Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down with his face to the ground ¹  and paid homage to Daniel. He gave orders to offer sacrifice and incense to him.

Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret ¹  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ²  Now summon ³  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening ¹  to the den. The king sealed ²  it with his signet ring and with those ³  of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.

“So when you see the abomination of desolation ¹  – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel; the second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel;

Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, ¹  and Job, were in it, they would save only their own lives by their righteousness, declares the sovereign Lord.

But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave ¹  Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego. ² 

When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group ¹  anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. ² 

So a decree went out, and the wise men were about ¹  to be executed. They also sought ²  Daniel and his friends so that they could be executed.

Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel ¹  to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

So Daniel went in and ¹  requested the king to grant him time, that he might disclose the interpretation to the king.

So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king’s presence, saying to him, “I ¹  have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king.”

The king then asked Daniel (whose name was also Belteshazzar), “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I saw, as well as its interpretation?”

Daniel replied to the king, “The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.

The king replied to Daniel, “Certainly your God is a God of gods and Lord of kings and revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery!”

But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its ¹  interpretation.

Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable ¹  to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage.

Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

So these men concluded, ¹  “We won’t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is ²  in connection with the law of his God.”

He rescues and delivers and performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power ¹  of the lions!”