Daniel 2

1 In the second year of [his] reign Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream, and his spirit was amazed, and his sleep departed from him.

2 And the king gave orders to call the enchanters, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king.

3 And the king said to them, I have dreamed, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

4 And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, [saying], O king, live forever: tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.

5 The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing has departed from me: if you do not make known to me the dream and the interpretation, you shall be destroyed, and your houses shall be spoiled.

6 But if you make known to me the dream, and the interpretation thereof, you shall receive from me gifts and presents and much honor: only tell me the dream, and its interpretation.

7 They answered the second time, and said, Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.

8 And the king answered and said, I verily know that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the thing has gone from me.

9 If then you do not tell me the dream, I know that you have conspired to utter before me a false and corrupt tale, until the time has past: now tell me my dream, and I shall know that you will also declare to me its interpretation.

10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is no man upon the earth, who shall be able to make known the king's matter: forasmuch as no great king or ruler asks such a question of an enchanter, magician, or Chaldean.

11 For the question which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who shall answer it before the king, but the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh.

12 Then the king in rage and anger commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

13 So the decree went forth, and they began to destroy the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to destroy [them].

14 Then Daniel answered [with] counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the royal guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon, [saying],

15 Chief magistrate of the king, why has this shameless command proceeded from the king? So Arioch made known the matter to Daniel.

16 And Daniel intreated the king to give him time, and that he might [thus] declare to the king its interpretation.

17 So Daniel went into his house, and made known the matter to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his friends.

18 And they sought mercies from the God of heaven concerning this mystery; that Daniel and his friends might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision; and Daniel blessed the God of heaven, and said,

20 May the name of God be blessed from everlasting to everlasting; for wisdom and understanding are His.

21 And He changes times and seasons; He appoints kings, and removes [them], giving wisdom to the wise, and prudence to them that have understanding.

22 He reveals deep and secret [things]; knowing what is in darkness, and the light is with Him.

23 I give thanks to You, and praise [You], O God of my fathers, for You have given me wisdom and power, and have made known to me the things which we asked of You; and You have made known to me the king's vision.

24 And Daniel came to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon, but bring me in before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.

25 Then Arioch in haste brought Daniel in before the king, and said to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judea, who will declare the interpretation to the king.

26 And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Can you declare to me the dream which I saw, and its interpretation?

27 And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery of which the king asks is not [in the power] of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, [or] soothsayers to declare to the king.

28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what things must come to pass in the last days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed are as follows:

29 O king: your thoughts upon your bed arose [as to] what must come to pass hereafter: and He that reveals mysteries has made known to you what must come to pass.

30 Moreover, this mystery has not been revealed to me by reason of wisdom which is in me beyond all [others] living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, that you might know the thoughts of your heart.

31 You, O king, were watching; and behold, an image: that image was great, and the appearance of it [was] excellent, standing before your face; and its form was awesome.

32 [It was] an image, the head of which was of fine gold, its hands and breast and arms of silver, [its] belly and thighs of brass,

33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

34 You saw until a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it struck the image upon its feet of iron and clay, and utterly reduced them to powder.

35 Then once for all the clay, the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold were ground into powder, and became as chaff from the summer threshing floor. And the violence of the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them. And the stone which had struck 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, are a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a powerful and strong and honorable kingdom,

38 in every place where the children of men dwell: and He has given into your hand the wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and He has made you ruler over them all.

39 You are the head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and a third kingdom which is the brass, which shall have dominion over all the earth;

40 and a fourth kingdom, which shall be strong as iron: as iron beats to powder and subdues all things, so shall it beat to powder and subdue.

41 And whereas you saw the feet and the toes, partly of clay, and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet there shall be in it of the strength of iron, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay.

42 And [whereas] the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, part of the kingdom shall be strong, and [part] of it shall be broken.

43 Whereas you saw the iron mixed with the clay, they shall be mingled with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave together, as the iron does not mix itself with the clay.

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and His kingdom shall not be left to another people, [but] it shall beat to pieces and grind to powder all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

45 Whereas you saw that a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it beat to pieces the clay, the iron, the brass, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what must happen hereafter: and the dream is true, and its interpretation is sure.

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and gave orders to offer to him gifts and incense.

47 And the king answered and said to Daniel, Truly your God is a God of gods, and Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries; for you have been able to reveal this mystery.

48 And the king promoted Daniel, and gave him great and abundant gifts, and set him over the whole province of Babylon, and [made him] chief satrap over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 And Daniel asked of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the king's palace.