Through the Bible – Day 339

₁In the third year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia attacked Jerusalem. ₂The Lord let Nebuchadnezzar capture Jehoiakim and take away some of the things used in God's temple. And when the king returned to Babylonia, he put these things in the temple of his own god.

₃One day the king ordered Ashpenaz, his highest palace official, to choose some young men from the royal family of Judah and from other leading Jewish families. ₄The king said, “They must be healthy, handsome, clever, wise, educated, and fit to serve in the royal palace. Teach them how to speak and write our language ₅and give them the same food and wine that I am served. Train them for three years, and then they can become court officials.”

₆Four of the young Jews chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, all from the tribe of Judah. ₇But the king's chief official gave them Babylonian names: Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego.

₈Daniel made up his mind to eat and drink only what God had approved for his people to eat. And he asked the king's chief official for permission not to eat the food and wine served in the royal palace. ₉God had made the official friendly and kind to Daniel. ₁₀But the man still told him, “The king has decided what you must eat and drink. And I am afraid he will kill me, if you eat something else and end up looking worse than the other young men.”

₁₁The king's official had put a guard in charge of Daniel and his three friends. So Daniel said to the guard, ₁₂“For the next ten days, let us have only vegetables and water at mealtimes. ₁₃When the ten days are up, compare how we look with the other young men, and decide what to do with us.” ₁₄The guard agreed to do what Daniel had asked.

₁₅Ten days later, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better than the young men who had been served food from the royal palace. ₁₆After this, the guard let them eat vegetables instead of the rich food and wine.

₁₇God made the four young men clever and wise. They read a lot of books and became well educated. Daniel could also tell the meaning of dreams and visions.

₁₈At the end of the three year period set by King Nebuchadnezzar, his chief palace official brought all the young men to him. ₁₉The king interviewed them and discovered that none of the others were as outstanding as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they were given positions in the royal court. ₂₀From then on, whenever the king asked for advice, he found their wisdom was ten times better than that of any of his other advisers and magicians. ₂₁Daniel served there until the first year of King Cyrus.

₁During the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had such horrible nightmares that he could not sleep. ₂So he called in his counsellors, advisers, magicians, and wise men, ₃and said, “I am disturbed by a dream that I don't understand, and I want you to explain it.”

₄They answered in Aramaic, “Your Majesty, we hope you live for ever! We are your servants. Please tell us your dream, and we will explain what it means.”

₅But the king replied, “No! I have made up my mind. If you don't tell me both the dream and its meaning, you will be chopped to pieces and your houses will be torn down. ₆However, if you do tell me both the dream and its meaning, you will be greatly rewarded and highly honoured. Now tell me the dream and explain what it means.”

₇“Your Majesty,” they said, “if you will only tell us your dream, we will interpret it for you.”

₈The king replied, “You're just stalling for time, ₉because you know what's going to happen if you don't come up with the answer. You've decided to make up a pack of lies, hoping I might change my mind. Now tell me the dream, and that will prove that you can interpret it.”

₁₀His advisers explained, “Your Majesty, you are demanding the impossible! No king, not even the most famous and powerful, has ever ordered his advisers, magicians, or wise men to do such a thing. ₁₁It can't be done, except by the gods, and they don't live here on earth.”

_12-13This made the king so angry that he gave orders for every wise man in Babylonia to be put to death, including Daniel and his three friends.

₁₄Arioch was the king's official in charge of putting the wise men to death. He was on his way to have it done, when Daniel very wisely went to him ₁₅and asked, “Why did the king give such cruel orders?” After Arioch explained what had happened, ₁₆Daniel rushed off and said to the king, “If you will just give me some time, I'll explain your dream.”

₁₇Daniel returned home and told his three friends. ₁₈Then he said, “Pray that the God who rules from heaven will be merciful and explain this mystery, so that we and the others won't be put to death.” ₁₉In a vision one night, Daniel was shown the dream and its meaning. Then he praised the God who rules from heaven:

₂₄Daniel went back to Arioch, the official in charge of executing the wise men. Daniel said, “Don't kill those men! Take me to the king, and I will explain the meaning of his dream.”

₂₅Arioch rushed Daniel to the king and announced, “Your Majesty, I have found out that one of the men brought here from Judah can explain your dream.”

₂₆The king asked Daniel, “Can you tell me my dream and what it means?”

₂₇Daniel answered:

₄₆King Nebuchadnezzar bowed low to the ground and worshipped Daniel. Then he gave orders for incense to be burnt and a sacrifice of grain to be offered in honour of Daniel. ₄₇The king said, “Now I know that your God is above all other gods and kings, because he gave you the power to explain this mystery.” ₄₈The king then presented Daniel with a lot of gifts; he promoted him to governor of Babylon Province and put him in charge of the other wise men. ₄₉At Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to high positions in Babylon Province, and he let Daniel stay on as a palace official.

₁From the church leader.

To a very special woman and her children. I truly love all of you, and so does everyone else who knows the truth. ₂We love you because the truth is now in our hearts, and it will be there for ever.

₃I pray that God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son will be kind and merciful to us! May they give us peace and truth and love.

₄I was very glad to learn that some of your children are obeying the truth, as the Father told us to do. ₅Dear friend, I am not writing to tell you and your children to do something you have not done before. I am writing to tell you to love each other, which is the first thing you were told to do. ₆Love means that we do what God tells us. And from the beginning, he told you to love him.

₇Many liars have gone out into the world. These deceitful liars are saying that Jesus Christ did not have a truly human body. But they are liars and the enemies of Christ. ₈So be sure not to lose what we have worked for. If you do, you won't be given your full reward. ₉Don't keep changing what you were taught about Christ, or else God will no longer be with you. But if you hold firmly to what you were taught, both the Father and the Son will be with you. ₁₀If people won't agree to this teaching, don't welcome them into your home or even greet them. ₁₁Greeting them is the same as taking part in their evil deeds.

₁₂I have much more to tell you, but I don't want to write it with pen and ink. I want to come and talk to you in person, because that will make us really happy.

₁₃Greetings from the children of your very special sister.