Daniel 2:1–30

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^hhis spirit was troubled, and ⁱhis sleep left him. ²Then the king commanded that ^dthe magicians, ^ethe enchanters, the ^jsorcerers, and ^kthe Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and ^lstood before the king. ³And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and ^hmy spirit is troubled to know the dream.” ⁴Then ^kthe Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^{1 m}“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ⁵The king answered and said to ^kthe Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ⁿtorn limb from limb, ⁿand your ^ohouses shall be laid in ruins. ⁶But if you show the dream and its interpretation, ^pyou shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. ^qTherefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” ⁸The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to ^rgain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— ⁹if you do not make the dream known to me, ^sthere is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till ^tthe times change. ^uTherefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” ^10vThe 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 ^vChaldean. ¹¹The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except ^wthe gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹²Because of this the king was angry and ^xvery furious, and ^ycommanded that all ^zthe wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^aDaniel and his companions, to kill them. ¹⁴Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ^bArioch, the ^ccaptain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵He declared² to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king ^dso urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. ¹⁶And 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

¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ^eHananiah, ^eMishael, and ^eAzariah, his companions, ^18fand told them to seek mercy from the ^gGod of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ^hbe destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ⁱa vision of the night. Then Daniel ^jblessed the ^gGod of heaven. ²⁰Daniel answered and said:

^k“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

^lto whom belong wisdom and might.

^21mHe changes times and seasons;

ⁿhe removes kings and sets up kings;

^ohe gives wisdom to the wise

^oand knowledge to those who have understanding;

^22phe reveals deep and hidden things;

^phe knows what is in the darkness,

^qand the light dwells with him.

²³To you, O ^rGod of my fathers,

^sI give thanks and praise,

for ^tyou have given me wisdom and might,

and have now made known to me what ^uwe asked of you,

for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

²⁴Therefore Daniel went in to ^vArioch, 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.”

²⁵Then ^vArioch brought in Daniel before the king ^win haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^xamong the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶The king declared to Daniel, ^ywhose name was Belteshazzar, ^z“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^aenchanters, ^amagicians, or ^bastrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸but ^cthere is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^dwhat will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^ethe visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^fand he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰But ^gas 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 ^hyou may know the thoughts of your mind.