- In his 3rd year as king, Jehoiakim is abducted & taken to Babylon with children of Israel. NkB calls for cunning and well-favored counsellors from the Judaean exiles. Daniel & 3 others are chosen. Daniel refuses meat & wine, saying vegetables are better. They please NkB. #Dan1
- NkB has a troubling dream & calls on sorcerers & magicians to recall & explain it or die. They hesitate. NkB orders them to be slain. Daniel conjures the dream (an idol with metal bands hit by a rock) & its meaning. NkB worships Daniel & rewards Hananiah, Mishael & Azariah. #Dan2
- NkB builds an image of gold 90’ high & 9’ wide & orders his people to worship it else they be cast into the furnace. Shadrach, Mesach & Abednego refuse to serve other gods. In a fury, NkB throws them in the fire, but repents when they emerge after seeing the Son of God. #Dan3
- NkB dreams of a large tree whose branches nourish the forest. A watchman commands that it be cut down to the stump & is sent into the forest for 7 years. Daniel (Belteshazzar) interprets the tree as NkB, who must eat grass as oxen until he knows God & is restored. #Dan4
- NkB’s son King Belshazzar hosts a banquet using holy vessels from the temple in Jerusalem. A man’s hand writes on the wall. The king, terrified, questions his wise men. Daniel explains Mene, Tekel, Upharsin: You have been measured & found wanting. The king dies that day. #Dan5
- Daniel is an upright head administrator in King Darius’s Babylon. Jealous satraps conspire to have Darius sign a law forbidding petitions not to the king. Daniel prays, breaks the law, is thrown in a lion’s den but leaves unhurt. The conspirators’ families are fed to lions. #Dan6
- During Belshazzar’s reign, Daniel has a vision of 4 beasts: a lion with eagle’s wings, a bear, a leopard & a fearsome beast with 10 horns. The son of man came from the heavens telling Daniel that the beasts are kingdoms, & the 4th beast is the coming kingdom of the saints. #Dan7
- Daniel has a further vision of a 2-horned ram being mauled by a he-goat. A horn emerges from the goat that reaches to heaven. A man explains: The ram is Medes & Persia, the goat is Greece, and a fierce king will arise that will destroy the holy people. #Dan8
- In the 1st year of Darius’s rule, Daniel, reflecting on 70 years of exile in Babylon, confesses Israel’s sins to God in earnest prayer, sackcloth & ashes. Just as it is written in the laws of Moses. Seventy years are decreed for an abomination of desolation. Exegesis here. #Dan9
- In the 3rd year of Cyrus, I, Daniel, after 24 days of fasting had a vision of the angel Gabriel. He summoned Michael to help Persia in the days before Greece rises. Do you know why I have come to you? I have been delegated to tell you what is written in the book of truth. #Dan10
- A prophecy during the reign of Darius is framed as a war between the kings of the north & south. The latter king has a strong daughter. The temple is desecrated in the abomination that causes desolation. A mighty king will arise to fight Edom & Moab, & sack Egypt & Libya. #Dan11
- Prince Michael shall come in the end times. There shall be a time of trouble. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake and shine as stars in the firmament. Two men clothed in linen by a river asked, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? #Dan12
- (NCB, JB) In Babylon, 2 city elders lust after Susanna & confront her when she is alone. She refuses them sex, so the elders claim they caught her with another man who escaped. She faces death, but Daniel asks the accusers which tree they lay under, & their lie is exposed. #Dan13
- (NCB, JB) Daniel tells the Chaldeans that he only worships the living god. They say, Our gods live and consume 40 sheep & 60 vessels of wine every day. Daniel challenges them, scatters dust, and follows footprints to a secret passageway where the offerings are taken. #Dan14a
- (NCB, JB) The Babylonians worshipped a great dragon, but Daniel would not, so was thrown into a lion’s den for 6 days. The prophet Habakkuk gets Daniel some food. On the 7th day, Daniel emerges, the king worships the God of Daniel, & Daniel’s enemies are fed to the lions. #Dan14b
