Daily Bread

Daniel Interprets the Dream

²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch,^(A) whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles^(B) from Judah^(C) who can tell the king what his dream means.”

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),^(D) “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

²⁷ Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,^{(E) 28} but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.^(F) He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.^(G) Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind^(H) as you were lying in bed^(I) are these:^(J)

²⁹ “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.^{(K) 30} As for me, this mystery has been revealed^(L) to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,^(M) awesome^(N) in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.^(O) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed^(P) them.^{(Q) 35} Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away^(R) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain^(S) and filled the whole earth.^(T)

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.^{(U) 37} Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.^(V) The God of heaven has given you dominion^(W) and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.^(X) You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.^{(Y) 40} Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.^{(Z) 41} Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush^(AA) all those kingdoms^(AB) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.^{(AC) 45} This is the meaning of the vision of the rock^(AD) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands^(AE)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.^(AF) The dream is true^(AG) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate^(AH) before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering^(AI) and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods^(AJ) and the Lord of kings^(AK) and a revealer of mysteries,^(AL) for you were able to reveal this mystery.^(AM)”

⁴⁸ Then the king placed Daniel in a high^(AN) position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.^{(AO) 49} Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon,^(AP) while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.^(AQ)