Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
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In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; 1his spirit was troubled, and 2his sleep left him.
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Then the king commanded that 3the magicians, 4the enchanters, the 5sorcerers, and 6the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and 7stood before the king.
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Then 9the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,a10"O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."
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The king answered and said to 11the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be 12torn limb from limb, 13and your 14houses shall be laid in ruins.
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But if you show the dream and its interpretation, 15you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. 16Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation."
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They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation."
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The king answered and said, "I know with certainty that you are trying to 17gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm--
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if you do not make the dream known to me, 18there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till 19the times change. 20Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation."
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21The 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 22Chaldean.
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The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except 23the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."
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Because of this the king was angry and 24very furious, and 25commanded that all 26the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.
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So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought 27Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
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Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to 28Arioch, the 29captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.
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He declaredb to Arioch, the king's captain, "Why is the decree of the king 30so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.
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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
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Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to 31Hananiah, 32Mishael, and 33Azariah, his companions,
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34and told them to seek mercy from the 35God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not 36be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
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Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in 37a vision of the night. Then Daniel 38blessed the 39God of heaven.
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Daniel answered and said: 40"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, 41to whom belong wisdom and might.
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42He changes times and seasons; 43he removes kings and sets up kings; 44he gives wisdom to the wise 45and knowledge to those who have understanding;
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46he reveals deep and hidden things; 47he knows what is in the darkness, 48and the light dwells with him.
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To you, O 49God of my fathers, 50I give thanks and praise, for 51you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what 52we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."
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Therefore Daniel went in to 53Arioch, 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."
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Then 54Arioch brought in Daniel before the king 55in haste and said thus to him: "I have found 56among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation."
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The king declared to Daniel, 57whose name was Belteshazzar, 58"Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?"
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Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, 59enchanters, 60magicians, or 61astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,
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but 62there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar 63what will be in the latter days. Your dream and 64the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:
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To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, 65and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.
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But 66as 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 67you may know the thoughts of your mind.
Daniel Interprets the Dream
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"You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.
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68The head of this image was of fine gold, 69its chest and arms of silver, its middle and 70thighs of bronze,
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As you looked, a stone was cut out 72by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and 73broke them in pieces.
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Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became 74like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that 75not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became 76a great mountain 77and filled the whole earth.
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"This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.
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You, O king, 78the king of kings, to whom 79the God of heaven 80has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,
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and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, 81the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are 82the head of gold.
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83Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom 84of bronze, 85which shall rule over all the earth.
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And 86there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron 87breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall 88break and crush all these.
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And as you saw 89the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the 90firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.
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And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.
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As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,c but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.
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And in the days of those kings 91the God of heaven will set up 92a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. 93It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and 94it shall stand forever,
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just as 95you saw that 96a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that 97it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A 98great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."
Daniel Is Promoted
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Then King Nebuchadnezzar 99fell upon his face and 100paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that 101an offering and 102incense be offered up to him.
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The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your 103God is God of gods and 104Lord of kings, and 105a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)