Books

Ezekiel 4

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

Switch Version:

¹ But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

² Please, test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the young men who eat the king's finest food be observed and compared by you, and deal with your servants in accordance with what you see.

³ So the man listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

⁴ At the end of ten days it seemed that they were looking better and[7] healthier than all the young men who ate the king's finest food.

⁵ So the overseer continued to withhold their fine food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.

⁶ As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all kinds of literature and wisdom; Daniel also understood all kinds of visions and dreams.

⁷ At the end of the time set by the king to bring all the young men in [before him], the commander of the officials presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.

⁸ The king spoke with them, and among them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were [selected and] assigned to stand before the king and enter his personal service.

⁹ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the [learned] magicians and enchanters (Magi) in his whole realm.

¹⁰ And Daniel remained there until the[8] first year of [the reign of] King Cyrus [over Babylon; now this was at the end of the seventy-year exile of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) in Babylonia, as foretold by Jeremiah].

¹¹ In the second year (604 b.c.) of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams which troubled and disturbed his spirit and [interfered with] his ability to sleep.

¹² Then the king gave a command to call the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the[1] Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

¹³ The king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled and anxious to know the [content and meaning of the] dream."

¹⁴ Then the Chaldeans said to the king in[2] Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation."

¹⁵ The king replied to the Chaldeans, "My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish.

¹⁶ But if you tell [me] the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.

¹⁷ They answered again, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will explain its interpretation [to you]."

#	AMP
1	But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
2	Please, test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the young men who eat the king's finest food be observed and compared by you, and deal with your servants in accordance with what you see.
3	So the man listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.
4	At the end of ten days it seemed that they were looking better and[7] healthier than all the young men who ate the king's finest food.
5	So the overseer continued to withhold their fine food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.
6	As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all kinds of literature and wisdom; Daniel also understood all kinds of visions and dreams.
7	At the end of the time set by the king to bring all the young men in [before him], the commander of the officials presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
8	The king spoke with them, and among them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were [selected and] assigned to stand before the king and enter his personal service.
9	In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the [learned] magicians and enchanters (Magi) in his whole realm.
10	And Daniel remained there until the[8] first year of [the reign of] King Cyrus [over Babylon; now this was at the end of the seventy-year exile of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) in Babylonia, as foretold by Jeremiah].
11	In the second year (604 b.c.) of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams which troubled and disturbed his spirit and [interfered with] his ability to sleep.
12	Then the king gave a command to call the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the[1] Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
13	The king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled and anxious to know the [content and meaning of the] dream."
14	Then the Chaldeans said to the king in[2] Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation."
15	The king replied to the Chaldeans, "My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish.
16	But if you tell [me] the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.
17	They answered again, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will explain its interpretation [to you]."

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Holy Bible

Ezekiel 4

Select Commentary