them into the hands of the king of Babylon. And the temple of the Lord,and all the houses of Jerusalem were destroyed by fire. And the wall was broken down; and king Zedekiah's eyes were put out: and he and all the chief people of Jerusalem were carried away captives to Babylon, for seventy years. 51. The Captivity, 2nd Part. And among the children of Israel who were captives in Babylon, there was a young man, named Daniel. And he was a pious and good man, and full of the spirit of the Lord. And the king of Babylon dreamed a dream, and none of his wise men could tell him the dream, or the meaning thereof. So Daniel was sent for, and he explained the whole unto the king. Then the king preferred him above the presidents and princes, because an excellent mind was in him: and he thought to set him over the whole realm. There were also three Jews, whom the king, at the request of Daniel; set over the affairs of the province of Babylon. And the king made an image of gold, sixty cubits high, and commanded that every one who did not fall down and worship it, should be cast alive into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. The Captivity, Then certain Chaldeans came and accused these three Jews and said, “O king, these Jews have not regarded thee; nor do they serve thy gods, or worship the golden image which thou hast set up.' وو And the king commanded them to bring these three men; and he said unto them, "Is it true that ye do not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye worship this image it shall be well; but if ye do not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands." 53. The Captivity, Then they replied unto the king: "Our God is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hands, O king. But if not, know, we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the image which thou hast set up." Then the King commanded, and they were cast bound into the midst of the fiery furnace. But the fire had no power upon them; neither was a hair of their head singed; neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed over them. Then the King ordered them to come forth from the furnace; and blessed the God of Israel, who had sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. 54. The Captivity, 5th Part. Now Daniel was the first of the princes, who was set over the kingdom of Babylon. Then the other princes sought the king to make a decree, "that if any one, for thirty days, asked any thing of any one, save of the King, he should be cast into the den of lions. And when this decree had been made, the princes went unto the king and said, "Behold Daniel regardeth not the King, nor the decree which thou hast made, but prayeth three times every day unto the God of Israel." Then the King was sore displeased with himself, and |