¹During the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he had some dreams. He was troubled, but he stayed asleep. ²The king sent for the magicians, psychics, sorcerers, and astrologers so that they could tell him what he had dreamed. So they came to the king.

³The king said to them, “I had a dream, and I’m troubled by it. I want to know what the dream was.”

⁴The astrologers spoke to the king in Aramaic, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! Tell us the dream, and we’ll interpret it for you.”

⁵The king answered the astrologers, “I meant what I said! If you don’t tell me the dream and its meaning, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into piles of rubble. ⁶But if you tell me the dream and its meaning, I will give you gifts, awards, and high honors. Now tell me the dream and its meaning.”

⁷Once more they said, “Your Majesty, tell us the dream, and we’ll tell you its meaning.”

⁸The king replied, “I’m sure you’re trying to buy some time because you know that I meant what I said. ⁹If you don’t tell me the dream, you’ll all receive the same punishment. You have agreed among yourselves to make up a phony explanation to give me, hoping that things will change. So tell me the dream. Then I’ll know that you can explain its meaning to me.”

¹⁰The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can tell the king what he asks. No other king, no matter how great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, psychic, or astrologer. ¹¹What you ask is difficult, Your Majesty. No one can tell what you dreamed except the gods, and they don’t live with humans.”

¹²This made the king so angry and furious that he gave an order to destroy all the wise advisers in Babylon. ¹³So a decree was issued that the wise advisers were to be killed, and some men were sent to find Daniel and his friends and kill them.

¹⁴While Arioch, the captain of the royal guard, was leaving to kill the wise advisers in Babylon, Daniel spoke to him using shrewd judgment. ¹⁵He asked Arioch, the royal official, “Why is the king’s decree so harsh?” So Arioch explained everything to Daniel.

¹⁶Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time so that he could explain the dream’s meaning. ¹⁷Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about this matter. ¹⁸He told them to ask the God of heaven to be merciful and to explain this secret to them so that they would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise advisers in Babylon.

¹⁹The secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision during the night. So Daniel praised the God of heaven. ²⁰He said,

“Praise God’s name from everlasting to everlasting

because he is wise and powerful.

²¹He changes times and periods of history.

He removes kings and establishes them.

He gives wisdom to those who are wise

and knowledge to those who have insight.

²²He reveals deeply hidden things.

He knows what is in the dark,

and light lives with him.

²³God of my ancestors, I thank and praise you.

You gave me wisdom and power.

You told me the answer to our question.

You told us what the king wants to know.”

Read in Logos

Daniel 2:21: He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding …