Dan 2
1
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams;
and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
2
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers,
and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the
king.
3
And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know
the dream.
4
Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live for ever:
tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
5
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you make
not known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces,
and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6
But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive of me
gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation
thereof.
7
They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream,
and we will show the interpretation.
8
The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that you would gain time, because
you see the thing is gone from me.
9
But if you make not known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have
prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore
tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.
10
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth
that can show the king`s matter, seeing that as no king, lord, or ruler, has asked
such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
11
And it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other that can show
it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the
wise men of Babylon.
13
So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel
and his companions to be slain.
14
Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the
king`s guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
15
he answered and said to Arioch the king`s captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent
from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16
And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and
he would show the king the interpretation.
17
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, his companions:
18
that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel
and his companions should nor perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19
Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed
the God of heaven.
20
Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom
and might are his.
21
And he changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he
gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding;
22
he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light
dwells with him.
23
I thank you, and praise you, O you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and
might, and have now made known to me what we desired 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 said thus to him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon;
bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.
25
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have
found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known to the
king the interpretation.
26
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art you able to
make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?
27
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded
can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show to the king;
28
but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king
Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your
head upon your bed, are these:
29
as for you, O king, your thoughts came [into your mind] upon your bed, what should
come to pass hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall
come to pass.
30
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than
any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king,
and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
31
You, O king, saw, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose
brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its aspect was terrible.
32
As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its
belly and its thighs of brass,
33
its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.
34
You saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.
35
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces
together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried
them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36
This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.
37
You, O king, art king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the
power, and the strength, and the glory;
38
and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of
the heavens has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you
are the head of gold.
39
And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you; and another third kingdom
of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, seeing that as iron breaks in pieces
and subdues all things; and as iron that crushs all these, shall it break in pieces
and crush.
41
And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters` clay, and part of iron, it
shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,
seeing that as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.
42
And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall
be partly strong, and partly broken.
43
And whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with
the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron does not mingle
with clay.
44
And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but
it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45
Seeing that as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and
that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the
great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream
is certain, and its interpretation sure.
46
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded
that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors to him.
47
The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and
the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you have been able to reveal
this secret.
48
Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule
over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men
of Babylon.
49
And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego,
over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.