Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from the book of
Daniel, chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 Now in the
second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar
had dreams, and his spirit was so troubled that
his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command
to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers,
and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams.
So they came and stood before the king, and the
king said to them, I have had the dream, and
my spirit is anxious to know the dream. Then
the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O
king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream,
and we will give the interpretation. The king
answered and said to the Chaldeans, My decision
is firm. If you do not make known the dream to
me, and its interpretation you shall be cut in
pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash
heap. However, if you tell the dream and its
interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts,
rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the
dream and its interpretation. They answered again
and said, Let the king tell his servants the
dream, and we will give its interpretation. The
king answered and said, I know for certain that
you would gain time, because you see that my
decision is firm. 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. Therefore
tell me the dream, and I shall know that you
can give me its interpretation. The Chaldeans
answered the king and said, There is not a man
on earth who can tell the king's matter. Therefore
no king, lord or ruler has ever asked such things
of any magician, astrologer or Chaldean. It is
a difficult thing that the king requests and
there is no other who can tell it to the king
except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.
For this reason the king was angry and very furious
and gave the command to destroy all the wise
men of Babylon. So the decree went out and they
began killing the wise men and they sought Daniel
and his companions to kill them. Then with counsel
and wisdom, Daniel answered Ariok, the captain
of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill
the wise men of Babylon. He answered and said
to Ariok, the king's captain, Why is the decree
from the king so urgent? Then Ariok made the
decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and
asked the king to give him time, that he might
tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel
went to his house and made the decision known
to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
that they might seek mercies 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. Then the secret
was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So
Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered
and said, Blessed be the name of the God forever
and ever. For wisdom and might are his, and he
changes the times and the seasons. He removes
kings and raises up kings. He gives wisdom to
the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and secret things. He knows what
is in the darkness, and light dwells with him.
I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers.
You have given me wisdom and might, and have
now made known to me what we asked of you. For
you have made known to us the king's demand.
Therefore Daniel went to Ariok, whom the king
had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon.
He went and said thus to him, Do not destroy
the wise men of Babylon. Take me before the king,
and I will tell the king the interpretation.
Then Ariok quickly brought Daniel before the
king and said thus to him, I have found a man
of the captives of Judah who will make known
to the king the interpretation. The king answered
and said to Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar,
Are you able to make known to me the dream which
I have seen? and its interpretation? 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 declare to the king. But there is a God
in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made
known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in
the latter days. Your dream and the visions of
your head upon your bed were these. As for you,
O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your
bed. about what would come to pass after this,
and he who reveals secrets has made known to
you what will be. But as for me, this secret
has not been revealed to me because I have more
wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes
who made known the interpretation to the king,
and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
You, O king, were watching, and behold, a great
image. This great image, whose splendor was excellent,
stood before you, and its form was awesome. This
image's head was of fine gold, its chest and
arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
its legs of iron, its feet partially of iron
and partially of clay. You watched while a stone
was cut out without hands, which struck the image
on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in
pieces. then the iron the clay the bronze the
silver and the gold were crushed together and
became like chaff from the summer threshing floors
the wind carried them away so that no trace of
them was found and the stone that struck the
image became a great mountain and filled the
whole earth this is the dream now we will tell
the interpretation of it before the king you
o king are a king of kings for the god of heaven
has given you a kingdom power, strength, and
glory. And wherever the children of men dwell,
or the beasts of the field, and the birds of
the heaven, he has given them into your hand,
and has made you ruler over them all. You are
this head of gold. But after you shall arise
another kingdom inferior to yours, then another,
a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over
all the earth. And a fourth kingdom shall be
as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in
pieces and shatters everything. And like iron
that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces
and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the
feet and toes partially of potter's clay and
partially of iron, the kingdom shall be divided.
Yet the strength of the iron shall be in it,
just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay.
And as the toes of the feet were partially of
iron and partially of clay, so the kingdom shall
be partially strong and partially fragile. as
you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay they will
mingle with the seed of men but they will not
adhere to one another just as iron does not mix
with clay and in the days of these kings the
god of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not
be left to other people it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms and it shall stand
forever inasmuch as you saw that the 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 come to pass after
this the dream is certain and its interpretation
is sure then king nebuchadnezzar fell on his
face prostrate before daniel and commanded that
they should present an offering and incense to
him The king answered Daniel and said, Truly
your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings,
and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal
this secret. Then the king promoted Daniel and
gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler
over the whole province of Babylon, and chief
administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the
province of Babylon. But Daniel sat in the gate
of the king. Chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar the king
made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits
and its width 6 cubits. He set it up in the plain
of Dura in the province of Babylon, and King
Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the
satraps, the administrators, the governors, the
counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates,
and all the officials of the provinces to come
to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar
had set up. So the satraps, the administrators,
the governors, the counselors, the treasurers,
the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials
of the provinces gathered together for the dedication
of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set
up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar
had set up. Then a herald cried aloud, To you
it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
that at the time you hear the sound of the horn,
flute, harp, lyre and psaltery in symphony with
all kinds of music you shall fall down and worship
the gold image that king nebuchadnezzar has set
up and whoever does not fall down and worship
shall be cast immediately into the midst of a
burning fiery furnace so at that time when all
the people heard the sound of the horn flute
harp and lyre in symphony with all kinds of music
all the people nations and languages fell down
and worshipped the gold image which king nebuchadnezzar
had set up Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans
came forward and accused the Jews. They spoke
and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live
forever. You, O king, have made a decree that
everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute,
harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all
kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the
gold image. And whoever does not fall down and
worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning
fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you
have set over the affairs of the province of
Babylon. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These
men, O king, have not paid due regard to you.
They do not serve your gods or worship the gold
image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar,
in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. So they brought these
men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying
to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
that you do not serve my gods or worship the
gold image which I have set up? Now if you are
ready at that time, you hear the sound of the
horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony
with all kinds of music, and you fall down and
worship the image which I have made, good. But
if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And
who is the God who will deliver you from my hands?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and
said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no
need to answer you in this matter. If that is
the case, our God, whom we serve, is able to
deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and
he will deliver us from your hand, O king. But
if not, let it be known to you, O king, that
we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship
the gold image which you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar
was full of fury, and the expression on his face
changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace
seven times more than it was usually heated,
and he commanded certain mighty men of valor
who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, and cast them into the burning
fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their
coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their
other garments, and were cast into the midst
of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore, because
the king's command was urgent, the furnace exceedingly
hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who
took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and
these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
fell down bound into the midst of the burning
fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished,
and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his
counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into
the midst of the fire? They answered and said
to the king, True, O king. Look, he answered,
I see four men loose, walking in the midst of
the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form
of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar
went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace
and spoke, saying, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
servants of the Most High God, come out and come
here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came
from the midst of the fire, and the satraps,
administrators, governors, and the king's counselors
gathered together, and they saw these men, on
whose bodies the fire had no power. The hair
of their head was not singed, nor were their
garments affected, and the smell of fire was
not on them. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, Blessed
be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
who sent his angel and delivered his servants
who trusted in him. And they have frustrated
the king's word and yielded their bodies that
they should not serve nor worship any god except
their own god. Therefore I make a decree that
any people, nation or language which speaks anything
amiss against the god of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses
shall be made an ash heap because there is no
other god who can deliver like this. Then the
king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
in the province of Babylon. I hope you enjoyed
today's reading as much as I did and I look forward
to seeing you again tomorrow to continue on our
journey. God bless you and have a great day.