The Book of Daniel

Lord...

I have waited for you to

lead us out of Babylon,

for I was just a boy

when I came here.

The generation which

offended you has passed away,

and now their children's

children yearn to see a home...

they have never known.

You have spoken through

your prophet, Jeremiah,

"When 70 years are

completed for Babylon,

"I will come to you

and fulfill my gracious promise...

and bring you back

to this land."

My heart

grows with excitement...

that now

that time has come.

An old man who comes

unbidden is often a fool.

And less often

come as assassins.

Perhaps a foolish assassin.

Forgive us, my king.

Do you know

whom you address?

He is the king of Babylon,

ruler of the four

quarters of the earth,

Kurus, in the old Persian tongue.

He has seized

by might-of-arms...

the birthright which would

otherwise have been denied him.

He is Cyrus the Great.

Leave us.

Who are you, old man?

I am Daniel

of the tribe of Benjamin,

made captive nearly 70 years ago

by Nebuchadnezzar.

My king,

I have heard of this man.

He served Darius well after he

captured the city in your name.

It is said he spent

a night in the lions' den.

The beasts

would not touch him.

Is this true?

It is.

I know who you are now.

Tell me why you're here.

I seek

to tell you a story,

a tale of four kings:

one great, one foolish,

one who has been deceived,

and one who is destined

to be regarded as wise...

through all the ages

of the world to come.

Stories from

your imagination?

No, king, for I will

speak only the truth,

and if you would

not wish to hear it,

you must bid me

speak nothing.

Come.

You will give us

entertainment while we eat.

Please.

My king, we're expected

in Babylon this evening.

The palace will be there

in the morning.

As you wish.

I cannot, oh king.

My king, the Hebrews eat

and drink only their own food...

which is prepared

according to their rituals.

To do otherwise, even

from the hand of the king,

is to defile themselves.

You promised me

a tale, four, in fact.

I delayed my journey

to listen.

I will hear them now.

So be it, my lord.

The first king I will speak of

is Nebuchadnezzar,

King of Babylon.

When I was just a boy,

he threw down

the Assyrian empire,

my people's ancient nemesis,

but the destruction of Israel's

enemies brought us no relief...

because in the 3rd year

of Nebuchadnezzar's reign,

he turned his gaze upon

Jerusalem and besieged it,

and the Lord delivered

the king of Judea into his hand...

along with all of his officers,

nobles, and administrators.

When the exiles

arrived in Babylon,

Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz,

his chief eunuch,

to select some

of the Israelites...

from the royal family

and nobility,

young men without

any physical defect...

and showing aptitude

for every kind of learning,

one of whom was myself.

O Lord...

Jerusalem has sinned greatly.

Like a widow is she.

Once great

among the nations,

a queen among the people,

has become a slave...

and her children

captive before the foe.

My eyes overflow with tears,

for you, Lord,

are righteous,

yet we rebelled

against your command.

Comfort me, O Lord.

Comfort me and my brothers,

and restore our spirit.

I miss Jerusalem.

As do I.

I feel that we shall

never see her again.

Have faith, my brothers.

I have only begun my studies,

but here...

the prophet, Jeremiah,

son of Hilkiah,

has written that we shall

serve the king of Babylon...

for 70 years...

Seventy years

is a long time.

As punishment for our sins.

And even if

we were to survive it,

we would be very old.

Very old, indeed.

You are

summoned for your meal.

Why would they

only take 10,000 of us...

and leave the rest

of our people behind?

Yes, look at

who they've taken.

The scholars, the princes,

our military leaders,

and our families.

It's the

Babylonian way of conquest.

You take away the leaders,

and the rest

can easily be governed.

They've changed our

names, hoping we'll forget our God;

and our clothes

so we'll look like them.

They've changed

everything about us.

We need to make

each other a promise,

never to become like them.

My brothers,

such a promise is worthless,

for we are but men.

What we need to promise

is to always love our God...

and be obedient to him,

and in so doing, what we become

on the outside will not matter.

Set it here.

Set it here.

Lord Steward,

please allow me to ask.

What is this meat?

Where is it from,

and how was it slaughtered?

The cattle

are from the king's herd.

They are fattened

along the river...

and strangled before

the altars of Marduk...

before their flesh

is carried to the kitchens.

The swine are

from the king's pens.

They are fed on choice food,

and it is rumored the king's

executioner laces their feet...

with the entrails

of his victims,

so that the king's chosen

may feast and grow strong...

on the flesh of his enemies.

It is considered

the greatest of delicacies.

To some perhaps,

but not to us.

We are forbidden to eat it,

for the Almighty

has commanded us,

"The pig is unclean.

You are not to eat their meat

or touch their carcasses."

Nor can we eat anything

sacrificed to gods...

other than our own.

But the king cannot... he will not

change the customs of his hall...

to fit your wishes.

You must know this.

And we will not

ask him to.

But you must eat.

I have been charged

with your well-being.

If you are seen

to be wasting away,

I'm afraid of what my lord,

the king, will do.

He will have my head.

And we would

not wish it so.

Therefore,

put your servants to the test.

For 10 days give us nothing

but vegetables to eat...

and water to drink.

Then compare our appearance...

to that of the other young men

who eat the royal food.

- Ten days?

- Ten days.

And if after that your

appearance is found wanting?

Then we will

do as you wish.

Your request was polite.

I'm rather surprised

it was honored.

I have no doubt the Lord

favorably disposed his heart...

to hear our request.

By the end of 10 days,

my companions and I looked

healthier and better-nourished...

than the young men

who ate the royal food,

and so the chief eunuch

allowed us to continue...

refusing the wine

and choice fare,

and we remained un-defiled.

The period of our instruction

went by quickly.

During those many years we

were living in a foreign land,

speaking a foreign language,

and living under

a foreign king.

Despite this,

our hearts belonged only to God,

and at the end of that time

my companions and I...

were presented before

Nebuchadnezzar himself.

were presented before

Nebuchadnezzar himself.

The king's executioner,

Arioch, will be in the chamber.

If you are found unworthy,

you will be

executed on the spot,

and so will I.

Lord, king, I present you

the princes of Judah,

preserved by the

right hand of your mercy...

and tutored by the

left hand of your wisdom.

They are come before you now for

judgment as to their training.

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