Daniel 2:1–24

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^aand his spirit was so troubled that ^bhis sleep left him. ^2cThen the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. ³And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to ¹know the dream.”

⁴Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, ^d“O ²king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁵The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My ³decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be ^ecut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. ^6fHowever, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

⁷They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”

⁸The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: ⁹if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the ⁴time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can ⁵give me its interpretation.”

¹⁰The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. ¹¹It is a ⁶difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king ^gexcept the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹²For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought ^hDaniel and his companions, to kill them.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

¹⁴Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; ¹⁵he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so ⁷urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.

¹⁶So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. ¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸ⁱthat they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹Then the secret was revealed to Daniel ^jin a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

²⁰Daniel answered and said:

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

^lFor wisdom and might are His.

²¹And He changes ^mthe times and the seasons;

ⁿHe removes kings and raises up kings;

^oHe gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding.

^22pHe reveals deep and secret things;

^qHe knows what is in the darkness,

And ^rlight dwells with Him.

²³“I thank You and praise You,

O God of my fathers;

You have given me wisdom and might,

And have now made known to me what we ^sasked of You,

For You have made known to us the king’s ⁸demand.”

Daniel Explains the Dream

²⁴Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, 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; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”