¹ In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream; he told the sum of the matters.

² Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heavens broke forth upon the great sea.

³ And four great beasts came up from the sea, different one from another.

⁴ The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till its wings were plucked; and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

⁵ And behold, another beast, a second, like unto a bear, and it raised up itself on one side; and [it had] three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and they said thus unto it: Arise, devour much flesh.

⁶ After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird upon its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it.

⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceeding strong; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

⁸ I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another, a little horn, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

⁹ I beheld till thrones were set, and the Ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was flames of fire, [and] its wheels burning fire.

¹⁰ A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

¹¹ I beheld therefore, because of the voice of the great words that the horn spoke; I beheld till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given up to be burned with fire.

¹² As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away; but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

¹³ I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven [one] like a son of man, and he came up even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

¹⁴ And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

¹⁵ As for me Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

¹⁶ I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the certainty of all this. And he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things:

¹⁷ These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, [that] shall arise out of the earth.

¹⁸ But the saints of the most high [places] shall receive the kingdom, and they shall possess the kingdom for ever, even to the ages of ages.

¹⁹ Then I desired to know the certainty concerning the fourth beast, which was different from them all, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet;

²⁰ and concerning the ten horns that were in its head, and the other that came up, and before which three fell: even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and whose look was more imposing than its fellows.

²¹ I beheld, and that horn made war with the saints, and prevailed over them;

²² until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most high [places]; and the appointed time arrived, and the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ He said thus: The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

²⁴ And as to the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall arise ten kings; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be different from the former, and he shall subdue three kings.

²⁵ And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High [places], and think to change seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a half time.

²⁶ And the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

²⁷ But the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high [places]. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

²⁸ So far is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.

¹ It happened on one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Good News, that the priests and scribes came to him with the elders.

² They asked him, "Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?"

³ He answered them, "I also will ask you one question. Tell me:

⁴ the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?"

⁵ They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why didn't you believe him?'

⁶ But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."

⁷ They answered that they didn't know where it was from.

⁸ Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

⁹ He began to tell the people this parable. "A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.

¹⁰ At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.

¹¹ He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.

¹² He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out.

¹³ The lord of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.'

¹⁴ "But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'

¹⁵ They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?

¹⁶ He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others." When they heard it, they said, "May it never be!"

¹⁷ But he looked at them, and said, "Then what is this that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the chief cornerstone?'

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust."

¹⁹ The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people--for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.

²⁰ They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.

²¹ They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God.

²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

²³ But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test me?

²⁴ Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?" They answered, "Caesar's."

²⁵ He said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

²⁶ They weren't able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer, and were silent.

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees came to him, those who deny that there is a resurrection.

²⁸ They asked him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.

²⁹ There were therefore seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless.

³⁰ The second took her as wife, and he died childless.

³¹ The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died.

³² Afterward the woman also died.

³³ Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as a wife."

³⁴ Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry, and are given in marriage.

³⁵ But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage.

³⁶ For they can't die any more, for they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.

³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord 'The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'

³⁸ Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him."

³⁹ Some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you speak well."

⁴⁰ They didn't dare to ask him any more questions.

⁴¹ He said to them, "Why do they say that the Christ is David's son?

⁴² David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,

⁴³ until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."'

⁴⁴ "David therefore calls him Lord, so how is he his son?"

⁴⁵ In the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples,

⁴⁶ "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts;

⁴⁷ who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive greater condemnation."