3. And the sovereign said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”
4. And the Chaldeans spoke to the sovereign in Aramaic, “O sovereign, live forever! Relate the dream to your servants, and we shall reveal the interpretation.”
5. The sovereign answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream and its interpretation to me, your limbs shall be taken from you, and your houses made dunghills.
6. “But if you reveal the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive gifts, and rewards, and great esteem from me. So reveal to me the dream and its interpretation.”
7. They answered again and said, “Let the sovereign relate to his servants the dream, and we shall reveal its interpretation.”
8. The sovereign answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm:
9. “If you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. So relate the dream to me, then I shall know that you shall reveal its interpretation for me.”
10. The Chaldeans answered the sovereign, and said, “There is no one on earth who is able to reveal the matter of the sovereign. Because no sovereign, master, or ruler has ever asked a matter like this of any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11. “And the matter that the sovereign is asking is difficult, and there is no other who is able to reveal it to the sovereign except the elahin, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12. Because of this the sovereign was enraged and very wroth, and gave orders to destroy all the wise ones of Baḇel.
13. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise ones. And they sought Dani’ĕl and his companions, to kill them.
14. Then with counsel and wisdom Dani’ĕl answered Aryoḵ, the chief of the sovereign’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise ones of Baḇel –
15. he answered and said to Aryoḵ the sovereign’s officer, “Why is the decree from the sovereign so urgent?” So Aryoḵ made the decision known to Dani’ĕl.
16. And Dani’ĕl went in and asked the sovereign to give him time, and he would show the sovereign the interpretation.
17. Then Dani’ĕl went to his house, and made the decision known to Ḥananyah, Misha’ĕl, and Azaryah, his companions,
18. to seek compassion from the Elah of the heavens concerning this secret, so that Dani’ĕl and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise ones of Baḇel.