^{1 Ref} And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

^{2 Ref} Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

^{3 Ref} And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

^{4 Ref} Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

^{5 Ref} The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

^{6 Ref} But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof.

^{7 Ref} They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

^{8 Ref} The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

^{9 Ref} But if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law 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 show me the interpretation thereof.

^{10 Ref} The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter, forasmuch as no king, lord, or ruler, hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.

^{11 Ref} And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

^{12 Ref} For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

^{13 Ref} So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

^{14 Ref} Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;

¹⁵ he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

^{16 Ref} And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.

^{17 Ref} Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

^{18 Ref} that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should nor perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

^{19 Ref} Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

^{20 Ref} Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

^{21 Ref} 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 have understanding;

^{22 Ref} he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

^{23 Ref} I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

^{24 Ref} Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed 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 show unto the king the interpretation.

^{25 Ref} Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

^{26 Ref} 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?

^{27 Ref} Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;

^{28 Ref} but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made 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 Ref} 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 hath made known to thee what shall come to pass.

^{30 Ref} But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.

^{31 Ref} Thou, O king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible.

^{32 Ref} As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

^{33 Ref} its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

^{34 Ref} Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.

^{35 Ref} Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

^{36 Ref} This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

^{37 Ref} Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;

^{38 Ref} and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.

^{39 Ref} 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 Ref} And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.

^{41 Ref} And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

^{42 Ref} 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 the 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 doth not mingle with clay.

^{44 Ref} And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

^{45 Ref} Forasmuch as thou sawest that a 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 Ref} Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.

^{47 Ref} The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.

^{48 Ref} Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

^{49 Ref} And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

^{1 Ref} In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

^{2 Ref} Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

^{3 Ref} The king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

^{4 Ref} Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live forever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

^{5 Ref} The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you don't make known to me the dream and the interpretation of it, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

^{6 Ref} But if you show the dream and the interpretation of it, you shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation of it.

^{7 Ref} They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

^{8 Ref} The king answered, I know of a certainty that you would gain time, because you see the thing is gone from me.

^{9 Ref} But if you don't make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me the interpretation of it.

^{10 Ref} The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man on the earth who can show the king's matter, because no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.

^{11 Ref} It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

^{12 Ref} For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

^{13 Ref} So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

^{14 Ref} Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;

¹⁵ he answered Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

^{16 Ref} Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.

^{17 Ref} Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

^{18 Ref} that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should nor perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

^{19 Ref} Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

^{20 Ref} Daniel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

^{21 Ref} He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;

^{22 Ref} he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

^{23 Ref} I thank you, and praise you, you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king's matter.

^{24 Ref} Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: Don't destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.

^{25 Ref} Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.

^{26 Ref} The king answered Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation of it?

^{27 Ref} Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show to the king;

^{28 Ref} but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:

^{29 Ref} as for you, O king, your thoughts came [into your mind] on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall happen.

^{30 Ref} But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

^{31 Ref} You, O king, saw, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and the aspect of it was awesome.

^{32 Ref} As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

^{33 Ref} its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

^{34 Ref} You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

^{35 Ref} Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

^{36 Ref} This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

^{37 Ref} You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;

^{38 Ref} and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold.

^{39 Ref} After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

^{40 Ref} The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.

^{41 Ref} Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.

^{42 Ref} 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 Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not mingle with clay.

^{44 Ref} In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty of it be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

^{45 Ref} Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation of it sure.

^{46 Ref} Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.

^{47 Ref} The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you have been able to reveal this secret.

^{48 Ref} Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

^{49 Ref} Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

^{1 Ref} In the second year of the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep went from him.

^{2 Ref} Then the king gave orders that the wonder-workers, and the users of secret arts, and those who made use of evil powers, and the Chaldaeans, were to be sent for to make clear to the king his dreams. So they came and took their places before the king.

^{3 Ref} And the king said to them, I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled by the desire to have the dream made clear to me.

^{4 Ref} Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in the Aramaean language, O King, have life for ever: give your servants an account of your dream, and we will make clear to you the sense of it.

^{5 Ref} The king made answer and said to the Chaldaeans, This is my decision: if you do not make clear to me the dream and the sense of it, you will be cut in bits and your houses made waste.

^{6 Ref} But if you make clear the dream and the sense of it, you will have from me offerings and rewards and great honour: so make clear to me the dream and the sense of it.

^{7 Ref} A second time they said in answer, Let the king give his servants an account of his dream, and we will make clear the sense.

^{8 Ref} The king made answer and said, I am certain that you are attempting to get more time, because you see that my decision is fixed;

^{9 Ref} That if you do not make my dream clear to me there is only one fate for you: for you have made ready false and evil words to say before me till the times are changed: so give me an account of the dream, and I will be certain that you are able to make the sense of it clear.

^{10 Ref} Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in answer, There is not a man on earth able to make clear the king's business; for no king, however great his power, has ever made such a request to any wonder-worker or user of secret arts or Chaldaean.

^{11 Ref} The king's request is a very hard one, and there is no other who is able to make it clear to the king, but the gods, whose living-place is not with flesh.

^{12 Ref} Because of this the king was angry and full of wrath, and gave orders for the destruction of all the wise men of Babylon.

^{13 Ref} So the order went out that the wise men were to be put to death; and they were looking for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

^{14 Ref} Then Daniel gave an answer with wisdom and good sense to Arioch, the captain of the king's armed men, who had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon;

¹⁵ He made answer and said to Arioch, O captain of the king, why is the king's order so cruel? Then Arioch gave Daniel an account of the business.

^{16 Ref} And Daniel went in and made a request to the king to give him time and he would make clear the sense of his dream to the king.

^{17 Ref} And Daniel went to his house and gave his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah the news:

^{18 Ref} So that they might make a request for the mercy of the God of heaven in the question of this secret; so that Daniel and his friends might not come to destruction with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

^{19 Ref} Then the secret was made clear to Daniel in a vision of the night. And Daniel gave blessing to the God of heaven.

^{20 Ref} And Daniel said in answer, May the name of God be praised for ever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his:

^{21 Ref} By him times and years are changed: by him kings are taken away and kings are lifted up: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those whose minds are awake:

^{22 Ref} He is the unveiler of deep and secret things: he has knowledge of what is in the dark, and the light has its living-place with him.

^{23 Ref} I give you praise and worship, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and strength, and have now made clear to me what we were requesting from you: for you have given us knowledge of the king's business.

^{24 Ref} For this reason Daniel went to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders for the destruction of the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, Do not put to death the wise men of Babylon: take me in before the king and I will make clear to him the sense of the dream.

^{25 Ref} Then Arioch quickly took Daniel in before the king, and said to him, Here is a man from among the prisoners of Judah, who will make clear to the king the sense of the dream.

^{26 Ref} The king made answer and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make clear to me the dream which I saw and its sense?

^{27 Ref} Then Daniel said in answer to the king, No wise men, or users of secret arts, or wonder-workers, or readers of signs, are able to make clear to the king the secret he is searching for;

^{28 Ref} But there is a God in heaven, the unveiler of secrets, and he has given to King Nebuchadnezzar knowledge of what will take place in the last days. Your dreams and the visions of your head on your bed are these:

^{29 Ref} As for you, O King, the thoughts which came to you on your bed were of what will come about after this: and the unveiler of secrets has made clear to you what is to come.

^{30 Ref} As for me, this secret is not made clear to me because of any wisdom which I have more than any living man, but in order that the sense of the dream may be made clear to the king, and that you may have knowledge of the thoughts of your heart.

^{31 Ref} You, O King, were looking, and a great image was there. This image, which was very great, and whose glory was very bright, was placed before you: its form sent fear into the heart.

^{32 Ref} As for this image, its head was made of the best gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its middle and its sides were of brass,

^{33 Ref} Its legs of iron, its feet were in part of iron and in part of potter's earth.

^{34 Ref} While you were looking at it, a stone was cut out, but not by hands, and it gave the image a blow on its feet, which were of iron and earth, and they were broken in bits.

^{35 Ref} Then the iron and the earth, the brass and the silver and the gold, were smashed together, and became like the dust on the floors where grain is crushed in summer; and the wind took them away so that no sign of them was to be seen: and the stone which gave the image a blow became a great mountain, covering all the earth.

^{36 Ref} This is the dream; and we will make clear to the king the sense of it.

^{37 Ref} You, O King, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory,

^{38 Ref} Wherever the children of men are living; into whose hands he has given the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and has made you ruler over them all, you are the head of gold.

^{39 Ref} And after you another kingdom, lower than you, will come to power; and a third kingdom, of brass, ruling over all the earth.

^{40 Ref} And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron: because, as all things are broken and overcome by iron, so it will have the power of crushing and smashing down all the earth.

^{41 Ref} And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's work and part of iron, there will be a division in the kingdom; but there will be some of the strength of iron in it, because you saw the iron mixed with the potter's earth.

^{42 Ref} And as the toes of the feet were in part of iron and in part of earth, so part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will readily be broken.

⁴³ And as you saw the iron mixed with earth, they will give their daughters to one another as wives: but they will not be united one with another, even as iron is not mixed with earth.

^{44 Ref} And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will put up a kingdom which will never come to destruction, and its power will never be given into the hands of another people, and all these kingdoms will be broken and overcome by it, but it will keep its place for ever.

^{45 Ref} Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that by it the iron and the brass and the earth and the silver and the gold were broken to bits, a great God has given the king knowledge of what is to take place in the future: the dream is fixed, and its sense is certain.

^{46 Ref} Then King Nebuchadnezzar, falling down on his face, gave worship to Daniel, and gave orders for an offering and spices to be given to him;

^{47 Ref} And the king made answer to Daniel and said, Truly, your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and an unveiler of secrets, for you have been able to make this secret clear.

^{48 Ref} Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him offerings in great number, and made him ruler over all the land of Babylon, and chief over all the wise men of Babylon.

^{49 Ref} And at Daniel's request, the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego authority over the business of the land of Babylon: but Daniel was kept near the king's person.