12. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13. Therefore the decree went out that the wise men should be slain. And they sought for Daniel and his companions to be slain.
14. Then Daniel answered with discretion and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.
15. He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16. Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time in order that he could tell the king the interpretation.
17. Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
18. so that they might ask for compassion from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,for wisdom and might are His.
21. It is He who changes the times and the seasons;He removes kings and sets up kings;He gives wisdom to the wiseand knowledge to those who know understanding.
22. He reveals the deep and secret things;He knows what is in the darkness,and the light dwells with Him.
23. I thank and praise You, O God of my fathers;for You have given me wisdom and might,and have made known to me now what we asked of You,for You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
24. Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”
25. Then in haste Arioch brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah who can make known to the king the interpretation.”
26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
27. Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot tell the king.
28. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and makes known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed are these:
29. “As for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed about what would come to pass hereafter, and He who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall come to pass.
30. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living man, but for the purpose of making known the interpretation to the king, and that you might understand the thoughts of your heart.
31. “You, O king, were watching, and there was a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you. And its form was awesome.
32. This image’s head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,