and Azariah; unto whom Nebuchadnezzar gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with King Nebuchadnezzar's meat. Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the Prince. And the Prince said unto Daniel, I fear the King who hath appointed you meat, for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children of your sort, then shall ye make me endanger my head to the King.

Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the Prince had set over them, Prove thy servants ten days, and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our faces be looked upon, and the faces of them that eat the King's meat. So he consented, and at the end of ten days, their faces appeared fairer and fatter in flesh then all the children which did eat the King's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine they should drink, and gave them pulse. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill, in all learning and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

CHAPTER 110.

DANIEL INTERPRETETH NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S

DREAM.

Now Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.Then the King commanded to call the magicians and the astrologers, to shew the King his dreams. And the King said, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

Then spake the Chaldeans to the King, O King live for ever; tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. But the King said, The thing is gone from me, if ye will not make known to me the dream with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces. And for this cause, the King was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise. men of Babylon.

Then Daniel answered to Arioch the Captain, and said, Why is the decree so hasty from the King. And Arioch made the thing known unto Daniel, and he went in and desired the King that he would give him time, and that he would shew the King the interpretation.Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision, and Daniel blessed the God of Heaven.

And 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. But there is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the King Nebuchadnezzar, what shall be in the latter days. Thou sawest and behold, a GREAT IMAGE, which stood before thee and the form thereof was terrible. His head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass; his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.— Thou sawest 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 chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind carried them away, and 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. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the Earth.

And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron; and as iron breaketh in pieces all things, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided, but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron. And as the toes were part of iron and part of clay, the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken.

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.

Then the King Nebuchadnezzer fell upon his face, and said, Of a truth your God is a God of Gods, and Lord of Kings, and a revealer of secrets, -and the King made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole Pro

vince 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 Princes of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the King.

The head of Gold was the Empire of Babylon; the Silver, the second and inferior Kingdom, was the Empire of the Medes and Persians; the third Kingdom of Brass, which should bear rule over all the earth, was the Empire of Alexander the Great, or the Grecian Empire. The fourth Kingdom, as strong as Iron, which should break in pieces and bruise former Kingdoms, was the Roman Empire, part Iron and part Clay, partly strong and partly broken; and it was in the days of that Kingdom, that the God of Heaven, did set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed, the Kingdom of Christ.

CHAPTER 111.

SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR the King made an image of Gold whose height was threescore cubits, and sent to gather together the Princes, the Governors, and the Captains, the Judges, the Treasurers, the Counsellors, the Sheriffs, and all the Rulers of the Provinces, to come to the dedication of the image.

Then an Herald cried aloud, saying, It is commanded O People, Nations, and Languages, that at what time, ye hear the sound of all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the Golden Image-and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a fiery furnace.

And certain Chaldeans came near and accused Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that they did not worship the Image, and they answered before the King, and said, O Nebuchadnezzar we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O King; but if not, be it known unto thee, that we will not serve thy Gods nor worship the Golden Image.

Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed, and he commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the furnace.Therefore because the King's command was urgent and 'the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men:-And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the furnace.

Then Nebuchadnezzar rose up in haste, and said to his Counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the fire-and lo, I see four men, loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.—Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the furnace, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth out of the midst of the fire. And the King blessed the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and promoted them in the Province of Babylon.