²⁴ Therefore Daniel went in to ^(A)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 in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then ^(B)Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ^(C)in haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^(D)among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king declared to Daniel, ^(E)whose name was Belteshazzar, ^(F)“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, ^(G)enchanters, ^(H)magicians, or ^(I)astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸ but ^(J)there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^(K)what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^(L)the 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, ^(M)and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But ^(N)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 ^(O)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 (P)The head of this image was of fine gold, ^(Q)its chest and arms of silver, its middle and ^(R)thighs of bronze, ^33 (S)its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ As you looked, a stone was cut out ^(T)by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^(U)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 ^(V)like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^(W)not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became ^(X)a great mountain ^(Y)and filled the whole earth.

⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings ^(A)the God of heaven will set up ^(B)a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^(C)It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^(D)it shall stand forever, ⁴⁵ just as ^(E)you saw that ^(F)a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^(G)it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^(H)great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”