During Nebuchadnezzar’s second year as king, he had dreams that bothered him and kept him awake at night. So the king called for his fortune-tellers, magicians, wizards, and wise men, because he wanted them to tell him what he had dreamed. They came in and stood in front of the king.
Then the king said to them, “I had a dream that bothers me, and I want to know what it means.”
The wise men answered the king in the Aramaic language, “O king, live forever! Please tell us, your servants, your dream. Then we will tell you what it means.”
King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “I meant what I said. You must tell me the dream and what it means. If you don’t, I will have you torn apart, and I will turn your houses into piles of stones. But if you tell me my dream and its meaning, I will reward you with gifts and great honor. So tell me the dream and what it means.”
Again the wise men said to the king, “Tell us, your servants, the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
King Nebuchadnezzar answered, “I know you are trying to get more time, because you know that I meant what I said. If you don’t tell me my dream, you will be punished. You have all agreed to tell me lies and wicked things, hoping things will change. Now, tell me the dream so that I will know you can tell me what it really means!”
The wise men answered the king, saying, “No one on earth can do what the king asks! No great and powerful king has ever asked the fortune-tellers, magicians, or wise men to do this; the king is asking something that is too hard. Only the gods could tell the king this, but the gods do not live among people.”
When the king heard their answer, he became very angry. He ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be killed. So King Nebuchadnezzar’s order to kill the wise men was announced, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
Arioch, the commander of the king’s guards, was going to kill the wise men of Babylon. But Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and skill, saying, “Why did the king order such a terrible punishment?” Then Arioch explained everything to Daniel. So Daniel went to King Nebuchadnezzar and asked for an appointment so that he could tell the king what his dream meant.
Then Daniel went to his house and explained the whole story to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel asked his friends to pray that the God of heaven would show them mercy and help them understand this secret so he and his friends would not be killed with the other wise men of Babylon.
During the night God explained the secret to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. Daniel said:
“Praise God forever and ever,
because he has wisdom and power.
He changes the times and seasons of the year.
He takes away the power of kings
and gives their power to new kings.
He gives wisdom to those who are wise
and knowledge to those who understand.
He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden;
he knows what is hidden in darkness,
and light is all around him.
I thank you and praise you, God of my ancestors,
because you have given me wisdom and power.
You told me what we asked of you;
you told us about the king’s dream.”
Then Daniel went to Arioch, the man King Nebuchadnezzar had chosen to kill the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t put the wise men of Babylon to death. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”
Very quickly Arioch took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found a man among the captives from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”
The king asked Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I dreamed and what it means?”
Daniel answered, “No wise man, magician, or fortune-teller can explain to the king the secret he has asked about. But there is a God in heaven who explains secret things, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at a later time. This is your dream, the vision you saw while lying on your bed: O king, as you were lying there, you thought about things to come. God, who can tell people about secret things, showed you what is going to happen. God also told this secret to me, not because I have greater wisdom than any other living person, but so that you may know what it means. In that way you will understand what went through your mind.
“O king, in your dream you saw a huge, shiny, and frightening statue in front of you. The head of the statue was made of pure gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver. Its stomach and the upper part of its legs were made of bronze. The lower part of the legs were made of iron, while its feet were made partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were looking at the statue, you saw a rock cut free, but no human being touched the rock. It hit the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold broke to pieces at the same time. They became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summertime; the wind blew them away, and there was nothing left. Then the rock that hit the statue became a very large mountain that filled the whole earth.
“That was your dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. O king, you are the greatest king. God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory. Wherever people, wild animals, and birds live, God made you ruler over them. King Nebuchadnezzar, you are the head of gold on that statue.
“Another kingdom will come after you, but it will not be as great as yours. Next a third kingdom, the bronze part, will rule over the earth. Then there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron. In the same way that iron crushes and smashes things to pieces, the fourth kingdom will smash and crush all the other kingdoms.
“You saw that the statue’s feet and toes were partly baked clay and partly iron. That means the fourth kingdom will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of iron in it, just as you saw iron was mixed with clay.
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