And in the
second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his
spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from
him.
02 Then the king commanded to call the magicians,
and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the
Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So
they came and stood before the king.
03 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a
dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the
dream.
04 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in
Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants
the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
05 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans,
The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make
known unto me the dream, with the interpretation
thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your
houses shall be made a dunghill.
06 But if ye shew the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me
gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore
shew me the dream, and the interpretation
thereof.
07 They answered again and said, Let the king
tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the
interpretation of it.
08 The king answered and said, I know of
certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye
see the thing is gone from me.
09 But if ye will not make known unto me the
dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye
have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak
before me, till the time be changed: therefore
tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can
shew me the interpretation thereof.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and
said, There is not a man upon the earth that can
shew the king's matter: therefore there is no
king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at
any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king
requireth, and there is none other that can shew
it before the king, except the gods, whose
dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very
furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise
men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise men
should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his
fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom
to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which
was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's
captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the
king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king
that he would give him time, and that he would
shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the
thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the God of
heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and
his fellows should not perish with the rest of
the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a
night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of
heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name
of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might
are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he
removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth
wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that
know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he
knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light
dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of
my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might,
and hast made known unto me now what we desired
of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the
king's matter.
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the
king had ordained to destroy the wise men of
Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy
not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before
the king, and I will shew unto the king the
interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king
in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a
man of the captives of Judah, that will make
known unto the king the interpretation.
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose
name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make
known unto me the dream which I have seen, and
the interpretation thereof?
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27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king,
and said, The secret which the king hath demanded
cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the
magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth
secrets, and maketh known to the king
Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.
Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy
bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into
thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass
hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh
known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to
me for any wisdom that I have more than any
living, but for their sakes that shall make known
the interpretation to the king, and that thou
mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great
image. This great image, whose brightness was
excellent, stood before thee; and the form
thereof was terrible.
32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast
and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs
of brass,
33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and
part of clay.
34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out
without hands, which smote the image upon his
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them
to pieces.
35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the
silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together,
and became like the chaff of the summer
threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them: and the stone
that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the
interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God
of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and
strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the
beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven
hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee
ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom
inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of
brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and
subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh
all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes,
part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in
it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou
sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron,
and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly
strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry
clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed
of men: but they shall not cleave one to another,
even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God
of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to
other people, but it shall break in pieces and
consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was
cut out of the mountain without hands, and that
it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay,
the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made
known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.
46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his
face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that
they should offer an oblation and sweet odours
unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a
truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and
a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and
gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler
over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of
the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs
of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the
gate of the king.
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