DANIEL.
Chapter 2.
In the second year of the realm of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar saw a dream; and his spirit was afeared, and his dream fled away from him. 
Therefore the king commanded, that the false diviners, and astronomers, and witches, and Chaldees should be called together, that they should tell to the king his dreams; and when they were come, they stood before the king. 
And the king said to them, I saw a dream, and I am shamed in mind, and I know not what I saw. 
And Chaldees answered the king by Syriack language, King, live thou without end; say thy dream to thy servants, and we shall show to thee the expounding thereof. 
And the king answered, and said to the Chaldees, The word is gone away from me; if ye show not to me the dream, and the expounding thereof, ye shall perish, and your houses shall be forfeited. 
Forsooth if ye tell the dream, and the expounding thereof, ye shall take of me meeds and gifts, and much honour; therefore show ye to me the dream, and the interpreting thereof. 
They answered the second time, and said, the king say the dream to his servants, and we shall show the interpreting thereof. 
The king answered, and said, certainly I know, that ye again-buy the time, and know that the word is gone away from me. 
Therefore if ye show not to me the dream, one sentence is of you, for ye make an interpreting both false and full of deceit, that ye speak to me till the time pass; therefore say ye the dream to me, that I know that ye speak also the very interpreting thereof. 
Therefore the Chaldees answered before the king, and said, King, no man is on earth that may ful fill thy word; but neither any great man and mighty of kings asketh such a word of any false diviner, and astronomer, and of a man of Chaldea. 
For the word which thou, O king, askest, is grievous, neither any shall be found that shall show it in the sight of the king, except gods, whose living is not with men. 
And when this word was heard, the king commanded, in strong vengeance and in great ire that all the wise men of Babylon should perish. 
And by the sentence gone out, the wise men were to be slain; and Daniel and his fellows were sought, that they should perish. 
Then Daniel asked of the law and sentence of Arioch, prince of the chivalry of the king that was gone out to slay the wise men of Babylon. 
And he asked him that had taken power of the king, for what cause so cruel a sentence went out from the face of the king. Therefore when Arioch had showed the thing to Daniel, 
Daniel entered, and prayed the king, that he should give time to him to show the solving to the king. 
And he entered into his house, and showed the need to Hananiah, and Mishael, and Azariah, his fellows, 
that they should ask mercy of the face of God of heaven on this sacrament, or hid truth; and that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with other wise men of Babylon. 
Then the private was showed to Daniel by a vision in night. And Daniel blessed God of heaven, 
and said, the name of the Lord be blessed from the world, and till into the world, for wisdom and strength be his; 
and he changeth times and ages, he translateth realms and ordaineth; he giveth wisdom to wise men, and knowing to them that understand teaching, either chastising; 
he showeth deep things and hid, and he knoweth things set in darknesses, and light is with him. 
God of our fathers, I acknowledge to thee, and I praise thee, for thou hast given wisdom and strength to me; and now thou hast showed to me those things which we prayed thee, for thou hast opened to us the word of the king. 
After these things Daniel entered to Arioch, whom the king had ordained, that he should lose the wise men of Babylon, and thus he spake to him, Lose thou not the wise men of Babylon; lead thou me in before the sight of the king, and I shall tell the solving to the king. 
Then Arioch hasting led in Daniel to the king, and said to him, I have found a man of the sons of passing over of Judah, that shall tell the solving to the king. 
The king answered, and said to Daniel, to whom the name was Belteshazzar, whether guessest thou, that thou mayest verily show to me the dream which I saw, and the interpreting thereof? 
And Daniel answered before the king, and said, the private which the king asketh, the wise men, and astronomers, and false diviners, and lookers of altars, may not show to the king. 
But God is in heaven that showeth privates, which hath showed to thee, thou king Nebuchadnezzar, what things shall come in the last times. Thy dream and visions of thine head, in thy bed, be such. 
Thou, king, begannest to think in thy bed, what was to coming after these things; and he that showeth privates, showed to thee what things shall come. 
And this sacrament, or hid truth, is showed to me not by wisdom which is in me more than in all living men, but that the interpreting should be made open to the king, and thou shouldest know the thoughts of thy soul. 
Thou, king, sawest, and lo! As one great image; that image was great, and high in stature, and stood before thee, and the looking thereof was fearedful. 
The head of this image was of best gold, but the breast and arms were of silver; certainly the womb and thighs were of brass, 
but the legs were of iron; forsooth some part of the feet was of iron, some was of earth. 
Thou sawest thus, till a stone was cut down out of the hill, without hands, and smote the image in the iron feet thereof and earthen, and all-brake those. 
Then the iron, tilestone, either earthen vessel, brass, silver, and gold, were all-broken altogether, and driven as into a dead spark of a large summer hall, that be ravished of wind, and no place is found to those or in them; forsooth the stone, that smote the image, was made a great hill or mountain, and filled all earth. 
This is the dream. Also, thou king, we shall say before thee the interpreting thereof. 
Thou art king of kings, and God of heaven gave to thee realm, strength, and empire, and glory; 
and he gave in thine hand all things in which the sons of men, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air dwell, and ordained all things under thy lordship; therefore thou art the golden head. 
And another realm less than thou shall rise after thee; and the third realm, another of brass, that shall have the empire of all earth. 
And the fourth realm shall be as iron; as iron maketh less, and maketh tame all things, so it shall make less, and shall all-break all these realms. 
Forsooth that thou sawest a part of the feet, and fingers or toes of earth, or clay, of a potter, and a part of iron, the realm shall be parted; which nevertheless shall rise up out of the planting of the iron, by that that thou sawest iron mingled with a tilestone of clay, 
and the toes of the feet, in part of iron, and in part of earth, in part the realm shall be firm, and in part broken. 
Forsooth that thou sawest iron mingled with a tilestone of clay, soothly those or they shall be mingled together with man’s seed; but those or they shall not cleave to themselves, as iron may not be meddled or mingled with tilestone. 
Forsooth in the days of those realms, God of heaven shall raise up a realm, that shall not be destroyed without end, and his realm shall not be given to another people; it shall make less, and waste all these realms, and it shall stand without end, 
by this that thou sawest, that a stone was cut down out of the hill, without hands, and made less, or brake, the tilestone, and the iron, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold. The Great God hath showed to the king what things shall come afterward; and the dream is true, and the interpreting thereof is faithful. 
Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell down on his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded sacrifices and incense to be brought, that those should be sacrificed to him. 
Therefore the king spake, and said to Daniel, Verily your God is God of gods, and Lord of kings, that showeth mysteries, for thou mightest open this sacrament, or hid truth. 
Then the king raised up Daniel on high, and gave many gifts and great to him; and ordained him prince and prefect, either chief justice, over all the provinces of Babylon, and master over all the wise men of Babylon. 
Forsooth Daniel asked of the king, and ordained Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over all the works of the province of Babylon; but Daniel himself was in the gates of the king. 
