Daniel 2–7

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams ^ethat troubled him, and sleep deserted him. ^f2So the king gave orders to summon the diviner-priests, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans ^ghto tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, ³he said to them, “I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it.”

⁴The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic ^ijbegins here): “May the king live forever. ^kTell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁵The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, ^land your houses will be made a garbage dump. ^m6But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you’ll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me. ⁿSo make the dream and its interpretation known to me.”

⁷They answered a second time, “May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁸The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final. ⁹If you don’t tell me the dream, there is one decree for you. ^oYou have conspired to tell me something false or fraudulent until the situation changes. So tell me the dream and I will know you can give me its interpretation.”

¹⁰The Chaldeans answered the king, “No one on earth can make known what the king requests. ^pConsequently, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any diviner-priest, medium, or Chaldean. ¹¹What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.” ^q12Because of this, the king became violently angry ^rand gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.

¹⁴Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, ^stwho had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” ^uvThen Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. ¹⁶So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.

¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, ¹⁸urging them to ask the God of heaven ^wfor mercy ^xconcerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men. ^y19The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision ^zat night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven ²⁰and declared:

May the name of God

be praised forever and ever, ^a

for wisdom ^band power belong to Him.

²¹He changes the times and seasons;

He removes kings and establishes kings. ^c

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those

who have understanding. ^d

²²He reveals the deep and hidden things;

He knows what is in the darkness, ^e

and light dwells with Him. ^f

²³I offer thanks and praise to You,

God of my fathers, ^g

because You have given me

wisdom and power.

And now You have let me know

what we asked of You,

for You have let us know ^h

the king’s mystery. ⁱ

²⁴Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, ^jwhom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.” ^k

²⁵Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles ^lwho can let the king know the interpretation.”

²⁶The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ^m“Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?” ⁿ

²⁷Daniel answered the king: “No wise man, medium, diviner-priest, or astrologer ^ois able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. ²⁸But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. ^pYour dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed ^qwere these: ²⁹Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future. ^rsThe revealer of mysteries ^thas let you know what will happen. ³⁰As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, ^unot because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind. ^v

The Dream’s Interpretation

³¹“My king, as you were watching, a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying. ³²The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze, ³³its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay. ³⁴As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, ^wxstruck the statue ^yon its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them. ^z35Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff ^afrom the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled ^bthe whole earth.

³⁶“This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷Your Majesty, you are king of kings. ^cThe God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, ^dstrength, and glory. ³⁸Wherever people live—or wild animals, or birds of the air—He has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all. ^eYou are the head of gold.

³⁹“After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth. ^f40A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others. ^gh41You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron—it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay, ⁴²and that the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly fired clay—part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle. ⁴³You saw the iron mixed with clay—the peoples will mix with one another ⁱbut will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.

⁴⁴“In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, ^jand this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms ^kand bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵You saw a stone ^lbreak off from the mountain without a hand touching it, ^mnand it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. ^opThe dream is true, and its interpretation certain.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Response

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down, paid homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present an offering and incense to him. ^q47The king said to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, ^rand a revealer of mysteries, ^ssince you were able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. ^t49At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ^uto manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court. ^v

Nebuchadnezzar’s Gold Statue

3King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue, ^w90 feet high and nine feet wide. ^xHe set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ^y2King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers ^zof the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue the king had set up. Then they stood before the statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁴A herald loudly proclaimed, “People of every nation and language, you are commanded: ⁵When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, ^alyre, ^bharp, drum, ^cand every kind of music, ^dyou are to fall down and worship ^ethe gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.” ^f

⁷Therefore, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and every kind of music, people of every nation and language fell down and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

The Furnace of Blazing Fire

⁸Some Chaldeans ^gtook this occasion to come forward and maliciously accuse ^hithe Jews. ⁹They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever. ¹⁰You as king have issued a decree ^jthat everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music must fall down and worship the gold statue. ¹¹Whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. ¹²There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. ^kThese men have ignored you, ^lthe king; they do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

¹³Then in a furious rage ^mNebuchadnezzar gave orders to bring in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king. ¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue ⁿI have set up? ¹⁵Now if you’re ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music, fall down and worship the statue I made. But…