Daniel

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he experienced a series of troubling dreams that kept him awake.

The king called upon magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldean diviners to interpret his dreams. When they arrived and stood before him,

the king said: “I had a terrible dream and I want to know what it means.”

The Chaldeans responded in Aramaic: “Live forever, O king! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give you its interpretation.”

But the king replied: “You have to tell me the dream and interpret it, too. That is my decision. If you won’t do it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses razed to the ground.

But if you can tell me the dream and its meaning, I will give you presents and reward you with great honor.”

They insisted: “Let the king tell us his dream, and we will explain what it means.”

The king said: “You are only trying to buy more time, because you know what I will definitely do

if you do not tell me my dream; there is only one punishment for you. You have plotted to deceive me with a false interpretation, hoping that times will change. But if you can demonstrate that you know what my dream was, I will be sure that you also have the ability to understand its meaning.”

The Chaldeans exclaimed: “No one on earth can do what your majesty asks. Never has any king, however great and mighty, asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or diviner.

What the king demands is too difficult. No one can tell him that except the gods, who do not live among mortals.”

This made the king so angry that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.

When the decree to kill the wise men was issued, a search was also conducted for Daniel and his friends to be killed.

However, Daniel spoke carefully with Arioch, the king’s guard commander, who had gone out to kill the wise men.

“Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Daniel asked, and Arioch explained.

Then, Daniel went to the king and re-quested that the execution be delayed, giving him time to interpret the dream.

Daniel returned home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

He asked them to pray for God’s mercy about this mystery so they wouldn’t die with the other wise men of Babylon.

Then, in a night vision, the mystery was shown to Daniel. He praised the God of heaven:

Blessed be God’s name forever and ever, for his is wisdom and power.

He changes times and seasons; he sets up and deposes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in darkness; for the light is with him.

I thank you and praise you, O God of my ancestors. You have given me wisdom and strength; you have shown me what we asked for —you have revealed to us the dream of the king.

After this, Daniel approached Arioch, the commander appointed by the king to carry out the execution of Babylon’s wise men. Daniel told him: “Do not execute the wise men yet. Bring me to the king, and I will interpret his dreams.”

Immediately, Arioch took Daniel to the king and said: “Here is a man found among the Judean captives who says he can interpret the king’s dream.”

The king asked Daniel, who had been named Belteshazzar: “Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”

Daniel replied: “No wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner can interpret the king’s dream.

But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. I will tell you the dream and visions you had.

As you lie in bed, O king, your thoughts turn to the future, and he who reveals mysteries shows you what is to come.

This mystery has been revealed to me, not because I am wiser than anyone else, but so that you may understand what it means and what has gone on in your mind.

In your vision, you saw a statue—very large, very bright, and frightening to look at.

Its head was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,

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

As you watched, a rock carved from a mountain—yet not by human hands—struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, shattering them.

Suddenly, the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled into pieces, as fine as chaff on a summer threshing floor. The wind swept them away, leaving no trace behind. But the rock that hit the statue grew into a great mountain covering the whole earth.

That was the dream; now here is the interpretation.

You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given dominion, strength, power, and glory,

and into whose hand he has placed humankind, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air, making you ruler over them. You are that head of gold.

After you, another kingdom, weaker than yours, will rise. Then a third kingdom made of bronze will rule the whole world.

The last will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; and just as iron breaks and crushes everything else, so will it break and destroy all the others.

The partly-clay and partly-iron feet and toes mean it will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some strength of iron, just as you saw iron mixed with clay.

And as the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak.

Just as you saw iron mixed with baked clay, the people will be a mixture but will not stay united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed or handed over to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it will last forever.

This is the meaning of your vision of a rock cut from a mountain—not by human hands; the rock that struck the statue and shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God has shown the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is reliable.”

King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and ordered that offerings and incense be presented to him.

The king said to Daniel: “Surely your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and the Revealer of mysteries. That is why you were able to reveal this mystery.”

The king rewarded Daniel with a high position and showered him with gifts. He made him governor of the entire province of Babylon and in charge of all its wise men.

At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as administrators of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained at the king’s court.