LORD kept the disaster in mind and brought it on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all he has done. But we have not obeyed him.

Listen closely,[fn] my God, and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that bears your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before you based on our righteous acts, but based on your abundant compassion.