You are what you eat
Friday, July 22, 2005
4:19 PM
Daniel 1
The Choice Young Men
1In the third
year of the reign of (A)Jehoiakim
king of Judah, (B)Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.
2The (C)Lord
gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the (D)vessels
of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of (E)Shinar,
to the house of his [a]god,
and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his (F)god.
3Then the king
ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his [b]officials,
to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal (G)family
and of the nobles,
4youths in whom was (H)no defect, who were
good-looking, showing (I)intelligence in every branch of
wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had
ability for serving in the king's court; and he ordered him to teach
them the [c]literature
and (J)language
of the (K)Chaldeans.
5The king
appointed for them a daily ration from the (L)king's
choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be
educated three years, at the end of which they were to (M)enter
the king's personal service.
6Now among them
from the sons of Judah were (N)Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
7Then the commander
of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name
(O)Belteshazzar,
to Hananiah (P)Shadrach,
to Mishael (Q)Meshach
and to Azariah (R)Abed-nego.
Daniel's Resolve
8But Daniel made up his mind [set
upon his heart] that he would not (S)defile himself with the (T)king's choice food or with the
(U)wine which he drank; so
he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not
defile himself.
9Now God granted
Daniel (V)favor
and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials,
10and the
commander of the officials said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the
king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your
faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would
make me forfeit my head to the king."
11But Daniel
said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,
12"Please
test your servants for ten days, and let us be (W)given
some vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13"Then let
our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths
who are eating the king's choice food; and deal with your servants according to
what you see."
14So he listened to them in this
matter and tested them for ten days.
15At the end of
ten days their appearance seemed (X)better
and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king's choice
food.
16So the
overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to
drink, and kept (Y)giving
them vegetables.
17As for these four youths, (Z)God gave them knowledge and
intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood
all kinds of (AA)visions and dreams.
18Then at the
end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander
of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar.
19The king talked with them, and
out of them all not one was found like (AB)Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and
Azariah; so they (AC)entered the king's personal
service.
20As for every
matter of (AD)wisdom
and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them (AE)ten
times (AF)better
than all the (AG)magicians
and conjurers who were in all his realm.
21And Daniel
continued until the (AH)first
year of Cyrus the king.
Daniel 2
The King's Forgotten Dream
1Now in the
second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar (AI)had
dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his (AJ)sleep
left him.
2Then the king
gave orders to call in the [d](AK)magicians,
the conjurers, the sorcerers and the [e]Chaldeans
to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
3The king said
to them, "I (AL)had
a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream."
4Then the
Chaldeans spoke to the king in (AM)Aramaic:
"(AN)O
king, live forever! (AO)Tell
the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation."
5The king
replied to the Chaldeans, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make
known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be (AP)torn
limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.
6"But if
you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me (AQ)gifts
and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its
interpretation."
7They answered a second time and
said, "Let the king (AR)tell the dream to his servants,
and we will declare the interpretation."
8The king replied, "I know for certain that you
are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is
firm,
9that if you do not make the dream known to me, there
is only (AS)one decree for you For you have
agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation
is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may (AT)know that you can declare to me
its interpretation."
10The Chaldeans answered the king and said,
"There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king,
inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any (AU)magician, conjurer or Chaldean.
11"
12Because of
this the king became (AX)indignant
and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13So the decree
went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for (AY)Daniel
and his friends to kill them.
14Then Daniel replied with
discretion and discernment to (AZ)Arioch,
the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of
Babylon;
15he said to
Arioch, the king's commander, "For what reason is the decree from the king
so urgent?" Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.
16So Daniel went
in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he
might declare the interpretation to the king.
17Then Daniel
went to his house and informed his friends, (BA)Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah, about the matter,
18so that they
might (BB)request
compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and
his friends would not be (BC)destroyed
with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel
19Then the
mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night (BD)vision.
Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;
20Daniel said,
"Let
the name of God be (BE)blessed
forever and ever,
For
(BF)wisdom
and power belong to Him.
21"It
is He who (BG)changes
the times and the epochs;
He
(BH)removes
kings and establishes kings;
He
gives (BI)wisdom
to wise men
And
knowledge to men of understanding.
22"It
is He who (BJ)reveals
the profound and hidden things;
(BK)He
knows what is in the darkness,
And
the (BL)light
dwells with Him.
23"To
You, O (BM)God
of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For
You have given me (BN)wisdom
and power;
Even
now You have made known to me what we (BO)requested
of You,
For
You have made known to us the king's matter."
24Therefore,
Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men
of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: "(BP)Do
not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence, and I
will declare the interpretation to the king."
25Then Arioch
hurriedly (BQ)brought
Daniel into the king's presence and spoke to him as follows: "I have found
a man among the (BR)exiles
from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!"
26The king said to Daniel, whose
name was (BS)Belteshazzar, "Are you
able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its
interpretation?"
27Daniel answered before the king and said, "As
for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither (BT)wise men, conjurers, magicians
nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.
28"However, there is a (BU)God in heaven who reveals
mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in
the (BV)latter days This was your dream
and the (BW)visions in your mind while on
your bed.
29"As for you, O king, while on your bed your
thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and (BX)He who reveals mysteries has
made known to you what will take place.
30"But as for me, this mystery has not been
revealed to me for any (BY)wisdom residing in me more than
in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known
to the king, and that you may understand the (BZ)thoughts of your mind.
The King's Dream
31"You, O
king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue,
which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you,
and its appearance was (CA)awesome...
Daniel 3
The King's Golden Image
1Nebuchadnezzar
the king made an (DE)image
of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set
it up on the plain of Dura in the (DF)province
of Babylon.
…
4Then the herald loudly
proclaimed: "To you the command is given, (DH)O
peoples, nations and men of every language,
5that at the
moment you (DI)hear
the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of
music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar
the king has set up.
6"But
whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be (DJ)cast
into the midst of a (DK)furnace
of blazing fire."
…
Worship of the Image Refused
8For this reason
at that time certain (DL)Chaldeans
came forward and (DM)brought
charges against the Jews.
9They responded
and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: "(DN)O
king, live forever!
…
12"There
are certain Jews whom you have (DQ)appointed
over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach
and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your
gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."
13Then
Nebuchadnezzar in (DR)rage and anger gave
orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought
before the king.
14Nebuchadnezzar
responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego,
that you do not serve (DS)my
gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
15"Now if
you are ready, (DT)at
the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and
bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have
made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be (DU)cast
into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and (DV)what god is there who can
deliver you out of my hands?"
16(DW)Shadrach,
Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not
need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17"If it be so, our (DX)God whom we serve is able to
deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and (DY)He will deliver us out of your
hand, O king.
18"(DZ)But even if He does not, (EA)let it be known to you, O king,
that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you
have set up."
Daniel's Friends Protected
19Then
Nebuchadnezzar was filled with (EB)wrath,
and his facial expression
was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by
giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
20He commanded
certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and
Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.
21Then these men
were tied up in their (EC)trousers,
their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst
of the furnace of blazing fire.
22For this
reason, because the king's command was (ED)urgent
and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those
men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.
23But these
three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, (EE)fell
into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24Then
Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his
high officials, "Was
it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied
to the king, "Certainly, O king."
25He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and (EF)walking about in the midst of
the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the (EG)gods!"
26Then
Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he
responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you
servants of the (EH)Most
High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego (EI)came
out of the midst of the fire.
27The (EJ)satraps,
the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and
saw in regard to these men that the (EK)fire
had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed,
nor were their (EL)trousers
damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
28Nebuchadnezzar
responded and said, "Blessed be the (EM)God
of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has (EN)sent
His angel and delivered His servants who put their (EO)trust
in Him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as (EP)not
to serve or worship any god except their own God.
29"Therefore
I (EQ)make
a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive
against the God of (ER)Shadrach,
Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their (ES)houses
reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is (ET)no
other god who is able to deliver in this way."
30Then the king
(EU)caused
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.
Daniel 5
Belshazzar's Feast
1Belshazzar the
king held a great (HR)feast
for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the
thousand.
2When Belshazzar
tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver (HS)vessels
which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in
Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might
drink from them.
3Then they
brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of
God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his
concubines drank from them.
4They (HT)drank
the wine and praised the gods of (HU)gold
and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
5Suddenly the
fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the
plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the back of the hand
that did the writing.
6Then the king's
(HV)face
grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his (HW)hip
joints went slack and his (HX)knees
began knocking together.
10The queen entered the banquet
hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said,
"(IF)O
king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale.
11"There is
a (IG)man
in your kingdom in whom is a (IH)spirit
of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and
wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him And King Nebuchadnezzar,
your father, your father (II)the
king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners.
12"This was
because an (IJ)extraordinary
spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas
and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king
named (IK)Belteshazzar.
Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation."
Daniel Interprets Handwriting on
the Wall
13Then Daniel
was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Are
you that Daniel who is one of the (IL)exiles
from Judah, whom my father the king (IM)brought
from Judah?
14"Now I
have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that
illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you.
15"Just now
the (IN)wise
men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this
inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they (IO)could
not declare the interpretation of the message.
16"But I
personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and
solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make
its (IP)interpretation
known to me, you will be (IQ)clothed
with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have
authority as the third ruler in the kingdom."
17Then Daniel answered and said
before the king, "Keep your (IR)gifts for yourself or give your
rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and
make the interpretation known to him.
Daniel 6
Daniel Serves Darius
1It seemed good
to Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that they would be in charge
of the whole kingdom,
2and over them
three commissioners (of whom (JQ)Daniel
was one), that these satraps might be accountable to them, and that the king
might not suffer (JR)loss.
3Then this Daniel began distinguishing
himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an (JS)extraordinary
spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the (JT)entire
kingdom.
4Then the commissioners and satraps began (JU)trying to find a ground of
accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find
(JV)no ground of accusation or
evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or
corruption was to be found in him.
5Then these men said, "We will not find any
ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with
regard to the (JW)law of his God."
6Then these
commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as
follows: "King Darius, (JX)live
forever!
7"All the (JY)commissioners
of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the
governors have (JZ)consulted
together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction
that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for
thirty days, shall (KA)be
cast into the lions' den.
8"Now, O
king, (KB)establish
the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according
to the (KC)law
of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked."
9Therefore King Darius
(KD)signed
the document, that is, the injunction.
10Now when Daniel knew that the
document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had
windows open (KE)toward Jerusalem); and he
continued (KF)kneeling on his knees three
times a day, (KG)praying and (KH)giving thanks before his God,
as he had been doing previously.
11Then these men
came (KI)by
agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God.
12Then they
approached and (KJ)spoke
before the king about the king's injunction, "Did you not sign an
injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O
king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions' den?" The king
replied, "The statement is true, according to the (KK)law
of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked."
13Then they
answered and spoke before the king, "(KL)Daniel, who is one of the exiles
from Judah, pays (KM)no attention to you, O king, or
to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a
day."
…
16Then the king gave orders, and
Daniel was brought in and (KP)cast
into the lions' den The king spoke and said to Daniel, "(KQ)Your God whom you constantly
serve will Himself deliver you."
…
Daniel 10
Daniel Is Terrified by a Vision
12Then [Gabriel, the angel] he
said to me, "(RW)Do
not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on
understanding this and on (RX)humbling
yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response (RY)to
your words.
Proverbs 4:23
23Watch over your heart with all
diligence,
For (A)from
it flow the springs of life.
The child is the man's father
Luke 6:45
45"The good man out of the
good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of
the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that
which fills his heart.
Luke 8:15
15"But the seed in the good
soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and
good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance
Deuteronomy 8:3
3"He humbled you and let you
be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers
know, that He might make you understand that (A)man
does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD.
Luke 22:19
19And when He had taken some bread
and (A)given
thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is
given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
John 6:35
35Jesus said to them, "(A)I
am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes
in Me (B)will
never thirst.
Matthew 5:8
8"Blessed are (B)the
pure in heart, for (C)they
shall see God.
Romans 12:1-2
1Therefore (A)I
urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to (B)present
your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual service of worship.
2And do not (C)be
conformed to (D)this
world, but be transformed
by the (E)renewing of your mind,
so that you may (F)prove
what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Colossians 3:1-3
1Therefore if you have been (A)raised
up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, (B)seated
at the right hand of God.
2(C)Set
your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3For you have (D)died
and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
What are you eating?
That's you friends!
Totally unfair! Right?
Probably not very
sincere...
What burned up in the
fire?
Yeah, right!
i've
become so numb
i can't feel you there
become so tired
so much more aware
i'm becoming this
all i want to do
is be more like me
and be less like you
Linkin Park: Numb