Do you want to know a secret?

God set them

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

And to rule over the day - and over the night,

and to divide the light from the darkness:

and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them,

saying,

Be fruitful,

and multiply,

and fill the waters in the seas,

and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Now at the end -of- the days - - that the king had said - he -should bring them in,

then the prince - of - the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother:

And the king  - communed with them;

and - among them all - was found none like Daniel,

Hananiah,

Mishael,

and Azariah:

And God blessed the seventh day,

and sanctified it:

because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created - and made.

These -are- the generations - of the heavens – and of - the earth when they were created,

in the day that the Lord God made the earth  and the heavens,

And they shall be afraid – and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation,

and - of - Egypt their glory.

there -fore stood they before the king.

And in all matters of wisdom – and understanding,

that the king inquired of them,

- he - found them ten times better than all the magicians  -and astrologers that were - in all his realm.

And Cush begat Nimrod:

he began - to be a mighty one in the earth.. .

… Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord:

And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

****

And Cush begat Nimrod:

he began - to be a mighty one in the earth.. .

… Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.

And he drank of the wine,

and was drunken;

and he was uncovered within his tent.

Then thou scarest me with dreams,

and terrifiest me through visions:

So - that my soul - chooseth strangling,

and death rather than - my life.

The fruit of thy land,

and all thy labours,

shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up;

and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:

So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

And Noah awoke - from his wine,

 and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

And in the second year of t-he reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed - - dreams,

wherewith his spirit was troubled,

and his sleep brake from -him.

And the evening - and the morning were the third day.

And God said,

Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs,

and for seasons,

and for days,

and years:

And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth:

and it was so.

Then the king commanded to call the magicians,

and the astrologers,

and the sorcerers,

and the Chaldeans,

for to shew the king -  his dreams.

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God created he him;

male and female created he them.

So they came - and stood before - the king.

And the king said unto them,

I have dreamed - a dream,

and my spirit was troubled to know – the dream.

Syr-i-ac   (sire-ak)n.

* An ancient Aramaic language spoken in Syria from the 3rd to the 13th century that survives as the liturgical language of several Eastern Christian churches.

then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.

Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac,

O king,

live for ever:

tell thy servants the dream,

and we will shew the interpretation.

While he was yet speaking,

there came also another,

and said,

The Chaldeans - made out - three bands,

and fell upon the camels,

and have carried them away,

yea,

and slain the servants with the edge of the s-word;

and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

The king answered – an-d said to the Chaldeans,

The thing is gone from me:

if ye will not make known unto me the dream,

with the interpretation thereof, . . .

And it came to pass,

that,

when the sun went down,

an-d it was dark,

behold a smoking furnace,

an-d a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

. . .ye shall be cut in pieces,

an-d your houses shall be made a dunghill.

But if ye shew t-he dream,

and the interpretation thereof,

ye shall receive of me gifts - and rewards - and great honour:

therefore shew me the dream,

and the interpretation thereof.

So God created man in – his own image,

They answered again - and said,

Let the king tell his servants the dream,

and we will shew the interpretation - of it.

The king answered - and said,

I know of certainty that ye would gain the time,

because ye see the thing - is - gone from me.

But if ye will not make known unto me the dream,

there is but one decree for you:

for ye have prepared lying - and corrupt words to speak before me, . . .

*****

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:


Then Pharaoh sentnd called Joseph, and they brought him hastily - out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed - his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.



To all of them  - he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave - three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. 

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:

Then Pharaoh sentnd called Joseph, and they brought him hastily - out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed - his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.

To all of them  - he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave - three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

*****

. . . till the time be changed:

there-fore tell me the dream,

and I shall know that ye can shew - me the interpretation there-of.

The Chaldeans answered before the king,

and said,

There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter:

there-fore - -there - is no king,

lord,

nor ruler,

that asked such things  - at - any magician,

or astrologer,

or Chaldean.

And it is a rare thing that the king requireth,

and - there is none other that can shew it before the king, . . .

then your eyes shall be opened,

and ye shall be as gods,

knowing good -and evil.

. . . except the gods,

whose dwelling is not with flesh.

And Cain was very wroth,

and h-is countenance fell.

For this cause the king was angry - and very furious,

and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel  and his fellows to be slain.

Then Daniel answered with counsel - and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard,

which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:

He answered - and said to Arioch the king's captain,

Why is the decree so hasty from the king?

Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

Unto the woman he said,

I will greatly multiply thy sorrow - and thy conception;

in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;

and thy desire shall be to thy husband,

and he shall rule over thee.

Then Daniel went in,

and desired of the king that he would give him time,

and that he would shew the king the interpretation.

Then Daniel went to his house,

and made the thing known to Hananiah,

Mishael,

and Azariah,

his companions:

I do set my bow in the cloud,

and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me - and the earth.

And Abram fell on his face:

and God talked with him,

saying,

As for me,

behold,

my covenant is with thee,

That they would desire mercies of the - God of heaven concerning this secret;

that Daniel -and his fellows should not perish with - the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition,

and that distress her,

shall be as a dream of a night vision.

It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth,

and,

behold,

he eateth;

but he awaketh,

and his soul is empty:

or as when a thirsty man dreameth,

and,

behold,

he drinketh;

but he awaketh,

and,

behold,

he is faint,

and his soul hath appetite:

so shall the multitude of all the nations be,

that fight against mount Zion.

Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. . .

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying,

If God will be with me,

and will keep me in this way that I go,

and will give me bread to eat,

and ra-iment to put on,

So that I come again to my father's house in peace;

then shall the Lord be my God:

. . .Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Daniel answered - and said,

Blessed be the name of God for ever - and ever:

for wisdom - and might - are his:

And he changeth the times - and the seasons:

he removeth kings,

and setteth up kings:

he giveth wisdom - unto the wise,

and knowledge to them - that know understanding:

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God:

but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever,

that we may do all the words of this law.

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee,

the blessing and the curse,

which I have set before thee,

and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations,

whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee,

He revealeth the deep and secret things:

he knoweth what is in the darkness,

and the light dwelleth with him.

I thank thee,

and praise thee,

O thou God of my fathers,

who hast given me wisdom - and might,

and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

There-fore Daniel went in unto Arioch,

whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon:

he went - and said thus unto him,

Destroy not the wise men of Babylon:

bring me in before the king,

and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste,

and said thus unto him,

I have found a man of the captives of Judah,

that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

The king answered - and said to Daniel,

whose name was Belteshazzar,

Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen,

and the interpretation thereof?

Daniel answered in the presence of the king,

and said,

The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men,

the astrologers,

the magicians,

the soothsayers,

shew unto the king;

As I was in the days of my youth,

when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle;

When the Almighty was yet with me,

when my children were about me;

When I washed my steps with butter,

and the rock poured me out rivers of oil;

When I went out to the gate through the city,

when I prepared my seat in the street!

The young men saw me,

and hid themselves: . . .

I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints,

and prevailed against them;

Until the Ancient of days came,

and judgment was given to the saints of the most High;

and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

. . .and the aged arose,

and stood up.

The princes refrained talking,

and laid their hand - on their mouth.

The nobles held their peace,

and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

When the ear heard me,

then it blessed me;

and when the eye saw me,

it gave witness to me:

Because I delivered the poor that cried,

and the fatherless,

and him that had none to help him.

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,

and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.

Thy dream,

and the visions of thy head - upon thy bed,

are these;

As for thee,

O king,

thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed,

what should come to pass hereafter:

and he that revealeth secrets - maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

But - as for me,

this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living,

but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king,

and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

Thou,

O king,

sawest,

and behold a great image.

This great image,

whose brightness was excellent,

stood before thee;

and the form - thereof was terrible.

This image's head was of fine gold,

his breast - and his arms of silver,

his belly - and his thighs of brass,

An-d Zillah,

she also bare Tubalcain,

an instructor of every artificer in brass - and iron:

His legs of iron,

Your remembrances are like unto ashes,

your bodies to bodies of clay.

Hold your peace,

let me alone,

that I may speak,

and let come on me - what will.

his feet - part of iron - and part of clay.

But his bow abode in strength,

and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob;

(from thence is the shepherd,

the stone of Israel:)

Thou saw-est till that a stone was cut out - without - hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron - and clay,

and brake them to pieces.

Then was the iron,

the clay,

the brass,

the silver,

and the gold,

broken to pieces together,

and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors;

and the wind carried them away,

that no place was found for them:

and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

This is the dream;

and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

Thou,

O king,

art a king - of kings:

for the God of heaven - hath given thee a kingdom,

power,

and strength,

and glory.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;

to you it shall be for meat.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat:

and it was so.

And where-so-ever the children of men dwell,

the beasts of the field - and the fowls of the heaven - hath he given into thine hand,

and hath made thee ruler over them all.

Thou art this head of gold.

The prophets prophesy falsely,

and the priests bear rule by their means;

and my people love to have - it so:

and what will ye do in the end thereof?

And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass,

which shall - bear rule - over all the earth.

An-d Zillah,

she also - bare Tubalcain,

an instructor of every artificer in brass - and iron:

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron:

forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces - and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh -  all these,

And God made the firmament,

and divided - the waters - which were under the firmament - from the waters which were above the firmament:

and it was so.

And I will put enmity - between thee - and the woman,

and between - thy seed - and her seed;

it shall bruise - thy head,

and thou shalt bruise - his heel.

shall it break in pieces - and bruise.

And whereas thou sawest the feet -and toes,

part of potters' clay,

and part of iron,

the kingdom shall be divided;

but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,

I waited patiently for the Lord;

and he inclined unto me,

and heard my cry.

He brought me up also - out of an horrible pit,

out of the miry clay,

and set my feet upon a rock,

and established my goings.

forasmuch as thou sawest the iron - mixed with miry clay.

 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron,

and part of clay,

and -they - have broken my covenant because of all your abominations.

so the kingdom shall be partly strong,

and partly - broken.

And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay,

they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men:

but they shall not cleave one to another,

even as iron is not mixed with clay

.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,

which shall never be destroyed:

and the kingdom shall not be left to other people,

but it shall break in pieces - and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain - without hands,

and that - it brake in pieces the iron,

the brass,

the clay,

the silver,

and the gold;

the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter:

and the dream is certain,

and the interpretation thereof sure.

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face,

and worshipped Daniel,

and commanded that they should offer - an oblation - and sweet odours unto - him.

The king answered unto Daniel,

and said,

Of a truth it is,

that your God is a God of gods,

and a Lord of kings,

and a revealer of secrets,

seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

Then the king made Daniel a great man,

and gave him many great gifts,

and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon,

and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

Then Daniel requested of the king,

and - he set Shadrach,

Meshach,

and Abednego,

over the affairs of the province of Babylon: . . .

And there came two angels to Sodom at even;

and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom:

. . . but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,

whose height was threescore cubits,

and the breadth thereof six cubits:

he set it up in the plain of Dura,

in the province of Babylon.

Samuel

*Excerpted from American Heritage Talking Dictionary. Copyright © 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.