The Bible (2013–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Survival - full transcript

The Bible Mini Series
Episode 5 - Survival

Previously on The Bible.

The Jen/wish nation has been forged in
faith by great heroes.

Israel! Israel!

Abraham proved he was fit
to father a nation.

Moses earned his people's
freedom from slavery.

Lord!

David delivered
the city of Jerusalem.

David! David!

But then the Israelites' faith wavered.

Kings became tyrants.



Corruption grew.

Now the connection
between God and his people...

is at breaking point.

You worship foreign idols!
You defile your God!

To the gates!

Everything the Israelites
have fought for is under threat.

Jerusalem's survival depends
on a weak, new leader.

The city is doomed...

if King Zedekiah
doesn't return to God.

Fire!

Your Majesty.

Jerusalem's 21st king, Zedekiah,

is caught between
the region's superpowers.

He is conspiring with Egypt,



but owes allegiance to Babylon.

News of his betrayal
has reached the Babylonian king,

Nebuchadnezzar-

Nebuchadnezzar! Nebuchadnezzar!
Nebuchadnezzar!

Nebuchadnezzar!
Nebuchadnezzar!

We move! Jerusalem!

Jerusalem!

Jerusalem!

- Hyah!
- Jerusalem!

You know what it means?

?Jerusalem??
City of peace.

- Jerusalem!
- Hyah!

Since the time of David,

prophets like Jeremiah
have guided their kings.

They are Israelis
direct link with God.

But Jeremiah's warnings
have gone unheeded.

Now he delivers
a final message to Zedekiah.

Surrender to Nebuchadnezzar...

or die.

- Faithless people!
- No!

Prophet, what is that?

This is you.

If you are wise,

place yourself under
the yoke of Babylon.

Accept the Lord's retribution...

and know that he is
being lenient with you.

These are God's words!

Submit to
King Nebuchadnezzar.

Bow your head.

You dare tell your king
to bow down?

How dare you question
a prophet of God!

It's you who offends!
It's you who must change!

Goon

Remove him. Traitor.

God is bringing
disaster from Babylon!

Jerusalem! Jerusalem!

Jerusalem!

Jerusalem!

To the gates!

Quickly!
Get inside!

- I Ma" 1 My Son! My son!
- Father! Father!

Please be careful!

You're too late!
You're too late!

I Boy] Father! My son!

Stay!
Father!

Stay there!

Let us in!

ls the city sealed?
Yes, my king.

No one escapes.

Cavalry, to the east!

It begins.

After 18 months,

the trapped Israelites
start to starve.

The desperate resort
to cannibalism.

- Get off!
- Get off!

He's ours.

Archers, ready!

Take aim.

Fire!

- Help!
- Put the fires out!

?'L am with you?'-

?So saith the Lord.?

Prophet.

Will you not speak for us
in our hour of need?

Nothing has changed.

All Jerusalem will burn.

You wrote, ?Repent, repent,
and all will be well.

God will save us.?

Look out there.

You're too late.

Now.

- Now!
- Now!

And again! Push!

Hold the gates!

Push!

Strike hard.

- Stay together!
- Strike hard and victory will be ours.

- Pull back!
- And whatever's left of Jerusalem-

Help yourselves!

Not my child!

As Jerusalem is destroyed,

Zedekiah and his sons escape
through a secret passageway.

Now you must
be brave for me.

Can you do that?

Don't worry. We'll be safe.

Quickly. This way.

His people are not so lucky.

Jerusalem is ours.

Jerusalem is ours.

Punish them for trying
to resist me.

Make them pay!

To the temple!

Take everything
and burn this temple to the ground.

Have mercy!

The temple!
The temple's on fire!

Everything we fought for is lost.

Since the time of Abraham,

the Jewish people have struggled
for this promised land.

Now the hopes and dreams
of generations are destroyed.

Among those ?eeing
for their lives-

a young nobleman called Daniel.

This way, Daniel!
Help us, Lord.

It's locked!

Daniel!
Get behind me!

Wait!

They look valuable.

Take them alive.
What?

- Azariah!
- Move!

Daniel!

Daniel!

Azariah! No!
We're people of God.

- Daniel!
- Stay together.

Azariah!

Nebuchadnezzar!
Nebuchadnezzar!

Nebuchadnezzar!
Nebuchadnezzar!

Find Zedekiah.

- Find his family.
- Yes, sir.

There's a price for betrayal.

Don't worry, my boys.
We're safe now.

Quickly!

Zedekiah!

Come, come.

Please, don't hurt them!
Please! Please!

Dear God!

Dear God, no!

Leave them, please!
Oh, God, no!

King Zedekiah!

Shh, shh, shh, shh.

Shh, shh, shh.

No! Please! No.

Father!

Please!
Please, don't!

Please, don't!
Spare them. Please!

A pity.

The last thing
you'll ever see.

Bring him.

Move!

Leave those stragglers
to die!

The Jewish people
are forced into exile-

a 500-mile journey
east to Babylon.

Move! Move!

Zedekiah is the last
of King David's descendants to reign.

Move it!

The Israelite monarchy ends here.

Jeremiah is one
of the few to escape.

He heads to Egypt,
never to return.

Keep moving.

Move along!

The people have lost their prophet,

their city and their king.
Move! Get along!

You there,
on your feet!

Azariah, lift.

Come on!

Come on! Quickly!

The Jewish nation needs
a different kind of leader...

to survive in Babylon.

A man like Daniel.

Daniel has visionary powers...

and is forced to work
in Nebuchadnezzar's court.

Has no one...

anything to tell me?

Can you not even
describe my dream?

Silence is no answer.

You're supposed
to be wise men,

sorcerers, seers.

So, what do you see?

Sire.

Forgive me.

No one here
can read your mind.

Then what
use are any of you?

But my God can.

He has shown me
your dream.

Then you will be able
to tell it to me-

every detail.

You saw a giant statue
of a man,

its head made of gold.

Then a giant stone struck the
statue, smashing it to pieces.

I know that much!

What does it mean?

The statue represents the empires
that will follow yours.

Yours is the greatest-

the head of gold.

And the stone
that destroys the statue?

That is the kingdom of God.

In the future, God will reign
over all the world forever.

Destroyed by God.

Yes, sire.

What's your name?

Daniel.

You're a brave man,
Daniel.

I value that.

You will serve me.

Just do as they say.

Will we ever return
to Jerusalem?

Jeremiah promised that-
that one day we would.

And in the meantime,
what do we do?

Just bow our heads
and serve this monster?

I can't do it anymore.

Think about our people,
Azariah.

As long as we're in the king's
court, we can help them.

Imprisoned or dead,
we can't.

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed God's
temple, forced us into exile.

My name is Azariah.

?He who is helped by God.?

Well, I call upon God
to help me now.

He'll kill you
if you won't bow.

I cannot.

I will not worship that.

NOW!

With all our hearts,
we follow you.

Bow your heads!

We seek your presence.

With all my heart,
I follow you.

I fear you.
I seek your presence.

Bring them!

Oh, my friends, your faith
will be tested now.

Daniel!

What's wrong with them?

Why will your friends
not bow to me?

I assure you, sire, they will
serve you faithfully all their lives,

as I will, but-

But?

But they will
only worship God.

I will make them bow.

We follow you,
we fear you,

we seek your presence
with all our heart.

We follow you, we fear you,
we seek your presence.

You.

When we wish to bend something
that is hard and unyielding,

what do we do with it?

We put it into the fire.

Majesty!

- Take him!
- We fear you.

- And we seek your presence!
- Your Majesty!

- Burn them!
- Majesty, no!

Burn them! Wood!

Bring me wood.

Bring oil!

Come!

Come!
Please save me.

Fire!

Bring me fire!

Hear my prayer, O Lord. Hear my cry.

The cords of death
entangle me.

The anguish of the grave
consumes me.

Do not ignore my tears.

I am overcome by sorrow.

I call upon the name of the Lord!

Lord, save me!

The Lord is my light.

The Lord receives my prayer.

My enemies will be daunted.

They will turn back in shame.

Why do they not burn?

Lord.

it's a miracle.

People of Judah, rise.

God is with us.
He's with us.

God is with us.

The miracle in the
tire unites the Jewish people.

Far from allowing their faith
to weaken in exile,

they reaffirm their trust in God.

The laws and histories that Moses
received on Mount Sinai...

are preserved...

and compiled with the books
of Joshua, Samuel and Kings.

Together, they form the heart
of the Hebrew Bible.

The Jewish people
have their faith,

but they're still prisoners.

And the only man
who can set them free...

has lost his mind.

So here you are,
Nebuchadnezzar,

the greatest king...

and lowliest man
on God's earth.

See where your
pride has brought you?

And us.

You could have set us free.

Now we are
as trapped as you.

Shh. Shh.

Shh.

Here.

A new king is coming.

Please God
let him deliver us.

Within a few years
of Nebuchadnezzar's death,

a massive army approaches Babylon...

led by Cyrus, king of Persia.

Let them know we've arrived.

The Babylonians
know they don't stand a chance.

They let Cyrus in
without a fight.

Cyrus! Cyrus!

Cyrus! Cyrus! Cyrus! Cyrus!

Cyrus! Cyrus!

Cyrus!
Cyrus! Cyrus!

Cyrus! Cyrus! Cyrus!
Cyrus! Cyrus!

Cyrus will set us free,
if the prophecy's right.

Cyrus! Cyrus!

Cyrus! Cyrus! Cyrus!

To protect his fellow Jews,

Daniel befriends Cyrus...

and continues
to interpret dreams.

But what does
your dream mean, Daniel?

It's not my dream, sire. There's a
prophet here in Babylon- Isaiah.

He says, ?Here is a king whose right hand I
take hold of to subdue nations before him.

He is Cyrus.?

He names you, sire.

It means
God is with you.

I think you ?atter me.

But no one has
ever died of ?attery.

Your Majesty has done
many great things,

as the record will show.

As it should.

?L am Cyrus,
king of the world.?

Yet he hangs on
Daniel's every word...

like he's lost the power
to think for himself.

Daniel must be removed.

One month
without prayer.

Surely only a traitor
would object.

I cannot go back on my word. I
promised them freedom to worship.

It is merely a test
of their loyalty.

They have had so many rulers.

We wanted to make sure
they saw you as the final,

ultimate king of the world.

One month without prayer.

It probably sounds reasonable to
Cyrus, but they know we can't comply.

They don't care about the king. They just
want as much power over him as they can get.

Which means they need you
out of their way.

It's a trap for all of us.
They want us dead.

A whole month.
What will you do?

I don't know.

But I do know I can't live long
without praying to God.

Save me, O God,
by your name.

Have mercy on me...

according to
your unfailing love.

Create in me
a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast
spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence
or take your holy spirit from me,

but restore to me the joy
of your salvation...

and grant me a willing spirit...

to sustain me.

For disobeying Cyrus,

Daniel is arrested
and sentenced to death.

Save me, O God,
by your name.

Have mercy on me...

according to
your unfailing love.

The next morning, Cyrus realizes...

he's made a terrible mistake.

Sire, are you unwell?

I haven't slept.

Please god I'm not too late.

Sire, shall I call the physician?

I have wronged my friend!

Open it.

Daniel.

God is with you.

Your God is real.

Your God has saved you.
Yes.

I am Cyrus, king of the world,
and my judgment is this.

Your people shall return
to Jerusalem.

Their God will be pleased,

though, sadly, they no longer
have a temple to worship him in.

Throw him in with the lions.

No!

No! No!

Do you know
what this is?

Oh.

It's from the temple
in Jerusalem.

It's beautiful.

You know,
I've never seen it used.

And staying here in Babylon,
I suppose now I never will.

But our children will
when they get to Jerusalem,

when the temple is rebuilt
and our nation is restored.

Our struggle is over.

There's something I need to show you.
Come with me.

Look.

Our people are heading home.

After decades in exile,

moving as one,

with hope and purpose.

They've waited so long for this.

But I fear for their future. We're on our way!
We're going home!

I had a dream.

I saw a great beast-

dreadful and terrible
and unimaginably strong.

It had great iron teeth.

And it devoured
the whole world.

But God will not
abandon us.

I saw a great new leader.

In my dream, there before me
was one, like a son of man,

coming with
the clouds of heaven.

He was given authority,
glory and sovereign power.

Nations and men of every
language worshipped him.

This isn't the end, Azariah.

It's the beginning.

The Jewish people will need help...

to survive what is coming.

Over the next 500 years,

their tiny nation
is attacked again and again.

Then they succumb
to the might of Rome.

- Get in line!
- You can't do this.

- Put it here- all of it!
- Roman greed.

Roman law.

Roman punishment.

Israel suffers like never before.

Every day, the people pray
for a new King David...

to lead them to salvation.

Next time on The Bible.

Mary, my betrothed.

You have the most beautiful eyes
I've ever seen...

and the sweetest smile.

I wonder, what can
you tell me of the new king?

Are you not looking
at Herod,

king of the Jews?

Of course. Then who is
claiming to be king?

No one.
He's not born yet.

It' is a prophecy
heralded by the star.

Kill them! Kill them all!

I've got you! Hurry! He's coming now!
Joseph, he's coming!

I baptise you,
ready for the new kingdom.

As you are cleansed,

so all Israel shall be cleansed.

The people are ?ocking
to this wild man, John.

Some even call him
the messiah.

Then you need to keep
an eye on your messiah.

There is one to
come, greater than me,

who will baptise with fire.

I'm just a voice
in the wilderness,

preparing the way
for the-

Lord.

He's here. Out there.

Opening the hearts
of all men.

Orders from Caesar.
This dissent' must' stop.

What are we going to do?

Change the world.

He will bring a new age
of righteousness and justice!

His power will draw all men
to a new world!

A" People!