Daniel 2:25-49

English Standard Version

²⁵Then ^(A)Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ^(B)in haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^(C)among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶The king declared to Daniel, ^(D)whose name was Belteshazzar, ^(E)“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^(F)enchanters, ^(G)magicians, or ^(H)astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸but ^(I)there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^(J)what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^(K)the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^(L)and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰But ^(M)as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ^(N)you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

³¹“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. ³²^(O)The head of this image was of fine gold, ^(P)its chest and arms of silver, its middle and ^(Q)thighs of bronze, ³³^(R)its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴As you looked, a stone was cut out ^(S)by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^(T)broke them in pieces. ³⁵Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became ^(U)like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^(V)not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became ^(W)a great mountain ^(X)and filled the whole earth.

³⁶“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. ³⁷You, O king, ^(Y)the king of kings, to whom ^(Z)the God of heaven ^(AA)has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, ³⁸and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ^(AB)the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are ^(AC)the head of gold. ³⁹^(AD)Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ^(AE)of bronze, ^(AF)which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰And ^(AG)there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ^(AH)breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ^(AI)break and crush all these. ⁴¹And as you saw ^(AJ)the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ^(AK)firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. ⁴²And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,^[a] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴And in the days of those kings ^(AL)the God of heaven will set up ^(AM)a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^(AN)It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^(AO)it shall stand forever, ⁴⁵just as ^(AP)you saw that ^(AQ)a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^(AR)it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^(AS)great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar ^(AT)fell upon his face and ^(AU)paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that ^(AV)an offering and ^(AW)incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your ^(AX)God is God of gods and ^(AY)Lord of kings, and ^(AZ)a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ^(BA)gifts, and made him ruler over the whole ^(BB)province of Babylon and ^(BC)chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^(BD)appointed ^(BE)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of ^(BF)the province of Babylon. But Daniel ^(BG)remained at the king's court.