1In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His spirit was troubled by them, and his sleep left him.
2Then the king gave orders 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.
3The king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled until I know what the dream was."
4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, "O king, live for ever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give you the meaning."
5The king answered the Chaldeans, "This is my firm decision: if you will not make the dream known to me, and its meaning, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a rubbish heap."
6"But if you tell me the dream and its meaning, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honour. So tell me the dream and its meaning."
7They answered again, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give the meaning of it."
8The king answered, "I know for certain that you are trying to gain time, because you see that this is my firm decision."
9"If you will not make the dream known to me, there is only one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words to me, hoping the time will change. So tell me the dream, and then I shall know that you can give me its meaning."
10The Chaldeans answered the king, "There is not a man on earth who can tell the king what he asks. No king, lord or ruler has ever asked such a thing from any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean."
11"What the king asks is a hard thing. No one can tell it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among people."
12Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13So the order went out that the wise men were to be killed. And they looked for Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
14Then Daniel answered with wise and careful words to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.
15He said to Arioch, the king's captain, "Why is the king's order so urgent?" Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel.
16Then Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, so that he could show the king the meaning.
17Then Daniel went to his house and told the matter to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions.
18He asked them to beg for mercy from the God of heaven about this secret, so that Daniel and his companions would not die with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision at night. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20Daniel said, "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him."
21"He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding."
22"He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light lives with him."
23"I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and power, and you have now made known to me what we asked of you. You have made the king's matter known to us."
24So Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said to him, "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the meaning."
25Then Arioch hurried Daniel in before the king, and said to him, "I have found a man among the captives of Judah who will make the meaning known to the king."
26The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream I have seen, and its meaning?"
27Daniel answered in the presence of the king, "The secret that the king has asked about cannot be told to the king by wise men, astrologers, magicians or soothsayers."
28"But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions in your head as you lay on your bed, were these:"
29"As for you, O king, as you lay on your bed your thoughts came to you about what would happen after this. And he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will happen."
30"As for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living. It is so that the meaning may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart."
31"You, O king, were looking, and there was a great image. This great image, shining brightly, stood before you, and its form was terrible."
32"The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest 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 watched until a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces."
35"Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces together. They became like the chaff on the threshing floors in summer, and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth."
36"This is the dream. Now we will tell its meaning before the king."
37"You, O king, are a king of kings, for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength and glory."
38"Wherever people live, he has given into your hand the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold."
39"After you another kingdom will rise, lower than yours. Then a third kingdom, of brass, will rule over all the earth."
40"The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron. Iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything. Like iron that shatters all these, it will break in pieces and crush."
41"You saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron. So the kingdom will be divided. But there will be some of the strength of iron in it, since you saw the iron mixed with wet clay."
42"The toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. So the kingdom will be partly strong and partly broken."
43"You saw iron mixed with wet clay. So they will mix themselves with the seed of men, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay."
44"In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. The kingdom will not be left to other people. It will break in pieces and bring to an end all these kingdoms, and it will stand for ever."
45"You saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold. The great God has made known to the king what will happen after this. The dream is certain, and its meaning is sure."
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and bowed down to Daniel, and commanded that they should offer him a gift and sweet incense.
47The king said to Daniel, "Truly your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you were able to reveal this secret."