Red Ropes and Restricted Access

17. Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: 18. that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20. Daniel answered, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his. 21. He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have 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 you, and praise you, you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” 24. Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said this to him: “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.” 25. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said this to him: “I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26. The king answered 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 before the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded can’t be shown to the king by wise men, enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers; 28. but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these: 29. “As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will happen. 30. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. 31. “You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its appearance was terrifying. 32. As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33. its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay. 34. You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36. “This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory. 38. Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold. 39. “After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to you; and another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. 40. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, it will break in pieces and crush. 41. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but there will be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. 42. As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken. 43. Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they will mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they won’t cling to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay. 44. “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. 45. Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” 46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him. 47. The king answered to Daniel, and said, “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48. Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. 49. Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the king’s gate.

3

1. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3. Then the local governors, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4. Then the herald cried aloud, “To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages, 5. that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6. Whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace the same hour.” 7. Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 8. Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews. 9. They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, “O king, live for ever! 10. You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image; 11. and whoever doesn’t fall down and worship shall be cast into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. 12. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not respected you. They don’t serve your gods, and don’t worship the golden image which you have set up.” 13. Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and fury commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. Then these men were brought before the king. 14. Nebuchadnezzar answered them, “Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? 15. Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, good; but if you don’t worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the middle of a burning fiery furnace. Who is that god that will deliver you out of my hands?” 16. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17. If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.” 19. Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20. He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21. Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their other clothes, and were cast into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. 22. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23. These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the middle of the burning fiery furnace. 24. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste. He spoke and said to his counselors, “Didn’t we cast three men bound into the middle of the fire?” They answered the king, “True, O king.” 25. He answered, “Look, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are unharmed. The appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” 26. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He spoke and said, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the middle of the fire. 27. The local governors, the deputies, and the governors, and the king’s counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies. The hair of their head wasn’t singed. Their pants weren’t changed, the smell of fire wasn’t even on them. 28. Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29. Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” 30. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

6. But when Timothy came just now to us from you, and brought us glad news of your faith and love, and that you have good memories of us always, longing to see us, even as we also long to see you, 7. for this cause, brothers, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith. 8. For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. 9. For what thanksgiving can we render again to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sakes before our God, 10. night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith? 11. Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12. May the Lord make you to increase and abound in love toward one another, and toward all men, even as we also do toward you, 13. to the end he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

4

1. Finally then, brothers, we beg and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, that you abound more and more. 2. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3. For this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, 4. that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, 5. not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who don’t know God, 6. that no one should take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter; because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. 7. For God called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. 8. Therefore he who rejects this doesn’t reject man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to you. 9. But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that one write to you. For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another, 10. for indeed you do it toward all the brothers who are in all Macedonia. But we exhort you, brothers, that you abound more and more; 11. and that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, even as we instructed you; 12. that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and may have need of nothing.

13. Hide them in the dust together. Bind their faces in the hidden place. 14. Then I will also admit to you that your own right hand can save you. 15. “See now, behemoth, which I made as well as you. He eats grass as an ox. 16. Look now, his strength is in his thighs. His force is in the muscles of his belly. 17. He moves his tail like a cedar. The sinews of his thighs are knit together. 18. His bones are like tubes of bronze. His limbs are like bars of iron. 19. He is the chief of the ways of God. He who made him gives him his sword. 20. Surely the mountains produce food for him, where all the animals of the field play. 21. He lies under the lotus trees, in the covert of the reed, and the marsh. 22. The lotuses cover him with their shade. The willows of the brook surround him. 23. Behold, if a river overflows, he doesn’t tremble. He is confident, though the Jordan swells even to his mouth. 24. Shall any take him when he is on the watch, or pierce through his nose with a snare?