Daniel 2:1-35 ▼

1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.

2 Then the king said to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

3 Then the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”

4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in 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 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 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 the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who is able to declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or powerful ruler has ever asked about a matter like this of any magician, conjurer, or Chaldean.

11 Moreover, the matter which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with flesh.”

12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and said for them to 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 kill them.

14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;

15 he answered and said to Arioch, a powerful official for the king, “For what reason is the law from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.

16 So Daniel went in and sought from the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.

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 establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to 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 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, magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to 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 last days. This was your dream and the visions of your head while on your bed.

29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would happen 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 than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

31 “You, O king, were looking, and behold, there was a single great image; that image, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was rising up in front of you, and its appearance was awesome.

32 The head of that image was made of 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 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 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.