Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 In the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had a dream. His spirit was troubled and he could not sleep. ² Then the king called for the wonder-workers, those who used secret ways, those who learned from stars, to tell the king what he had dreamed. So they came in and stood in front of the king. ³ The king said to them, “I had a dream that troubles me, and I want to know what the dream means.”

⁴ Then those who learn from stars said to the king in the Aramaic language, “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will tell you what it means.” ⁵ The king answered, saying, “My word is sure. If you do not tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn apart and your houses will be laid waste. ⁶ But if you tell me the dream and what it means, I will give you gifts and riches and great honor. So tell me the dream and what it means.” ⁷ They answered the king a second time, saying, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will tell you what it means.” ⁸ The king said, “I am sure that you are trying to get more time, because you see that my word is sure. ⁹ You know that if you do not tell me what I dreamed, there is only one penalty for you. You have agreed among yourselves to keep telling me lies until things change. So tell me the dream. Then I will know that you can tell me what it means.” ¹⁰ Those who learn from stars answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can do this for the king. For no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any wonder-worker or one who learns from stars. ¹¹ What the king asks is too hard. No one can do it for you except the gods, who do not live among men.” ¹² Because of this the king became very angry and said that all the wise men of Babylon must be destroyed. ¹³ So the law was sent out that the wise men must be killed. They looked for Daniel and his friends, to kill them also.

God Shows Daniel the Meaning of the Dream

¹⁴ Then Daniel spoke with wisdom and understanding to Arioch, the captain of the soldiers who watched over the king, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He said to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the king’s law so hard?” Then Arioch told him what had happened. ¹⁶ So Daniel went in and asked the king for time, so that he could tell the king what the dream meant.

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, what had happened. ¹⁸ He told them to ask for loving-pity from the God of heaven about this secret, so that Daniel and his friends might not be killed with the other wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the secret was made known to Daniel in a special dream during the night. He gave honor and thanks to the God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel said, “Let the name of God be honored forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. ²¹ He changes the times and the years. He takes kings away, and puts kings in power. He gives wisdom to wise men and much learning to men of understanding. ²² He makes known secret and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness. Light is with Him. ²³ I give thanks and praise to You, O God of my fathers. For You have given me wisdom and power. Even now You have made known what we asked of You. You have made the king’s dream known to us.”

Daniel Tells the Meaning to the King

²⁴ So Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had told to kill the wise men of Babylon. He went and said to him, “Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”

²⁵ Then Arioch brought Daniel to the king in a hurry, and said to him, “I have found a man among those brought out of Judah who can tell the king the meaning of his dream!” ²⁶ The king said to Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me the dream I had, and what it means?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, wonder-workers, or men who use secret ways can make this dream known to the king. ²⁸ But there is a God in heaven who makes secrets known. And He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. This was the special dream you had while you were on your bed. ²⁹ O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would happen in the future. And He Who makes secrets known has let you know what will happen. ³⁰ But this secret has not been made known to me because I am wiser than any other living man. It was made known to me so that I can make it known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

³¹ “O king, you were looking and saw a great object. The object was large and very bright, and it was standing in front of you. It filled you with fear and wonder as you looked at it. ³² The object’s head was made of fine gold. Its breast and arms were made of silver. Its stomach and thighs were made of brass. ³³ Its legs were made of iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It fell and hit the large object on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like dust on the grain-floor in the summer. The wind carried the dust away so nothing was to be found. But the stone that hit the large object became a large mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. ³⁷ You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you the nation, the power, the strength, and the honor. ³⁸ In every place where people live, or the animals of the field, or the birds of the air, He has given them to you and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. ³⁹ After you there will be another nation that is not as great as yours. A third nation of brass will come, which will rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ Then there will be a fourth nation, as strong as iron. Iron crushes and breaks all things. So, like iron breaks things to pieces, this nation will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹ Just as you saw the feet and toes made of part clay and part iron, it will be a divided nation. But it will have some of the strength of iron, just as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. ⁴² As the toes of the feet were made of part iron and part clay, so some of the nation will be strong and part of it will be weak. ⁴³ As you saw the iron mixed with clay, they will try to join with one another. But they will not stay together any more than iron mixes with clay. ⁴⁴ In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a nation which will never be destroyed. And it will never be taken by another people. It will crush and put an end to all these nations, but it will last forever. ⁴⁵ You saw how a stone was cut out of the mountain by no human hands, and how it crushed the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has shown the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true. And I have given you its true meaning.”

Daniel Becomes Ruler of Babylon

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and gave honor to Daniel. He had a gift and special perfume brought to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “For sure your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and He makes hidden things known. For you have been able to make known this secret.” ⁴⁸ Then the king gave Daniel much power and gave him many great gifts. He made him ruler over the whole land of Babylon and the head of all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ And Daniel asked the king to put Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego as leaders over the land of Babylon, while Daniel stayed near the king.