¹² Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days;^(A)

¹⁴ And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army.”^(A)

¹² A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each according to his dream.^(A)

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one.

¹⁸ And Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;^(A)

²⁵ Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia^[a] and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.

⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.^(A)

The Institution of the Lord’s Supper

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it^[a] he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”^(A)

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

¹⁹ Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was severely distressed for a while. His thoughts terrified him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation terrify you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!^{(A) 20} The tree that you saw, which grew great and strong so that its top reached to heaven and was visible to the whole earth,^{(B) 21} whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all, under which animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the air had nests— ²² it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, and your sovereignty to the ends of the earth.^{(C) 23} And whereas the king saw a holy watcher coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, and let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his lot be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him’^(D)— ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the wild animals. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, you shall be bathed with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and gives it to whom he will.^{(E) 26} As it was commanded to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be reestablished for you from the time that you learn that Heaven is sovereign.^{(F) 27} Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for^[a] your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”^(G)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.^{(H) 29} At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ and the king said, “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my glorious majesty?”^{(I) 31} While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came down from heaven: “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: The kingdom is taken from you!^{(J) 32} You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and gives it to whom he will.” ³³ Immediately the sentence was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven away from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails became like birds’ claws.^(K)