In the second year (604 B.C.) of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar ^ahad dreams which troubled and disturbed his spirit and interfered with his ability to ^bsleep. 2 Then the king gave a command to call the ^amagicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the ¹Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I ^ahad a dream, and my spirit is troubled and anxious to know the content and meaning of the dream.”

4 Then the Chaldeans said 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, “My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the content of the dream along with its interpretation, you shall be ^acut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish. 6 But if you tell me the content of the dream along with its interpretation, you shall receive from me ^agifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered again, “Let the king ^atell the dream to his servants, and we will explain its interpretation to you.” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, because you have seen that my command to you is firm and irrevocable. 9 If you will not reveal to me the content of the dream, there is but ^aone sentence for you; for you have already prepared lying and corrupt words and you have agreed together to speak them before me hoping to delay your execution until the situation is changed. Therefore, tell me the dream first, and then I will ^bknow with confidence that you can give me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king this matter, for no king, lord or ruler has ever asked such a thing as this of any ^amagician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 Furthermore, what the king demands is an unusual and difficult thing indeed! No one except the ^agods can reveal it to the king, and their ^bdwelling is not with mortal flesh.”

12 Because of this the king was ^aindignant and extremely furious and gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out that the wise men were to be killed; and they looked for ^aDaniel and his companions to put them to death.

14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and wisdom to ^aArioch, the captain of the king’s ¹bodyguard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh and urgent?” Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to appoint a date and give him time, so that he might reveal to the king the interpretation of the dream.

17 Then Daniel returned to his house and discussed the matter with ^aHananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 in order that they might seek ^acompassion from the God of heaven regarding this secret, so that Daniel and his companions would not be ^bexecuted with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a ^avision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered,“^aBlessed be the name of God forever and ever,For ^bwisdom and power belong to Him.

24 So Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said this to him: “^aDo not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will reveal to the king the interpretation of his dream.”

25 Then Arioch hurriedly ^abrought Daniel before the king and said this to him: “I have found a man among the ^bexiles of Judah who can explain to the king the interpretation of the dream.” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose Babylonian name was ^aBelteshazzar, “Are you able to reveal to me the content of the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “Regarding the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither the ^awise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers are able to answer the king, 28 but there is a ^aGod in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the ^blatter days (end of days) . This was your dream and the ^cvision that appeared in your mind while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, as you were lying on your bed thoughts came into your mind about what will take place in the future; and ^aHe who reveals secrets has shown you what will occur. 30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because my ^awisdom is greater than that of any other living man, but in order to make the interpretation known to the king, and so that you may understand fully the ^bthoughts of your mind.

31 “You, O king, were looking, and behold, there was a single great statue; this image, which was large and of unsurpassed splendor, stood before you, and its appearance was ^aawesome and terrifying. 32 As for this ¹statue, its ^ahead 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 pottery. 34 As you were looking, a ^1astone was cut out ^bwithout human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and ^ccrushed them. 1+@Pet 2:3-8 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and became ^alike the chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that ^bnot a trace of them could be found. And the stone that struck the statue became a great ^cmountain and filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its ^ainterpretation. 37 You, O king, are the ^aking of earthly kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the ^bpower, the strength and the glory; Jer 25:9; 27:6; 28:14 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, and the ^abeasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You king of Babylon are the head of gold.

39 After you will arise another kingdom (Medo-Persia) inferior to you, and then a third kingdom of bronze (Greece under Alexander the Great) , which will rule over all the earth.

40 Then a ^afourth kingdom (Rome) will be strong as iron, for iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things; and like iron which crushes things in pieces, it will break and crush all these others. Dan 7:7, 23 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but there will be in it some of the durability and strength of iron, just as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42 As the ten toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and another part of it will be brittle. 43 And as you saw the iron mixed with common clay, so they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not merge for such diverse things or ideologies cannot unite, even as iron does not mix with clay.

44 In the days of those final ten kings the ^aGod of heaven will ^bset up a ^ckingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left for another people; but it will ^dcrush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. Dan 7:14-17; Luke 1:31-33; Rev 11:15 45 Just 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 revealed to the king what ^cwill take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell face downward and paid ^arespect to Daniel as a great prophet of the highest God, and gave orders for an offering and ^bfragrant incense to be presented to him in honor of his God. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Most certainly ^ayour God is the ^bGod of gods and the Lord of kings and a ^crevealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery!” Prov 3:32; Rev 19:16 48 Then the king ^apromoted Daniel to an exalted position and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire ^bprovince of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^aappointed ^bShadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the ^ccourt of the king.