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THE BIBLE - DOUAY-RHEIMS - BOOK 32
THE BIBLE - DOUAY-RHEIMS - BOOK 32 TITLE THE HOLY BIBLE
Translated from the Latin Vulgate
Diligently Compared with the Hebrew Greek
and Other Editions in Divers Languages
THE OLD TESTAMENT
First Published by the English College at Douay
A.D. 1609 & 1610
and
THE NEW TESTAMENT
First Published by the English College at Rheims
A.D. 1582
With Annotations
The Whole Revised and Diligently Compared with
the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner
A.D. 1749-1752
THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL
DANIEL whose name signifies THE JUDGMENT OF GOD was of the royal blood
of the kings of Juda: and one of those that were first of all carried
away into captivity. He was so renowned for wisdom and knowledge that
it became a proverb among the Babylonians AS WISE AS DANIEL (Ezech.
28.3). And his holiness was so great from his very childhood that at
the time when he was as yet but a young man he is joined by the SPIRIT
of GOD with NOE and JOB as three persons most eminent for virtue and
sanctity Ezech. 14. He is not commonly numbered by the Hebrews among
THE PROPHETS: because he lived at court and in high station in the
world: but if we consider his many clear predictions of things to come
we shall find that no one better deserves the name and title of A
PROPHET: which also has been given him by the SON of GOD himself Matt.
24 Mark 13. Luke 21.
Daniel Chapter 1
Daniel and his companions are taken into the palace of the king of
Babylon: they abstain from his meat and wine and succeed better with
pulse and water. Their excellence and wisdom.
1:1. In the third year of the reign of Joakim king of Juda
Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and beseiged it.
1:2. And the Lord delivered into his hands Joakim the king of Juda and
part of the vessels of the house of God: and he carried them away into
the land of Sennaar to the house of his god and the vessels he brought
into the treasure house of his god.
His god... Bel or Belus the principal idol of the Chaldeans.
1:3. And the king spoke to Asphenez the master of the eunuchs that he
should bring in some of the children of Israel and of the king's seed
and of the princes
1:4. Children in whom there was no blemish well favoured and skilful
in all wisdom acute in knowledge and instructed in science and such
as might stand in the king's palace that he might teach them the
learning and tongue of the Chaldeans.
1:5. And the king appointed them a daily provision of his own meat and
of the wine of which he drank himself that being nourished three years
afterwards they might stand before the king.
1:6. Now there was among them of the children of Juda Daniel Ananias
Misael and Azarias.
1:7. And the master of the eunuchs gave them names: to Daniel
Baltassar: to Ananias Sidrach: to Misael Misach: and to Azarias
Abdenago.
1:8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not be defiled with
the king's table nor with the wine which he drank: and he requested the
master of the eunuchs that he might not be defiled.
Be defiled etc... Viz. either by eating meat forbidden by the law or
which had before been offered to idols.
1:9. And God gave to Daniel grace and mercy in the sight of the prince
of the eunuchs.
1:10. And the prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel: I fear my lord the
king who hath appointed you meat and drink: who if he should see your
faces leaner than those of the other youths your equals you shall
endanger my head to the king.
1:11. And Daniel said to Malasar whom the prince of the eunuchs had
appointed over Daniel Ananias Misael and Azarias:
1:12. Try I beseech thee thy servants for ten days and let pulse be
given us to eat and water to drink:
Pulse... That is pease beans and such like.
1:13. And look upon our faces and the faces of the children that eat of
the king's meat: and as thou shalt see deal with thy servants.
1:14. And when he had heard these words he tried them for ten days.
1:15. And after ten days their faces appeared fairer and fatter than
all the children that ate of the king's meat.
1:16. So Malasar took their portions and the wine that they should
drink: and he gave them pulse.
1:17. And to these children God gave knowledge and understanding in
every book and wisdom: but to Daniel the understanding also of all
visions and dreams.
1:18. And when the days were ended after which the king had ordered
they should be brought in: the prince of the eunuchs brought them in
before Nabuchodonosor.
1:19. And when the king had spoken to them there were not found among
them all such as Daniel Ananias Misael and Azarias: and they stood in
the king's presence.
1:20. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king
enquired of them he found them ten times better than all the diviners
and wise men that were in all his kingdom.
1:21. And Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.
Daniel Chapter 2
Daniel by divine revelation declares the dream of Nabuchodonosor and
the interpretation of it. He is highly honoured by the king.
2:1. In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor Nabuchodonosor
had a dream and his spirit was terrified and his dream went out of his
mind.
The second year... Viz. from the death of his father Nabopolassar; for
he had reigned before as partner with his father in the empire.
2:2. Then the king commanded to call together the diviners and the wise
men and the magicians and the Chaldeans: to declare to the king his
dreams: so they came and stood before the king.
The Chaldeeans... That is the astrologers that pretended to divine by
stars.
2:3. And the king said to them: I saw a dream: and being troubled in
mind I know not what I saw.
2:4. And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac: O king live for
ever: tell to thy servants thy dream and we will declare the
interpretation thereof.
2:5. And the king answering said to the Chaldeans: The thing is gone
out of my mind: unless you tell me the dream and the meaning thereof
you shall be put to death and your houses shall be confiscated.
2:6. but if you tell the dream and the meaning of it you shall receive
of me rewards and gifts and great honour: therefore tell me the
dream and the interpretation thereof.
2:7. They answered again and said: Let the king tell his servants the
dream and we will declare the interpretation of it.
2:8. The king answered and said: I know for certain that you seek to
gain time since you know that the thing is gone from me.
2:9. If therefore you tell me not the dream there is one sentence
concerning you that you have also framed a lying interpretation and
full of deceit to speak before me till the time pass away. Tell me
therefore the dream that I may know that you also give a true
interpretation thereof.
2:10. Then the Chaldeans answered before the king and said: There is no
man upon earth that can accomplish thy word O king; neither doth any
king though great and mighty ask such a thing of any diviner or wise
man or Chaldean.
2:11. For the thing that thou asketh O king is difficult: nor can any
one be found that can shew it before the king except the gods whose
conversation is not with men.
2:12. Upon hearing this the king in fury and in great wrath commanded
that all the wise men of Babylon should be put to death.
2:13. And the decree being gone forth the wise men were slain: and
Daniel and his companions were sought for to be put to death.
2:14. Then Daniel inquired concerning the law and the sentence of
Arioch the general of the king's army who was gone forth to kill the
wise men of Babylon.
2:15. And he asked him that had received the orders of the king why so
cruel a sentence was gone forth from the face of the king. And when
Arioch had told the matter to Daniel
2:16. Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him
time to resolve the question and declare it to the king.
2:17. And he went into his house and told the matter to Ananias and
Misael and Azarias his companions:
2:18. To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the God of
heaven concerning this secret and that Daniel and his companions might
not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
2:19. Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night:
and Daniel blessed the God of heaven
2:20. And speaking he said: Blessed be the name of the Lord from
eternity and for evermore: for wisdom and fortitude are his.
2:21. And he changeth times and ages: taketh away kingdoms and
establisheth them: giveth wisdom to the wise and knowledge to them that
have understanding:
2:22. He revealeth deep and hidden things and knoweth what is in
darkness: and light is with him.
2:23. To thee O God of our fathers I give thanks and I praise thee:
because thou hast given me wisdom and strength: and now thou hast shewn
me what we desired of thee for thou hast made known to us the king's
discourse.
2:24. After this Daniel went in to Arioch to whom the king had given
orders to destroy the wise men of Babylon and he spoke thus to him:
Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king and I
will tell the solution to the king.
2:25. Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel to the king and said to
him: I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Juda that
will resolve the question to the king.
2:26. The king answered and said to Daniel whose name was Baltassar:
Thinkest thou indeed that thou canst tell me the dream that I saw and
the interpretation thereof?
2:27. And Daniel made answer before the king and said: The secret that
the king desireth to know none of the wise men or the philosophers or
the diviners or the soothsayers can declare to the king.
2:28. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth mysteries who hath
shewn to thee O king Nabuchodonosor what is to come to pass in the
latter times. Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are
these:
2:29. Thou O king didst begin to think in thy bed what should come to
pass hereafter: and he that revealeth mysteries shewed thee what shall
come to pass.
2:30. To me also this secret is revealed not by any wisdom that I have
more than all men alive: but that the interpretation might be made
manifest to the king and thou mightest know the thought of thy mind.
2:31. Thou O king sawest and behold there was as it were a great
statue: this statue which was great and high tall of stature stood
before thee and the look thereof was terrible.
2:32. The head of this statue was of fine gold but the breast and the
arms of silver and the belly and the thighs of brass.
2:33. And the legs of iron the feet part of iron and part of clay.
2:34. Thus thou sawest till a stone was cut out of a mountain without
hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron
and clay and broke them in pieces.
2:35. Then was the iron the clay the brass the silver and the gold
broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of a summer's
threshing floor and they were carried away by the wind: and there was
no place found for them: but the stone that struck the statue became a
great mountain and filled the whole earth.
2:36. This is the dream: we will also tell the interpretation thereof
before thee O king.
2:37. Thou art a king of kings: and the God of heaven hath given thee a
kingdom and strength and power and glory:
2:38. And all places wherein the children of men and the beasts of the
field do dwell: he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand
and hath put all things under thy power: thou therefore art the head
of gold.
2:39. And after thee shall rise up another kingdom inferior to thee of
silver: and another third kingdom of brass which shall rule over all
the world.
Another kingdom... Viz. that of the Medes and Persians. Ibid. Third
kingdom... Viz. that of Alexander the Great.
2:40. And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron breaketh into
pieces and subdueth all things so shall that break and destroy all
these.
The fourth kingdom etc... Some understand this of the successors of
Alexander the kings of Syria and Egypt others of the Roman empire and
its civil wars.
2:41. And whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes part of potter's
clay and part of iron: the kingdom shall be divided but yet it shall
take its origin from the iron according as thou sawest the iron mixed
with the miry clay.
2:42. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay:
the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken.
2:43. And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay they shall
be mingled indeed together with the seed of man but they shall not
stick fast one to another as iron cannot be mixed with clay.
2:44. But in the days of those kingdoms the God of heaven will set up a
kingdom that shall never by destroyed and his kingdom shall not be
delivered up to another people: and it shall break in pieces and shall
consume all these kingdoms: and itself shall stand for ever.
A kingdom... Viz. the kingdom of Christ in the Catholic Church which
cannot be destroyed.
2:45. According as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the
mountain without hands and broke in pieces the clay and the iron and
the brass and the silver and the gold the great God hath shewn the
king what shall come to pass hereafter and the dream is true and the
interpretation thereof is faithful.
2:46. Then king Nabuchodonosor fell on his face and worshipped Daniel
and commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and
incense.
2:47. And the king spoke to Daniel and said: Verily your God is the
God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of hidden things: seeing
thou couldst discover this secret.
2:48. Then the king advanced Daniel to a high station and gave him many
and great gifts: and he made him governor over all the provinces of
Babylon: and chief of the magistrates over all the wise men of Babylon.
2:49. And Daniel requested of the king and he appointed Sidrach
Misach and Abdenago over the works of the province of Babylon: but
Daniel himself was in the king's palace.
Daniel Chapter 3
Nabuchodonosor set up a golden statue; which he commands all to adore:
the three children for refusing to do it are cast into the fiery
furnace; but are not hurt by the flames. Their prayer and canticle of
praise.
3:1. King Nabuchodonosor made a statue of gold of sixty cubits high
and six cubits broad and he set it up in the plain of Dura of the
province of Babylon.
3:2. Then Nabuchodonosor the king sent to call together the nobles
the magistrates and the judges the captains the rulers and
governors and all the chief men of the provinces to come to the
dedication of the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.
3:3. Then the nobles the magistrates and the judges the captains and
rulers and the great men that were placed in authority and all the
princes of the provinces were gathered together to come to the
dedication of the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up. And they
stood before the statue which king Nabuchodonosor had set up.
3:4. Then a herald cried with a strong voice: To you it is commanded O
nations tribes and languages:
3:5. That in the hour that you shall hear the sound of the trumpet and
of the flute and of the harp of the sackbut and of the psaltery and
of the symphony and of all kind of music ye fall down and adore the
golden statue which king Nabuchodonosor hath set up.
3:6. But if any man shall not fall down and adore he shall the same
hour be cast into a furnace of burning fire.
3:7. Upon this therefore at the time when all the people heard the
sound of the trumpet the flute and the harp of the sackbut and the
psaltery of the symphony and of all kind of music all the nations
tribes and languages fell down and adored the golden statue which king
Nabuchodonosor had set up.
3:8. And presently at that very time some Chaldeans came and accused the
Jews
3:9. And said to king Nabuchodonosor: O king live for ever:
3:10. Thou O king hast made a decree that every man that shall hear
the sound of the trumpet the flute and the harp of the sackbut and
the psaltery of the symphony and of all kind of music shall prostrate
himself and adore the golden statue:
3:11. And that if any man shall not fall down and adore he should be
cast into a furnace of burning fire.
3:12. Now there are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the works of
the province of Babylon Sidrach Misach and Abdenago: these men O
king have slighted thy decree: they worship not thy gods nor do they
adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.
3:13. Then Nabuchodonosor in fury and in wrath commanded that Sidrach
Misach ad Abdenago should be brought: who immediately were brought
before the king.
3:14. And Nabuchodonosor the king spoke to them and said: Is it true
O Sidrach Misach and Abdenago that you do not worship my gods nor
adore the golden statue that I have set up?
3:15. Now therefore if you be ready at what hour soever you shall
hear the sound of the trumpet flute harp sackbut and psaltery and
symphony and of all kind of music prostrate yourselves and adore the
statue which I have made: but if you do not adore you shall be cast the
same hour into the furnace of burning fire: and who is the God that
shall deliver you out of my hand?
3:16. Sidrach Misach and Abdenago answered and said to king
Nabuchodonosor: We have no occasion to answer thee concerning this
matter.
3:17. For behold our God whom we worship is able to save us from the
furnace of burning fire and to deliver us out of thy hands O king.
3:18. But if he will not be it known to thee O king that we will not
worship thy gods nor adore the golden statue which thou hast set up.
3:19. Then was Nabuchodonosor filled with fury: and the countenance of
his face was changed against Sidrach Misach and Abdenago and he
commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times more than it had
been accustomed to be heated.
3:20. And he commanded the strongest men that were in his army to bind
the feet of Sidrach Misach and Abdenago and to cast them into the
furnace of burning fire.
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