Daniel 2:1–23

In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosor had a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream went out of his mind.

²Then the king commanded to call together the diviners and the wise men, and the magicians, and the Chaldeans: to declare to the king his dreams: so they came and stood before the king.

³And the king said to them: I saw a dream: and being troubled in mind I know not what I saw.

⁴And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac: O king, live for ever: tell to thy servants thy dream, and we will declare the interpretation thereof.

⁵And the king, answering, said to the Chaldeans: The thing is gone out of my mind: unless you tell me the dream, and the meaning thereof, you shall be put to death, and your houses shall be confiscated.

⁶but if you tell the dream, and the meaning of it, you shall receive of me rewards, and gifts, and great honour: therefore, tell me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

⁷They answered again and said: Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation of it.

⁸The king answered and said: I know for certain, that you seek to gain time, since you know that the thing is gone from me.

⁹If, therefore, you tell me not the dream, there is one sentence concerning you, that you have also framed a lying interpretation, and full of deceit, to speak before me till the time pass away. Tell me, therefore, the dream, that I may know that you also give a true interpretation thereof.

¹⁰Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: There is no man upon earth, that can accomplish thy word, O king; neither doth any king, though great and mighty, ask such a thing of any diviner, or wise man, or Chaldean.

¹¹For the thing that thou asketh, O king, is difficult: nor can any one be found that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.

¹²Upon hearing this, the king in fury, and in great wrath, commanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be put to death.

¹³And the decree being gone forth, the wise men were slain: and Daniel and his companions were sought for, to be put to death.

¹⁴Then Daniel inquired concerning the law and the sentence, of Arioch, the general of the king’s army, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁵And he asked him that had received the orders of the king, why so cruel a sentence was gone forth from the face of the king. And when Arioch had told the matter to Daniel,

¹⁶Daniel went in, and desired of the king, that he would give him time to resolve the question, and declare it to the king.

¹⁷And he went into his house, and told the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias, his companions:

¹⁸To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the God of heaven, concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night: and Daniel blessed the God of heaven,

²⁰And speaking, he said: Blessed be the name of the Lord from eternity and for evermore: for wisdom and fortitude are his.

²¹And he changeth times and ages: taketh away kingdoms, and establisheth them: giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding:

²²He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in darkness: and light is with him.

²³To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee: because thou hast given me wisdom and strength: and now thou hast shewn me what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king’s discourse.