2During Nebuchadnezzar’s second year as king, he had dreams that bothered him and kept him awake at night. ²So the king called for his fortune-tellers, magicians, wizards, and wise men, because he wanted them to tell him what he had dreamed. They came in and stood in front of the king.

³Then the king said to them, “I had a dream that bothers me, and I want to know what it means.”

⁴The wise men answered the king in the Aramaic language, “O king, live forever! Please tell us, your servants, your dream. Then we will tell you what it means.”

⁵King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “I meant what I said. You must tell me the dream and what it means. If you don’t, I will have you torn apart, and I will turn your houses into piles of stones. ⁶But if you tell me my dream and its meaning, I will reward you with gifts and great honor. So tell me the dream and what it means.”

⁷Again the wise men said to the king, “Tell us, your servants, the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

⁸King Nebuchadnezzar answered, “I know you are trying to get more time, because you know that I meant what I said. ⁹If you don’t tell me my dream, you will be punished. You have all agreed to tell me lies and wicked things, hoping things will change. Now, tell me the dream so that I will know you can tell me what it really means!”

¹⁰The wise men answered the king, saying, “No one on earth can do what the king asks! No great and powerful king has ever asked the fortune-tellers, magicians, or wise men to do this; ¹¹the king is asking something that is too hard. Only the gods could tell the king this, but the gods do not live among people.”

¹²When the king heard their answer, he became very angry. He ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be killed.

Read in Logos