Daniel 2

1Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, he had a dream. His spirit was deeply troubled, and his sleep departed from him.

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2So the king gave orders to summon the enchanters, the magicians, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. Thus they came and stood before the king.

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3Then the king said to them, 'The king had a dream, and my spirit is deeply troubled to know the meaning of the dream.'

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4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, 'O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will tell you its interpretation.'

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5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, 'The dream has departed from me. If you do not make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you shall be destroyed, and your houses will be plundered.

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6But if you do make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you will receive all kinds of gifts from me and be honored by me. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.'

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7But they answered a second time and said, 'Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will tell you its interpretation.'

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8The king answered them, 'Truly, I know you are trying to gain time, because you see that the thing has departed from me.

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9Therefore if you do not tell me the dream, I will know that you have agreed beforehand to give my dream a false and corrupt interpretation. So before any more time passes by, tell me my dream, then I will know that you can tell me its interpretation.'

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10The Chaldeans answered the king and said, 'There is no man on earth who can make known the king's dream, and there is no great king or ruler who asks such a thing as this of any enchanter, magician, or Chaldean.

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11The question you ask, O king, is difficult and above expectation, for there is no man who can tell the king his dream except the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh.'

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12Then the king, angry and furious, commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

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13He decreed that the wise men be put to death, and he sought for Daniel and his friends to kill them.

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14Then with counsel and intelligence, Daniel spoke to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who went out to kill the wise men of Babylon.

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15He asked him for what reason the bitter decree had come from the king. Then Arioch, the king's official, made the reason known to Daniel.

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16So Daniel went in and entreated the king to give him time, and he would tell the king his dream and its interpretation.

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17Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

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18They sought mercies from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, that Daniel and his friends might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

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19Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision during the night. After that, Daniel blessed the God of heaven,

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20saying, 'May God's name be blessed from now on and forever, for wisdom and understanding belong to Him.

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21He changes times and seasons; He appoints kings and removes them; He gives wisdom to the wise and insight to those who have skill.

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22He reveals deep and hidden things, and He knows what is in the darkness, and the light is with Him.

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23I give thanks and praise to You, O God of my fathers, for You have given me wisdom and power. Now You have made known to me what I asked from You, for You made known the king's vision to me.'

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24Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king appointed to put to death the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, 'Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me before the king, and I will tell the interpretation to the king.'

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25Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, 'I found a man among the children of the captivity of Judah who will tell the interpretation to the king.'

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26The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, 'Can you tell me the dream I saw and its interpretation?'

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27Daniel answered before the king and said, 'The mystery which the king demanded to be told to the king cannot be revealed by wise men, magicians, enchanters, and diviners.

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28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what must come to pass in the last days. Your dream and the visions in your head upon your bed was this:

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29As for you, O king, thoughts came to you while on your bed as to what must happen after this, and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what must take place.

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30But as for me, this mystery was not made known to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, that you might know the thoughts of your heart.

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31'As for you, O king, you saw and beheld one great image. That image was very large and its appearance excellent. It stood before you, and its vision was fearful.

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32The image had a head made of fine gold, and its hands, chest, and arms were made of silver, and its stomach and thighs, of copper.

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33Its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly clay.

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34You saw while a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ground them to powder.

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35Then at once the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold were like dust from the summer threshing floor, and a great force of wind blew them away; and their place was not to be found. Then the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled all the earth.

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36'This is the dream, and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

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37You, O king, are a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong, mighty, and highly regarded kingdom.

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38In every place where the children of men live, as well as the wild animals of the field and the birds of heaven—He put them all in your hand, and made you the lord of them all. You are the head made of gold.

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39But after you another kingdom shall arise, inferior to yours; then a third kingdom of copper, which shall rule over all the earth.

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40Then a fourth kingdom as strong as iron shall arise, and inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues everything, so also it shall break in pieces and subdue all things.

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41Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly clay and partly iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, in the manner you saw the iron mixed with the clay.

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42Whereas the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong and part of it shall be broken.

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43Whereas you saw iron mixed with clay, they shall mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

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44'Then in the times of those kings, the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom, and it shall never be destroyed. This kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it will break in pieces and crush all these kingdoms; and it will stand forever.

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45Whereas you saw the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, it ground to powder the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold. Thus the great God has made known to the king what must come to pass after this. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.'

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46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshiped Daniel, and commanded sacrifices and drink offerings be made to him.

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47The king answered and said to Daniel, 'Truly, your God, He is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.'

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48Then King Nebuchadnezzar exalted Daniel and gave him many great gifts. He set him over the whole province of Babylon and over all the wise men of Babylon.

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49Daniel also petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the king's palace.

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