1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar
dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake
from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the
astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king
his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said
unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know
the dream. 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king,
live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the
interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing
is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the
interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses
shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye shew the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and
great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation
thereof.
7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants
the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
8 The king
answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time,
because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make
known unto me the dream, there is but one decree 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 shew
me the interpretation thereof.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man
upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no
king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or
astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king
requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king,
except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the
king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise
men of Babylon. 13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be
slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of
the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree
so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. 16
Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him
time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel
went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego) his companions: 18 That they would desire mercies of the God of
heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not
perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then
Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever:
for wisdom and might are his:
21 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 know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness,
and the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might,
and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained 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
shew unto the king the interpretation.
(All were blessed because of Daniel ... so it is with us today. All persons are blessed because of us.)
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel
before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of
the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the
interpretation.
26 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 Daniel answered in the
presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded
cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers,
shew unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth
secrets, and maketh 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 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 maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me,
this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than
any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation
to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
(Daniel refused to take credit for the dream but gave that credit to God where it belonged)
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image,
whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof
was terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his
arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron,
his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone
was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that
were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron,
the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces
together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and
the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the
stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole
earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before
the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven
hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the
fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee
ruler over them all.
Thou art this head of gold.
39 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 And the fourth
kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces
and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it
break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and
toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch
as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 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 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 is not mixed with
clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be
left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that
the 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 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped
Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet
odours unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth
it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a
revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
48 Then
the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and
made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the
governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 Then Daniel requested of
the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs
of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
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Comments by Joan Boney
Like Joseph, God gave Daniel gifts to put Daniel in the position of ruling while he was still in captivity.
Proverbs 18:16 A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.