King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

1During the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him.a As a result, he couldn’t sleep.b 2So the king gave orders to summon diviners, enchanters,c sorcerers, and Chaldeans to reveal to the king what he had dreamed. When they came and stood before him,d 3the king told them, “I have dreamed a dream and Ie will remain troubled until I can understand it.”f

4The Chaldeans responded to the king in Aramaic:g “May the king live forever. Tell the dream to your servants, and we’ll reveal its meaning.”

5In reply the king told the Chaldeans, “Here is what I have commanded: If you don’t tell me both the dream and its meaning, you’ll be destroyed and your houses will be reduced to rubble. 6But if you do relate the dream to me as well as its meaning, you’ll receive gifts, rewards, and great honor from me. Therefore reveal the dream to me, along with its meaning.”

7They replied again, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we’ll disclose its meaning.”

8The king responded,h “I’m convinced that you’re stalling for time because you’re aware of what I’ve commanded. 9So if you don’t disclose the dream to me, there will be only one sentence for all of you. You have conspired together to present lies and corrupt interpretations until the situation changes. Now tell me the dream and I’ll know that you can reveal its truei meaning.”

10The Chaldeans answered the king directly, “There’s not a single man on earth who can doj what the king has commanded. No king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing from any diviner, enchanter,k or Chaldean. 11Furthermore, what the king is asking is so difficult that no one can reveal it except the gods—and they don’t live with human beings.”

12At this point, the king flew into a ragel and issued an order to destroy all the advisorsm of Babylon. 13When the order went out to kill the advisors,n they searched for Daniel and his friends to kill them, too.o

Daniel Requests Time to Answer the King

14Daniel responded with wisdom and discretion to Arioch, the king’s executioner, who had gone out to execute the advisorsp of Babylon. 15He askedq him,r “Why such a harsh decree from the king?” Then Arioch informed Daniel, 16so Daniel went to ask Nebuchadnezzars for an appointment to see himt , and it was granted him so that he could reveal the meaning to the king. 17Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the king’su command. 18Danielv was seeking mercy, in order to ask about this mystery in the presence of the God of heaven, so that Daniel and his friends might not be executed along with the rest of the advisorsw of Babylon.

The King’s Dream is Revealed to Daniel

19When the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision later that night, Daniel blessed the God of heaven 20and said,

“May the name of God be blessed forever and ever;

wisdom and power are his for evermore.

21It is Godx who alters the times and seasons,

and he removes kings and promotes kings.

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to the discerning.

22He reveals what is profoundly mysterious

and knows what is in the darkness;

with him dwells light.

23To you, God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise,

because you have given me wisdom and power;

you have now revealed to me what we asked of you

by making known to us what the king commanded.”

24After this,y Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the advisorsz of Babylon. He told him, “Don’t destroy the advisorsaa of Babylon. Bring me before the king and I’ll explain the meaning to him.”bb

25Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and informed him: “I’ve found a man from the Judean captives who will make known the meaning to the king.”

Daniel Reveals the Meaning of the Dream

26King Nebuchadnezzarcc replied by saying to Daniel (whose Babyloniandd name is Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me about the dreamee and its meaning?”

27By way of answer, Daniel addressed the king:ff

“None of the advisors,gg enchanters,hh diviners, or astrologersii can explain the secret that the king has requested to be made known.jj 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he is making known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days.

“While you were in bed, the dream and the visions that came to your head were as follows: 29Your majesty,kk when you were in bed, thoughts came to your mindll about what would happen in the future, and the Revealer of Secrets has made known to you what will take place. 30As for me, this secret was made known to me, not because my own wisdom is greater than anyone else alive, but in order that the meaning may be made known to the king, and that you might understand the thoughts of your heart.

31“Your majesty, while you were watching, you observed an enormous statue. This magnificent statue stood before you with extraordinary brilliance. Its appearance was terrifying. 32That statue had a head mademm of pure gold, with its chest and arms madenn of silver, its abdomen and thighs madeoo of bronze, 33its legs madepp of iron, and its feet madeqq partly of iron and partly of clay.

34“As you were watching, a rock was quarried—but not with human hands—and it struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, breaking them to pieces. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together and became like chaff from a summer threshing floor that the breeze carries away without leaving a trace.rr Then the rock that struck the statue grew intoss a huge mountain and filled the entire earth.

36“This was the dream, and we’ll now relate its meaning to the king. 37You, your majesty, king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory, 38so that wherever people,tt wild animals, or birds of the sky live, he has placed them under your control, giving you dominion over them all—you’re that head of gold.

39“After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior touu yours, and then a third kingdom of bronze will arise to rule all the earth. 40Then there will be a fourth kingdom, as strong as iron. Just as all things are broken to pieces and shattered by iron, so it will shatter and crush everything.

41“The feet and toes that you saw, made partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, representvv a divided kingdom. It will still have the strength of iron, in that you saw iron mixed with clay. 42Just as their toes and feet are part iron and part clay, so will the kingdom be both strong and brittle. 43Just as you saw iron mixed with clay, so they will mix themselves with human offspring.ww Furthermore,xx they won’t remain together, just as iron doesn’t mix with clay.

44“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor its sovereigntyyy left in the hands of another people. It will shatter and crush all of these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. 45Now, just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without human hands—and that it crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold to pieces—so also the great God has revealed to the king what will take place after this. Your dream will come true, and its meaning will prove trustworthy.”

Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel and His Friends

46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel, paid honor to him, and commanded that an offering and incense be presented on his behalf. 47The king told Daniel, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and the Revealer of Secrets, because you were able to reveal this mystery.” 48Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position and lavished many great gifts on him, including making him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over the advisorszz of Babylon. 49Moreover, Daniel requested that the king appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained in the royal court.