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1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar 1ahad dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his bsleep 2left him.
2 Then the king 1gave orders to call in the 2amagicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the 3Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
3 The king said to them, “I 1ahad a dream and my spirit 2is anxious to 3understand the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in 1aAramaic: “bO king, live forever! cTell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”
5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “1The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be 2atorn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.
6 “But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me agifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king atell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”
8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are 1bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that 2the command from me is firm,
9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only aone 1decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt 2words before me until the 3situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may bknow that you can declare to me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered 1the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter 2for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any 3amagician, conjurer or Chaldean.
11 “Moreover, the thing which the king demands is 1difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it 2to the king except agods, whose bdwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”
12 Because of this the king became aindignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 So the 1decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for aDaniel and his friends to 2kill them.
14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to aArioch, the captain of the king’s 1bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
15 he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the 1decree from the king so 2urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.
16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would 1give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, aHananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter,
18 so that they might arequest compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be bdestroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night avision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;
“Let the name of God be ablessed forever and ever,
For bwisdom and power belong to Him.
21 “It is He who achanges the times and the epochs;
He bremoves kings and 1establishes kings;
He gives cwisdom to wise men
And knowledge to 2men of understanding.
22 “It is He who areveals the profound and hidden things;
bHe knows what is in the darkness,
And the clight dwells with Him.
23 “To You, O aGod of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me bwisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we crequested of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “aDo not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me 1into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch hurriedly abrought Daniel 1into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the 2bexiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!”
26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was aBelteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?”
27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither awise men, conjurers, 1magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.
28 “However, there is a aGod in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the 1blatter days. This was your dream and the cvisions 2in your mind while on your bed.
29 “As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts 1turned to what would take place 2in the future; and aHe who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place.
30 “But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any awisdom 1residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may 2understand the bthoughts of your 3mind.
31 “You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and 1of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was aawesome.
32 “The ahead of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,
33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34 “You 1continued looking until a astone was cut out bwithout hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and ccrushed them.
35 “Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed 1all at the same time and became alike chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that bnot a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great cmountain and filled the whole earth.
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; now we will tell aits interpretation before the king.
37 “You, O king, are the aking of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the 1kingdom, the bpower, the strength and the glory;
38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the abeasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
39 “After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
40 “Then there will be a afourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces.
41 “In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with 1common clay.
42 “As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.
43 “And in that you saw the iron mixed with 1common clay, they will combine with one another 2in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.
44 “In the days of those kings the aGod of heaven will bset up a ckingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be 1left for another people; it will dcrush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
45 “Inasmuch as you saw that a astone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the bgreat God has made known to the king what cwill take place 1in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did ahomage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and 1bfragrant incense.
47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Surely ayour God is a bGod of gods and a Lord of kings and a crevealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.”
48 Then the king 1apromoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole bprovince of Babylon and chief 2prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 And Daniel made request of the king, and he aappointed bShadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s 1ccourt.
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an aimage of gold, the height of which was sixty 1cubits and its width six 1cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the bprovince of Babylon.
2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the asatraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3 Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed: “To you 1the command is given, aO peoples, nations and men of every 2language,
5 that at the moment you ahear the sound of the horn, flute, 1lyre, 2trigon, 3psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.
6 “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall 1immediately be acast into the midst of a bfurnace of blazing fire.”
7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, 1lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every 2language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
8 For this reason at that time certain aChaldeans came forward and 1bbrought charges against the Jews.
9 They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: “aO king, live forever!
10 “You, O king, have amade a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, 1lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to bfall down and worship the golden image.
11 “But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.
12 “There are certain Jews whom you have aappointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in arage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.
14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve amy gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
15 “Now if you are ready, aat the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, 1lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will 2immediately be bcast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and cwhat god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
16 aShadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17 “1If it be so, our aGod whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; 2and bHe will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18 “aBut even if He does not, blet it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with awrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered 1by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
20 He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.
21 Then these men were tied up in their 1atrousers, their 2coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.
22 For this reason, because the king’s 1command was 2aurgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.
23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, afell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.”
25 He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and awalking about in the midst of the fire 1without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the bgods!”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the aMost High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego bcame out of the midst of the fire.
27 The asatraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the bfire had no 1effect on 2the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their 3ctrousers 4damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
28 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the aGod of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has bsent His angel and delivered His servants who put their ctrust in Him, 1violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as dnot to serve or worship any god except their own God.
29 “Therefore I amake a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of bShadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their chouses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is dno other god who is able to deliver in this way.”
30 Then the king acaused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.
1 1Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every 2language that live in all the earth: “May your 3apeace abound!
2 “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the aMost High God has done for me.
3 “How great are His asigns
And how mighty are His wonders!
His bkingdom is an everlasting kingdom
And His dominion is from generation to generation.
4 “1I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and aflourishing in my palace.
5 “I saw a adream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the bvisions 1in my mind kept alarming me.
6 “So I gave orders to abring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
7 “Then the 1amagicians, the conjurers, the 2Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream 3to them, but they could not make its binterpretation known to me.
8 “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is aBelteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is 1ba spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream 2to him, saying,
9 ‘O Belteshazzar, achief of the magicians, since I know that ba spirit of the holy gods is in you and cno mystery baffles you, dtell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.
10 ‘Now these were the avisions 1in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a btree in the midst of the 2earth and its height was great.
11 ‘The tree grew large and became strong
And its height areached to the sky,
And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.
12 ‘Its foliage was abeautiful and its fruit abundant,
And in it was food for all.
The bbeasts of the field found cshade under it,
And the dbirds of the sky dwelt in its branches,
And all 1living creatures fed themselves from it.
13 ‘I was looking in the avisions 1in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, ban angelic watcher, a choly one, descended from heaven.
14 ‘He shouted out and spoke as follows:
“aChop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;
Let the bbeasts flee from under it
And the birds from its branches.
15 “Yet aleave the stump 1with its roots in the ground,
But with a band of iron and bronze around it
In the new grass of the field;
And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
And let 2him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.
16 “Let his 1mind be changed from that of a man
And let a beast’s 1mind be given to him,
And let aseven 2periods of time pass over him.
17 “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers
And the decision is a command of the holy ones,
In order that the living may aknow
That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,
And bbestows it on whom He wishes
And sets over it the clowliest of men.”
18 ‘This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the awise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a bspirit of the holy gods is in you.’
19 “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his athoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not blet the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘cMy lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to dyour adversaries!
20 ‘The atree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth
21 and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged—
22 it is ayou, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your 1majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your bdominion to the end of the earth.
23 ‘In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “aChop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump 1with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let 2him share with the beasts of the field until bseven 3periods of time pass over him,”
24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has acome upon my lord the king:
25 that you be adriven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven 1periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the bMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and cbestows it on whomever He wishes.
26 ‘And in that it was commanded to aleave the stump 1with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be 2assured to you after you recognize that it is bHeaven that rules.
27 ‘Therefore, O king, may my aadvice be pleasing to you: 1bbreak away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by cshowing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a dprolonging of your prosperity.’
28 “All this ahappened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.
29 “aTwelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.
30 “The king 1reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the agreat, which I myself have built as a royal 2residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’
31 “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice 1came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: 2sovereignty has been removed from you,
32 and ayou will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and bseven 1periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the cMost High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’
33 “Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was adriven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
34 “But at the end of 1that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my 2reason returned to me, and I blessed the aMost High and praised and honored bHim who lives forever;
For His dominion is an ceverlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 “aAll the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But bHe does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And cno one can 1ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘dWhat have You done?’
36 “At that time my 1areason returned to me. And my majesty and bsplendor were 2restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my 3sovereignty, and surpassing cgreatness was added to me.
37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of aheaven, for ball His works are 1true and His ways 2just, and He is able to humble those who cwalk in pride.”
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About New American Standard Bible: 1995 UpdateThe New American Standard Bible, long considered a favorite study Bible by serious students of the Scriptures, has been completely revised and updated in this new 1995 translation. Preserving the Lockman Foundation's standard of creating a literal translation of the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts, the 1995 NASB provides a literal translation that is very readable. Formalized language and outdated words and phrases have been replaced with their contemporary counterparts. In short, the 1995 NASB is a Bible translation that is very conducive to word-by-word study and is also able to be read (and understood) by the whole family. |
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New American Standard Bible
NAS Cross References and Translator's Notes
NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible The "NASB," "NAS," "New American Standard Bible," and "New American Standard" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by The Lockman Foundation. Use of these trademarks requires the permission of The Lockman Foundation. PERMISSION TO QUOTE The text of the New American Standard Bible® may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of The Lockman Foundation, providing that the verses do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for more than 25% of the total work in which they are quoted. Notice of Copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." When quotations from the NASB® text are used in not-for-sale media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, the abbreviation (NASB) may be used at the end of the quotation. This permission to quote is limited to material which is wholly manufactured in compliance with the provisions of the copyright laws of the United States of America and all applicable international conventions and treaties. Quotations and/or reprints in excess of the above limitations, or other permission requests, must be directed to and approved in writing by The Lockman Foundation, PO Box 2279, La Habra, CA 90632-2279, (714) 879-3055. http://www.lockman.org |
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