1 Nebuchadnezzar’s Troubling Dream Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar 2:1 Lit dreamed dreams had dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep 2:1 Lit was gone upon him left him.
2 Then the king said to call in the 2:2Or soothsayer priests magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the 2:2Or master astrologers, so in ch Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
3 Then the king said to them, “I 2:3 Lit dreamed had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in 2:4 The text is in Aramaic from here through 7:28 Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Say the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be 2:5Lit made into limbs torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.
6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great glory; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king say the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you are buying time, inasmuch as you have seen that the word from me is firm,
9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one law for you. Indeed, you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt 2:9Lit word words before me until the time is changed; therefore say the dream to me, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered 2:10Lit before the the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who is able to declare the matter 2:10Lit of for the king, inasmuch as no great king or powerful ruler haseveraskedabouta matter like this of any 2:10Or soothsayer priest magician, conjurer, or Chaldean.
11 Moreover, the matter which the king asks is 2:11 Or rare difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it 2:11 Lit before to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with flesh.”
12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and saidfor themto destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 So the law went forth that the wise men were to be killed; and they sought out Daniel and his friends to 2:13Lit be killed killthem.
14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s 2:14 Or executioners bodyguard, who had gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;
15 he answered and said to Arioch, a powerful 2:15Or ruler official for the king, “For what reason is the law from the kingso 2:15Or harsh urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.
16 So Daniel went in and sought from the king that he would 2:16Or appoint a time for him give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to his friends, to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
18 so that they might seek compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;
20 Daniel answered and said,“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,For wisdom and might belong to Him.
21 “And He changes the times and the seasons;He removes kings and 2:21Or sets up establishes kings;He gives wisdom to wise menAnd knowledge to 2:21Lit knowers men of understanding.
22 “He reveals the deep and hidden things;He knows what is in the darkness,And the light dwells with Him.
23 “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,For You have given me wisdom and might;Even now You have made known to me what we sought from You,For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him: “I have found a man among the 2:25 Lit sons of the exile of exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!”
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?”
27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king is asking, neither wise men, conjurers, 2:27Or soothsayer priests magicians,nordiviners are able to declareitto the king.
28 However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the 2:28Lit end of the days last days. This was your dream and the visions of your headwhileon your bed.
29 As for you, O king,whileon your bed your thoughts 2:29Lit came up turned to what would happen 2:29Lit after this in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will happen.
30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me by any wisdom which is in me more thaninanyotherliving man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.Daniel Interprets the Dream
31 “You, O king, were looking, and behold, there was a single great 2:31Or statue, so in ch image; that image, which was large and 2:31Lit its splendor was surpassing of extraordinary splendor, was rising up in front of you, and its appearance was 2:31Or fearsome awesome.
32 The head of that imagewas madeof fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,
33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34 You 2:34 Lit were continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.
35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed 2:35Lit like one all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “Thiswasthe dream; now we will say its interpretation before the king.
37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the 2:37Or sovereignty kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory;
38 and wherever the sons of men inhabit,orthe beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has giventheminto your hand and has made you rule with power over them all. You are the head of gold.
39 But after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule with power over all the earth.
40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.
41 Now in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron; it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with 2:41Lit clay of mud common clay.
42 And asthe toes of the feetwerepartly of iron and partly of clay,sosome of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.
43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with 2:43Lit clay of mud common clay; they will combine with one another 2:43Or with in the seed of men; but they will not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay.
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will cause a kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed, andthatkingdom will not be 2:44 Or passed on to left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself stand forever.
45 Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will happen 2:45Lit after this in the future; so the dream is certain, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”Daniel and Friends Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel and saidfor themto present to him an offering and 2:46Lit sweet odors fragrant incense.
47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery.”
48 Then the king 2:48Lit made great promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him rule with power over the whole province of Babylon and chief 2:48Lit of the prefects prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 And Daniel sought of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Danielwasat the king’s 2:49Lit gate court.