1
And in the second year of the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit was disquieted, and his sleep was gone from him.
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And the king said to call the magicians, and the diviners◦, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king.
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And the king said to them◦, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was disquieted to know the dream.
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And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live to eternity; tell thy servants the dream, and we will show◦ the interpretation.
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The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is··gone from me; if you will not make known to me the dream, and its interpretation, you shall be made into pieces, and your houses shall be set as a dunghill.
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But if you show◦ the dream, and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and much glory; therefore show◦ me the dream, and its interpretation.
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They answered a second time and said, Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will show◦ the interpretation of it.
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The king answered and said, Of a certainty I◦ know that you would gain time because you see that the thing is··gone from me.
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For if you will not make known to me the dream, there is this◦ one law◦ for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to say 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
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There··is not a man▵ on the land* who is··able to show◦ this thing of the king, because there is not any great◦ king, or◦ ruler◦ who asked a thing such as this of any magician or◦ diviner◦ or◦ Chaldean.
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And it is a precious thing that the king asks, and there··is none◦ other who can show◦ it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling◦ is◦ not with▵ flesh.
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All because··of this the king was··angry and very enraged, and ordered that all the wise men of Babylon should perish.
13
And the law◦ went··out that the wise men should be killed◦; and they sought Daniel and his friends to be killed◦.
14
Then Daniel returned with counsel and decree to Arioch the major of the guard◦ of the king, who had gone··out to kill◦ the wise men of Babylon.
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He answered and said to Arioch the ruler◦ of the king, Why is the law◦ so urgent from before the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
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And Daniel went··in, and sought from the king that he would give him time▵, and that he would show◦ to the king the interpretation.
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Then Daniel went··up to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his friends.
18
And they sought compassion from before the God of the heavens concerning this secret, that Daniel and his friends should not perish with▵ what was left of the wise men of Babylon.
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Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of the heavens.
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Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God from ages and even··for ages, for wisdom and might, for they are His◦.
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And He◦ changes◦ times and seasons; He makes kings to pass··away, and raises··up kings: He gives▵ wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding;
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He◦ reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells▵ with▵ Him.
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To Thee, O God of my fathers, I◦ confess and praise, who hast given▵ me wisdom and might, and hast made known to me now what we besought from Thee; for Thou hast now made known to us the word of the king.
24
Because··of this Daniel went··in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed◦ to make· the wise men of Babylon ·perish; he went··up and said thus◦ to him, Make· not the wise men of Babylon ·perish; bring· me ·in before the king, and I will show◦ to the king the interpretation.
25
Then Arioch brought··in Daniel before the king in haste*, and said thus◦ to him, I have found a man▫ of the sons from the exile of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.
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The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art··thou able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?
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Daniel answered before the king and said, The secret which the king has asked, the wise men, the diviners◦, the magicians, those who sever*, are· not ·able to show◦ to the king;
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yet there··is a God in the heavens who reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the later days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, it◦ is this:
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Thou◦, O king, thy concerns came··up on thy bed, what should be after this; and He who reveals secrets makes known to thee what shall be.
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But as for me◦, this secret is not revealed to me by any wisdom I have◦ in me more than anyone living, except to the intent that the interpretation shall be made known to the king, and that thou mightest know the concerns of thy heart.
31
Thou◦, O king, wast seeing, and behold, one very large image. That▫ great◦ image, whose countenance was excellent◦, stood in front··of◦ thee; and its appearance was fearsome.
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The head of this◦ image was of good gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly◦ and its thighs◦ of bronze,
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its legs◦ of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
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Thou wast seeing until a stone was severed without hands, which smote the image on his feet that were of iron and clay, and crushed· them◦ ·thin.
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Then was the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold, crushed··thin together, and became as the chaff from the summer threshing··floors; and the wind carried· them◦ ·away, and not any place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great◦ rock, and filled all the earth.
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This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.
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Thou◦, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of the heavens has given▵ thee a secure◦ kingdom, and strength, and glory.
38
And wherever the sons of men◦ dwell◦, the animals of the field and the fowls of the heavens He has given▵ into thy hand, and has made thee have··dominion over them all. Thou◦ art this head of gold.
39
And in the place of thee shall arise another kingdom lower* than thou, and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall have··dominion over all the earth.
40
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron crushes··thin and makes··feeble all things; and as iron that breaks··up all these, it shall crush· it ·thin and break· it ·up.
41
And in that thou sawest the feet and the toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; and there shall be in it some of the strength▫ of the iron, because thou sawest the iron commingled with miry* clay.
42
And as the toes of the feet were partly from iron, and partly from clay, so the end of the kingdom shall be partly▫ strong, and shall be partly▫ broken.
43
And in that thou sawest iron commingled with miry clay, they shall be commingling themselves with the seed of men◦; but they shall not stick this with▵ this, even▫ as iron does not commingle with▵ clay.
44
And in the days of these◦ kings shall the God of the heavens set··up a kingdom, which shall not be destroyed◦ to eternity; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall crush··thin and consume all these kingdoms, and it◦ shall stand for ages.
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Because thou sawest that the stone was severed from the rock without hands, and that it crushed··thin the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great◦ God has made known to the king what shall be after this; and the dream is certain, and its interpretation is··faithful.
46
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face◦, and adored Daniel, and said to pour··out an offering to him, and a gift··offering and restful offerings.
47
The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God, He◦ is a God of gods, and a Lord◦ of kings, and a revealer of secrets, that thou art··able to reveal this secret.
48
Then the king made· Daniel ·great◦, and gave▵ him many great◦ gifts, and made him have··dominion over all the province of Babylon, and greatest◦ of the dukes over all the wise men of Babylon.
49
And Daniel besought the king, and he appointed◦ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
