Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; [ch. 4:5;5:9;Gen. 41:8] his spirit was troubled, and [ch. 6:18;Esth. 6:1]his sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that [See ch. 1:20above]the magicians, [See ch. 1:20above]the enchanters, the Deut. 18:10,11;2 Chr. 33:6;Isa. 47:9,12sorcerers, and See ch. 1:4the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and See ch. 1:5stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and [See ver. 1above]my spirit is troubled to know the dream." 4 Then [See ver. 2above]the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,2:4 The text from this point to the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaicch. 3:9;5:10;6:6,21;See 1 Kgs. 1:31"O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation." 5 The king answered and said to [See ver. 2above] the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ch. 3:29torn limb from limb, ch. 3:29and your Ezra 6:11;[2 Kgs. 10:27]houses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, [ch. 5:7,16] you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. [ver. 7, 9]Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation." 7 They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation." 8 The king answered and said, "I know with certainty that you are trying to Eph. 5:16;Col. 4:5gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, Esth. 4:11there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till [ver. 21; ch. 7:25] the times change. ver. 6;[ver. 7]Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation." 10 See ch. 1:4The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or See ch. 1:4Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except [ch. 5:11,14]the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."
12 Because of this the king was angry and [ch. 3:19] very furious, and [ver. 24] commanded that all ch. 4:6the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought See ch. 1:4-7Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ver. 24, 25Arioch, the [Gen. 37:36]captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared2:15 Aramaic answered and said; also verse 26 to Arioch, the king’s captain, "Why is the decree of the king ch. 3:22so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.
God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ch. 1:6Hananiah, ch. 1:6Mishael, and ch. 1:6Azariah, his companions, 18 [Matt. 18:19] and told them to seek mercy from the ver. 19, 28, 37, 44;Rev. 11:13God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not [ver. 12, 24]be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in [Num. 12:6;Job 33:15,16] a vision of the night. Then Daniel See Josh. 22:33blessed the [See ver. 18above]God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:
1 Chr. 29:10;Ps. 72:18;113:2;115:18;Luke 1:68"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
[Isa. 28:29]to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 [ver. 9; ch. 7:25] He changes times and seasons;
[ch. 4:17;5:20;Job 12:18;Ps. 75:7;Rom. 13:1] he removes kings and sets up kings;
See ch. 1:17he gives wisdom to the wise
See ch. 1:17and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 Job 12:22;[Ps. 25:14;139:12;Amos 4:13;Heb. 4:13] he reveals deep and hidden things;
Job 12:22;[Ps. 25:14;139:12;Amos 4:13;Heb. 4:13] he knows what is in the darkness,
1 Tim. 6:16;James 1:17;1 John 1:5;[John 1:4,5]and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O Deut. 26:7;1 Chr. 12:17;29:18God of my fathers,
[ch. 6:10] I give thanks and praise,
for [ver. 20]; See ch. 1:17you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what [ver. 18]we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king’s matter."
24 Therefore Daniel went in to ver. 14, 15Arioch, 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 in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation."
25 Then [See ver. 24above] Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ch. 3:24in haste and said thus to him: "I have found ch. 5:13;Ezra 4:1;6:16,19,20;10:7,16among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation." 26 The king declared to Daniel, See ch. 1:7whose name was Belteshazzar, [ch. 5:16]"Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?" 27 Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, See ch. 1:20enchanters, See ch. 1:20magicians, or ch. 4:7;5:7astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but See ver. 22there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ch. 10:14;Hos. 3:5what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ch. 4:5;7:15the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ver. 45and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But [Gen. 41:16;Acts 3:12] as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that [Eccles. 3:18]you may know the thoughts of your mind.
Daniel Interprets the Dream
31 "You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 [ver. 38] The head of this image was of fine gold, [ver. 39]its chest and arms of silver, its middle and [ver. 39]thighs of bronze, 33 [ver. 40]its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out [ch. 8:25;Job 34:20;Lam. 4:6;2 Cor. 5:1] by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ver. 35, 40, 44, 45;Isa. 8:9;[Matt. 21:44;Luke 20:18]broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became Ps. 1:4like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that [Rev. 20:11] not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became [Isa. 2:2] a great mountain [Ps. 80:9]and filled the whole earth.
36 "This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, Ezra 7:12;Ezek. 26:7the king of kings, to whom ver. 19the God of heaven ch. 5:18;[Ezra 1:2]; See ver. 21has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ch. 4:21;Jer. 27:6the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are [ver. 32]the head of gold. 39 [ver. 32; ch. 5:28,31] Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom [See ver. 38above] of bronze, [ch. 7:6]which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And [ch. 7:7,23] there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron See ver. 34breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall See ver. 34break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw [ver. 33] the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the [See ver. 40above]firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,2:43 Aramaic by the seed of men but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings ver. 19the God of heaven will set up ch. 4:3,34;6:26;7:14,27;Mic. 4:7;[Matt. 3:2;Luke 1:33;John 18:36] a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. [Isa. 60:12]; See ver. 34It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ch. 4:3,34;6:26;7:14,27;Mic. 4:7;[Matt. 3:2;Luke 1:33;John 18:36] it shall stand forever, 45 just as [ver. 34] you saw that [Isa. 28:16] a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that [See ver. 44above] it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ver. 28great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."
Daniel Is Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar [2 Sam. 14:22] fell upon his face and [Matt. 8:2;Acts 10:25] paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that [Acts 14:13] an offering and [Ezra 6:10]incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your Deut. 10:17God is God of gods and [1 Tim. 6:15;Rev. 17:14;19:16] Lord of kings, and See ver. 22a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery." 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great [ver. 6] gifts, and made him ruler over the whole ch. 3:1,12,30;[Esth. 1:1] province of Babylon and ch. 5:11;[ch. 4:9]chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he ch. 3:12appointed [ch. 1:7] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of [See ver. 48above] the province of Babylon. But Daniel Esth. 2:19remained at the king’s court.