1 ¶ In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and he could not get back to sleep.

2 So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

3 And the king said to them, I had a dream, and am anxious to understand it.

4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, O king, live for ever: tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation.

5 But the king replied by saying to the Chaldeans, The dream has departed from me: if you do not tell me the dream, and what it means, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made into a dunghill.

6 But if you tell me the dream, and its interpretation, you will receive gifts, rewards, and great honor from me: therefore tell me the dream, and its interpretation.

7 Again they said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will reveal its interpretation.

8 The king answered and said, I know for certain that you are trying to gain time, because you know the dream has departed from me.

9 But if you do not tell me the dream, there is but one verdict for you: for you have prepared dishonest and deceitful words to speak to me, hoping that in time things will change: therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me what it means.

10 The Chaldeans answered the king, saying, There is no one on earth who can tell the king what he asks: there is no king, lord, or ruler who has ever asked such a thing of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.

11 What the king requires is so unusual, that there is no one who can reveal it to the king, except the gods, who do not live with men.

12 Therefore the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.

13 So the decree went forth that the wise men should be killed; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

14 ¶ Then Daniel responded with good sense and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon:

15 He asked Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree from the king so harsh? Then Arioch explained it to Daniel.

16 Then Daniel went in to the king, saying that if he would give him time, he would tell the king the meaning.

17 Then Daniel went to his house, and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about it:

18 So that they would seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this secret; so that Daniel and his fellows would not die with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20 Daniel answered and said, May the name of God be blessed for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

21 And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and raises up kings: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding:

22 He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

23 I thank you, and praise you, O you God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and ability, and made known to me what we asked you about: for you have revealed to us what the king wants to know.

24 ¶ Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to kill the wise men of Babylon: he went and said to him; Do not kill the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.

25 Then Arioch quickly took Daniel before the king, saying this to him, I have found a man among the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.

26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to tell me the dream that I saw, and its interpretation?

27 Daniel answering in the presence of the king, then said, No wise man, astrologer, magician, or soothsayer can reveal to the king the mystery that the king requires;

28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and is making known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the future. Your dream, and the visions of your head as you lay on your bed, were these;

29 You, O king, as you were lying on your bed, began to think about what would happen in the future: and he who reveals secrets made known to you what will come to pass.

30 But as for me, this secret was not revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone else, but to inform the king of the meaning, so you might understand the thoughts of your heart.

31 ¶ You, O king, looked and saw a huge statue. This huge statue, which was dazzlingly bright, stood before you; and it looked terrifying.

32 This statue’s head was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

33 Its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

34 You watched until a stone that was cut out of the mountain, but not by hands, struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.

35 Then the iron, clay, brass, silver, and gold crumbled to pieces with it, and became like chaff on the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried the pieces away, so that they were gone: and the stone that struck the image grew as large as a great mountain, and filled the earth.

36 This is the dream; and we will tell the king what it means.

37 You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory.

38 And wherever people live, or beasts of the field and birds of the air, he has placed them in your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.

39 But after you another kingdom will arise inferior to yours, and then a third kingdom of brass, which will bear rule over all the earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron: since iron breaks to pieces and subdues all things: and like iron that crushes, it will crush all these and break them in pieces.

41 And as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of potters’ clay, and partly of iron, the kingdom will be divided; but the strength of iron will be in it, for you saw the iron mixed with weak clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron, and partly of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly brittle.

43 And as you saw iron mixed with weak clay, they will be mixed in marriage: but they will not hold together, just as iron will not mix with clay.

44 And at the time of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, that will never be destroyed: and this kingdom will not be left to another people, but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand for ever.

45 As you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and gold in pieces; the great God has made known to the king what will happen in the future: and the dream is true, and its interpretation certain.

46 ¶ Then the king Nebuchadnezzar bowed down on the ground, and worshipped Daniel, and gave orders that he should be given offerings of food and incense.

47 The king said to Daniel, It is certain that your God is a God of gods, a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing that you could reveal this secret.

48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him a ruler over the entire province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.