The Book of Daniel
- G
- Year:
- 2013
- 90 min
- 619 Views
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,
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
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.
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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"The Book of Daniel" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Oct. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/the_book_of_daniel_19817>.
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