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to be taken concerning those who turn to Christ, being dead before they believed, but after believing, being made alive.

A synopsis of the things spoken by the prophet Daniel. Those around Daniel are chosen,

and are handed over to the chief eunuch, and they eat seeds; and having stood before the king, they were shown to be wiser than all. Nebuchadnezzar sees the dream, and the magi being unable to know and interpret it he orders to be slain. But God saved Daniel and his companions when they were in danger, by revealing to Daniel himself the knowledge of the dream. Daniel, having been brought in, tells the dream to the king and its interpretation. And the stone cut without hands is Christ; and the "without hands" means his being born from the Virgin without intercourse. Nebuchadnezzar, having set up the image, orders everyone to worship, and throws the three young men who did not worship into the furnace. And as those around the furnace were slain, and the young men were hymning God, having called them and seen them safe, he was astonished at God, and he honored them with rule over the Jews, and he set forth a decree, that one who blasphemes God should perish. Nebuchadnezzar sees a dream; and when the wise men of Babylon were again perplexed, Daniel interprets it, and advises the king to redeem his iniquities with alms. And not long after, the dream came to pass; and Nebuchadnezzar praised God. When the priestly vessels were brought out by order of the king, son of Nebuchadnezzar, and those feasting were drinking from them, the knuckles of a hand came forth, and wrote an inscription on the wall, which, when the wise men of Baby 56.383 lon were unable to recognize it, Daniel recognized and interpreted, and he was clothed in purple, and they placed a golden chain around him, and they proclaimed him to be the third ruler in the kingdom. When Darius the Mede was king, and had appointed Daniel as a ruler, he is compelled by the commanders and satraps to ratify a decree, that whoever should ask a petition of man or god, except from the king, within thirty days, should be cast into the lions' den. And when this was done, having observed Daniel praying to God, they accuse him, and they compel the king to cast him into the den. And having cast him in, and having approached and found him safe, he brought him up from the den, but he destroyed those who had cast him in, along with their wives, by delivering them to the lions. And he set forth a decree, that all should fear God. He sees the vision of the beasts: through the lioness, the kingdom of the Assyrians; through the bear, that of the Medes and Persians; through the leopard, that of the Macedonians; and through the fourth beast, that of the Romans. And he prophesies also concerning Christ, and concerning Antiochus the impious. For this one is the little horn, which cast down three of the former ones. He prophesies how Alexander the Macedonian destroyed the kingdom of the Persians, calling the ram the king of the Persians, and the goat Alexander the Macedonian. And the last vision here, concerning the queen of the south, he says is to be found in the book of the Maccabees. He pulls down Bel, and slays the dragon; he is cast into the den and is saved, and those responsible for his being cast in are cast in and are consumed by the lions. Hosea. He is commanded to take a wife of harlotry, and to name the children who are born Jezreel, Not Pitied, and Not my people. And he accuses the people of fornication; and foretells destruction for it, and certain things after the destruction. And the phrase, "I will make a covenant with the beasts of the field," "and I will betroth you in faith," can be taken as referring to those who believe in Christ. He is commanded to take an adulterous woman, signifying the desolation of the Jews, and he accuses them of many and great sins, both the people and the priests. And he denounces them both for drunkenness, and for adultery, and for

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ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐπιστρέφοντας ἐπὶ τὸν Χριστὸν λαμβάνεσθαι, νεκροὺς ὄντας πρὶν ἢ πιστεῦσαι, μετὰ δὲ τὸ πιστεῦσαι ζωοποιουμένους.

Σύνοψις τῶν τῷ προφήτῃ ∆ανιὴλ εἰρημένων. Ἐκλέγονται οἱ περὶ τὸν

∆ανιὴλ, καὶ παραδίδονται τῷ ἀρχιευνούχῳ, καὶ σιτοῦνται σπέρματα· καὶ παραστάντες τῷ βασιλεῖ, πάντων ἀνεδείχθησαν σοφώτεροι. Ὁρᾷ τὸ ἐνύπνιον Ναβουχοδονόσορ, καὶ τοὺς μάγους ἀπορήσαντας γνωρίσαι καὶ ἐπιλῦσαι αὐτὸ κελεύει σφαγῆναι. Κινδυνεύσαντας δὲ καὶ τοὺς περὶ ∆ανιὴλ ἔσωσεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἀποκαλύψας αὐτῷ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ τὴν εἴδησιν τοῦ ἐνυπνίου. Ὁ ∆ανιὴλ εἰσαχθεὶς λέγει τὸ ἐνύπνιον τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ τὴν σύγκρισιν αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ λίθος ὁ τμηθεὶς ἄνευ χειρῶν ὁ Χριστός ἐστι· τὸ δὲ ἄνευ χειρῶν, τὸ χωρὶς συνουσίας ἐκ τῆς Παρθένου αὐτὸν τεχθῆναι. Στήσας τὴν εἰκόνα Ναβουχοδονόσορ, κελεύει προσκυνεῖν πάντας, καὶ τοὺς τρεῖς παῖδας εἰς τὴν κάμινον ἐμβάλλει μὴ προσκυνήσαντας. Ὡς δὲ οἱ περὶ τὴν κάμινον ἀνῃρέθησαν, καὶ ὕμνουν οἱ παῖδες τὸν Θεὸν, καλέσας αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἰδὼν σώους, τόν τε Θεὸν ἐξεπλάγη, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀρχῇ τῇ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐτίμησε, καὶ δόγμα ἔθηκε, τὸν βλασφημοῦντα εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἀπόλλυσθαι. Ὁρᾷ ἐνύπνιον Ναβουχοδονόσορ· καὶ τῶν σοφῶν Βαβυλῶνος πάλιν διαπορησάντων, ἐπιλύει αὐτὸ ὁ ∆ανιὴλ, συμβουλεύει τε τῷ βασιλεῖ, τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐλεημοσύναις λυτρώσασθαι. Καὶ οὐ μετ' οὐ πολὺν χρόνον ἐξέβη τὸ ἐνύπνιον· καὶ ᾔνεσε τὸν Θεὸν ὁ Ναβουχοδονόσορ. Τῶν σκευῶν τῶν ἱερατικῶν ἐξενεχθέντων κατὰ πρόσταξιν τοῦ βασιλέως υἱοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ, καὶ τῶν ἑστιωμένων εἰς αὐτὰ πινόντων, ἐξῆλθεν ἀστράγαλος χειρὸς, καὶ ἔγραψεν ἐν τῷ τοίχῳ γραφὴν, ἣν καὶ αὐτὴν τῶν σοφῶν Βαβυ 56.383 λῶνος ἀπορούντων ἐπιγνῶναι, ὁ ∆ανιὴλ ἐπέγνω, καὶ ἐπέλυσε, καὶ ἐνεδύθη πορφύραν, καὶ περιέθηκαν αὐτῷ μανιάκην χρυσοῦν, καὶ ἐκήρυξαν αὐτὸν τρίτον ἄρχοντα εἶναι ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ. Βασιλεύσας ∆αρεῖος ὁ Μῆδος, καὶ καταστήσας ἄρχοντα τὸν ∆ανιὴλ, ἀναγκάζεται ὑπὸ τῶν τακτικῶν καὶ σατραπῶν δόγμα κυρῶσαι, ὥστε τὸν αἰτοῦντα παρὰ ἀνθρώπου ἢ θεοῦ αἴτημα, πλὴν παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως, εἴσω τριάκοντα ἡμερῶν, ἐμβληθῆναι εἰς τὸν λάκκον τῶν λεόντων. Καὶ τούτου γενομένου, παρατηρήσαντες τὸν ∆ανιὴλ εὐχόμενον τῷ Θεῷ, διαβάλλουσι, καὶ καταναγκάζουσι τὸν βασιλέα ἐμβαλεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν λάκκον. Ἐμβαλὼν δὲ, καὶ προσελθὼν, καὶ σῶον εὑρὼν, τὸν μὲν ἀνήγαγε τοῦ λάκκου, τοὺς δὲ βάλλοντας αὐτὸν μετὰ τῶν γυναικῶν ἀπώλεσε τοῖς λέουσι παραδούς. Καὶ δόγμα ἔθηκε, πάντας φοβεῖσθαι τὸν Θεόν. Ὁρᾷ τὴν ὅρασιν τῶν θηρίων, διὰ μὲν τῆς λεαίνης τὴν Ἀσσυρίων βασιλείαν, διὰ δὲ τῆς ἄρκτου, τῶν Μήδων καὶ Περσῶν, διὰ δὲ τῆς παρδάλεως, τῶν Μακεδόνων, διὰ δὲ τοῦ τετάρτου θηρίου, τῶν Ῥωμαίων. Προφητεύει δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ περὶ Ἀντιόχου τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς. Οὗτος γάρ ἐστι τὸ κέρας τὸ μικρὸν, τὸ ἐκτινάξαν τρία τῶν ἔμπροσθεν. Προφητεύει πῶς Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδὼν κατέλυσε τὴν βασιλείαν Περσῶν· τὸν μὲν κριὸν τὸν βασιλέα Περσῶν λέγων, τὸν δὲ τράγον Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν Μακεδόνα. Ἡ δὲ ἐσχάτη ὅρασις ἐνταῦθα, περὶ τῆς βασιλίσσης νότου φησὶν ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῶν Μακκαβαίων εὑρίσκεσθαι. Τὸν Βὴλ κατασπᾷ, καὶ τὸν δράκοντα ἀναιρεῖ· εἰς τὸν λάκκον ἐμβάλλεται καὶ διασώζεται, καὶ οἱ αἴτιοι τοῦ ἐμβληθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐμβάλλονται καὶ ἀναλίσκονται ὑπὸ τῶν λεόντων. Ὡσηέ. Κελεύεται λαβεῖν γυναῖκα πόρνην, καὶ τὰ τικτόμενα παιδία ὀνομάσαι Ἰεζραὴλ, Οὐκ ἠλεημένην, καὶ Οὐ λαός μου. Καὶ ἐγκαλεῖ τῷ λαῷ πορνείαν· καὶ προλέγει αὐτῷ ἀπώλειαν, καὶ χρήματά τινα μετὰ τὴν ἀπώλειαν. Τὸ δὲ, ∆ιαθήσομαι διαθήκην μετὰ τῶν θηρίων τοῦ ἀγροῦ, καὶ μνηστεύσομαι ἐν πίστει, δύναται λαμβάνεσθαι εἰς τοὺς πιστεύοντας τῷ Χριστῷ. Προστάσσεται λαβεῖν γυναῖκα μοιχαλίδα, μηνύων τὴν ἐρήμωσιν τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ ἐγκαλεῖ αὐτοῖς πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα ἁμαρτήματα, τῷ τε λαῷ καὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι. ∆ιαβάλλει τε αὐτοὺς καὶ εἰς μέθην, καὶ εἰς μοιχείαν, καὶ εἰς