King James Version · Babylon and the exile
Daniel 4
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the king, unto all people, nations, and , that in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high hath wrought toward me. How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! is an kingdom, and his is from generation to generation. I was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: I saw a which made me afraid, and the upon my bed and the of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a to bring in all men of before me, that they might make known unto me the of the . Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the , and the soothsayers: and I told the before them; but they did not make known unto me the thereof. But at the last came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my , and in whom is of the gods: and before him I told the , saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that of the gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the of my that I have seen, and the thereof. Thus were the of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto , and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the dwelt in the boughs thereof, and was fed of it. I saw in the of my head upon my bed, and, behold, and an one came down from ; He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and his , shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the get away from under it, and the fowls from his : Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the of , and let his be with the in the grass of the earth: Let be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the of the , and the demand by the word of the : to the intent that the living may know that ruleth in of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. This I king have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the thereof, forasmuch as all men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the : but thou art able; for of the gods is in thee. Then , whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the , or the thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My , the be to them that hate thee, and the thereof to thine . The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the , and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the of the field dwelt, and upon whose the fowls of the had their habitation: It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto , and thy to the end of the earth. And whereas the king saw and an one coming down from , and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the of , and let his be with the of the field, till seven times pass over him; This is the , O king, and this is the of , which is come upon my the king: That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the of , and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that ruleth in of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy by , and thine by shewing mercy to ; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. All this came upon the king . At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of of . The king spake, and said, Is not this great , that I have built for the house of by the might of my , and for the of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s , there fell a voice from , saying, O king , to thee it is spoken; is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that ruleth in of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon : and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the of , till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. And at the end of the days I lifted up mine eyes unto , and mine understanding returned unto me, and I , and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose is an , and is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the , and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the of my kingdom, mine and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I and extol and the King of , all whose works are truth, and his ways : and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Babylon and the exile, 612 BC to 539 BC ›
Babylon replaces Assyria, Jerusalem and its temple are destroyed in 586 BC, and the leadership of Judah lives in Mesopotamia without a king, a temple, or a country.
- Babylon
- Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilds the city on a scale meant to be seen from a distance: the Ishtar Gate in glazed blue brick, the processional way, the ziggurat, and gardens later counted among the wonders of the world. Babylonian tablets record rations issued to the captive king Jehoiachin of Judah by name, which is one of the tidier points of contact between the Bible and the archives.
- Egypt
- Briefly resurgent. Pharaoh Neco marches north, kills King Josiah at Megiddo, and installs and deposes kings in Jerusalem, until Babylon beats him decisively at Carchemish in 605 BC. Jeremiah spends his career saying that betting on Egypt is suicide, and is proved right.
- Judah
- Deported in stages, then destroyed. The temple is burned, the walls broken, and the leadership marched to Mesopotamia. What happens next is one of the strangest survivals in history: a people keeps its identity without land, king, or sanctuary, and comes out of it with its scriptures more central than before.
- Further afield
- An extraordinary century for ideas everywhere at once. Thales and the first Greek philosophers, Solon's reforms at Athens, the Buddha in India, Confucius and Lao Tzu in China, and Zoroaster in Persia all fall within a few generations of the exile.