Thematic Bible: Dream


Thematic Bible



And you, you must not listen to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your interpreters of signs, and to your sorcerers who are {saying}, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.'

Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore [the people] wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.

For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who [are] in your midst, and your diviners, deceive you, and you must not listen to your dreams that you [are] causing [them] to dream.

"If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams and he gives to you a sign or wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes [about] that he spoke to you, {saying}, 'Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God {is testing you to know whether you love} Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all [of] your inner self. read more.
You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the [one] bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the [one] redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so [in this way] you shall purge the evil from your midst.

"I have heard what the prophets who prophesy lies have said in my name, {saying}, 'I have dreamed! I have dreamed!' {How long} [will] this be in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceitfulness of their hearts, who plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell each one to his neighbor, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal? read more.
The prophet who [has] with him a dream, let him tell [the] dream. But [the prophet] who [has] my word with him, let him speak my word faithfully. {What is straw compared to wheat}?" {declares} Yahweh. "[Is] not my word like fire?" {declares} Yahweh, "and like a blacksmith's hammer [that] breaks a rock into pieces? "{Therefore} look, I [am] against the prophets," {declares} Yahweh, "who steal my words each one from his neighbor. Look, I [am] against the prophets," {declares} Yahweh, "who take their tongues and declare as prophets, '[Yahweh] {declares}.' Look, I [am] against those who prophesy dreams of lies," {declares} Yahweh, "and tell them, and they caused my people to err through their lies, and in their recklessness, when I myself have not sent them nor commanded them, so they profit not this people at all," {declares} Yahweh.


'And it will be in the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

and he said, "Please hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak to him in a dream.

The prophet who [has] with him a dream, let him tell [the] dream. But [the prophet] who [has] my word with him, let him speak my word faithfully. {What is straw compared to wheat}?" {declares} Yahweh.

And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.


Then Joseph said to him, "This [is] its interpretation: The three branches, they [are] three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your office. And you shall put the cup of Pharaoh into his hand as [was] formerly the custom, when you were his cupbearer.

Then Joseph answered and said, "This [is] its interpretation: The three baskets, they [are] three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a pole, and the birds will eat your flesh from you."

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh [are] one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows, they are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain, they [are] seven years. The dreams [are] one. And the seven thin and ugly cows coming up after them, they [are] seven years, and the seven empty ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, they are [also] seven years of famine. read more.
This [is] the word that I have spoken to Pharaoh; God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. Then seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will consume the land. Abundance in the land will not be known because of the famine {that follows}, for it will be very heavy. Now concerning the repetition of the dream twice to Pharaoh, [it is] because the matter [is] established by God, and God will do [it] quickly.


And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he would give him time, and {he would tell the king} the explanation. Then Daniel went to his home, and he made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions, and [told them] to seek mercy {from the God of heaven} concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed. read more.
Then in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel; then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel {said}: "Let his name, [the name] of God, be blessed {throughout the ages}, for the wisdom and the power {are his}. And he changes the times and the seasons, and he deposes kings and he sets up kings; he gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to [men who] know understanding. He reveals the deep and the hidden things; he knows what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and I give praises, for the wisdom and the power you gave to me, and now you have made known to me what we have asked from you, for you have made known to us the matter of the king."

But there is a God in heaven [who] reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what [it is] that will be at the end of days. This [is] your dream and the visions of your head on your bed. "[As for you], king, your thoughts on your bed {turned to} what [it was] that would be {in the future}, and the revealer of mysteries has made known to you what that would be. And as for me, [it is] not because of wisdom that is in me more than {any other living person} [that] this mystery is revealed to me, but {in order that} the explanation may be made known to the king and you will {understand} the thoughts of your {mind}.


And [when they] had set a day with him, many more came to him at his lodging place, to whom he was explaining from early in the morning until evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and attempting to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. And [some] were convinced [by] what was said, but [others] refused to believe.


And he became hungry and wanted to eat. But [while] they were preparing [the food], a trance came over him. And he saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down to the earth by its four corners, in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of the sky. read more.
And a voice came to him, "Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!" But Peter said, "Certainly not, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common and unclean!" And the voice [came] again to him for the second time: "[The things] which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!" And this happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.


"And a word came stealing to me, and my ear received [the] whisper from it. Amid troubling thoughts from night visions, at [the] falling of deep sleep on men, dread met me, and trembling, and it made many of my bones shake. read more.
And a spirit glided before my face; the hair of my flesh bristled. It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance; a form [was] {before} my eyes; [there was] a hush, and I heard a voice: 'Can a human being be more righteous than God, or can a man be more pure than his Maker? Look, he does not trust in his servants and he charges his angels with error. How much more dwellers in clay houses, whose foundation [is] in the dust? They are crushed like a moth. {Between morning and evening} they are destroyed; without [anyone] regarding [it] they perish forever. [Is] not their tent cord pulled up within them? They die, but not in wisdom.'


Now it happened [that] at the time of the mating of the flock I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams mounting the flock [were] streaked, speckled, and dappled. Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I [am].' And he said, 'Lift up your eyes and see--all the rams mounting the flock [are] streaked, speckled, and dappled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. read more.
I [am] the God of Bethel where you anointed a stone pillar, where you made a vow to me. Now get up, go out from this land and return to the land of your birth.'"


Solomon loved Yahweh, by walking in the statutes of David his father; only he [was] sacrificing and offering incense on the high places. So the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice, for the great high place [was] there. Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. Yahweh appeared to Solomon at Gibeon in a dream at night, and God said, "Ask what I should give to you." read more.
Then Solomon said, "You have shown great loyal love with your servant David my father, as he walked before you in faithfulness and in righteousness and in uprightness of heart with you. You have shown for him this great loyal love, and you have given a son to him who is sitting on his throne as [it is] this day. So then, O Yahweh, you are my God. You have made your servant king in place of David my father [though] I [am] a young boy. I do not know going out or coming in. Your servant [is] in the middle of your people whom you have chosen; a great people who cannot be counted or numbered because of abundance. Give to your servant a listening heart to judge your people, to discern between good and bad, because who is able to judge this, your difficult people?" The word was good in the eyes of [the] Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said to him, "Because you have asked this thing and you did not ask for yourself {a long life} and you did not ask riches for yourself and you did not ask for the life of your enemies, but you have asked for yourself {the ability to make wise judgments}; behold, I do hereby do according to your word. I hereby give you a wise and discerning heart; there was no one like you before you, nor afterwards will one like you arise. Too, what you have not asked I give to you: both riches and honor, [so that] no man among the kings will be like you all of your days. If you will walk in my ways by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David your father walked, then I will lengthen your days." Then Solomon awoke, and look, [it was] a dream, and he came [to] Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of [the] Lord, and he offered burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings, and he held a feast for all of his servants.


But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. And she will give birth to a son, and you will call his name 'Jesus,' because he will save his people from their sins."


Now [after] Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead." So he got up [and] took the child and his mother and {entered} the land of Israel. read more.
But [when he] heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee.


And they said to him, "We [each] dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell [them] to me." Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, "In my dream, now behold, [there was] a vine before me, and on the vine [were] three branches. And as it budded, its blossoms came up, [and] its clusters of grapes grew ripe. read more.
And the cup of Pharaoh [was] in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I placed the cup into the hand of Pharaoh." Then Joseph said to him, "This [is] its interpretation: The three branches, they [are] three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your office. And you shall put the cup of Pharaoh into his hand as [was] formerly the custom, when you were his cupbearer. But remember me when it goes well with you, and please may you show kindness with respect to me, and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For I was surely kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in this pit." And when the chief baker saw that the interpretation [was] good he said to Joseph, "I also [dreamed]. In my dream, now behold, [there were] three baskets of bread upon my head. And in the upper basket [were] all sorts of baked foods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket upon my head." Then Joseph answered and said, "This [is] its interpretation: The three baskets, they [are] three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a pole, and the birds will eat your flesh from you." And it happened [that] on the third day, [which was] Pharaoh's birthday, he made a feast for all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. And he restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing [position]. And he placed the cup in the hand of Pharaoh. But the chief baker he hanged as Joseph had interpreted to them. But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.


And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told [it] to his brothers. And {they hated him even more}. And he said to them, "Listen now to this dream that I dreamed. Now behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field and, behold, my sheaf stood up and it remained standing. Then behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf." read more.
Then his brothers said to him, "Will you really rule over us?" And {they hated him even more} on account of his dream and because of his words. Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." And he told [it] to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, "What [is] this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?"


And the multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel, all those who fight [against] her and her stronghold, and those who inflict her shall be like dream, a vision of [the] night. And it shall be as when the hungry person dreams--look, [he is] eating! And he wakes up and his inner self [is] empty. Or as when the thirsty person dreams--look, [he is] drinking! And he wakes up and look, [he is] faint, and his inner self [is] longing for water. So shall be the multitude of all the nations who fight against Mount Zion.


And it happened [that] after {two full years} Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. And behold, seven cows, {well built and fat}, were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, {ugly and gaunt}, and they stood beside those cows on the bank of the Nile. read more.
And the {ugly and gaunt} cows ate the seven {well built and fat} cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time, and behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were coming out of one stalk. And behold, seven thin ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven plump and full ears of grain. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, [it was] a dream. And it happened [that] in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called all of the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told his dream to them. But {they had no interpretation} for Pharaoh. Then the chief of the cupbearers spoke with Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my sins today. Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the house of the chief of the guard. And we dreamed a dream one night, I and he, {each with a dream that had a meaning}. And there with us [was] a young man, a Hebrew servant of the chief of the guard, and we told him [the dream], and he interpreted our dreams for us, each according to his dream he interpreted. And it happened just as he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored me to my office, and him he hanged." Then Pharaoh sent and called [for] Joseph, and they brought him quickly from the prison. And he shaved and changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I dreamed a dream, but there is none to interpret it. Now, I have heard concerning you [that when] you hear a dream [you can] interpret it." Then Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, "{It is not in my power}; God will answer [concerning] the well-being of Pharaoh." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "[Now] in my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, and behold, seven cows, {well built and fat}, were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, very {ugly and gaunt}--never have I seen [any] as them in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. And the thin and ugly cows ate the former seven healthy cows. But [when] they went into their bellies it could not be known that they went into their bellies, for their appearance [was] as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. Then I saw in my dream and behold, seven ears of grain were coming out of one stalk, full and good. And behold, seven withered ears of grain, thin [and] scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven good ears of grain. And I told the magicians, but there was none to explain [it] to me." Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh [are] one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows, they are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain, they [are] seven years. The dreams [are] one. And the seven thin and ugly cows coming up after them, they [are] seven years, and the seven empty ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, they are [also] seven years of famine. This [is] the word that I have spoken to Pharaoh; God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. Then seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will consume the land. Abundance in the land will not be known because of the famine {that follows}, for it will be very heavy. Now concerning the repetition of the dream twice to Pharaoh, [it is] because the matter [is] established by God, and God will do [it] quickly. Now then, let Pharaoh select a man [who is] discerning and wise, and let him set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do [this], and let him appoint supervisors over the land, and let him take one-fifth from the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. Then let them gather all the food of these coming good years and let them pile up grain under the hand of Pharaoh [for] food in the cities, and let them keep [it]. Then the food shall be as a deposit for the land for the seven years of the famine that will be in the land of Egypt, that the land will not perish on account of the famine."


About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him and became terrified [and] said, "What is [it], Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God. And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is also called Peter. read more.
This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea."


And [while] he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent [a message] to him, saying, "{Have nothing to do with that righteous man}, for I have suffered much as a result of a dream today because of him.")




And the next night the Lord stood by him [and] said, "Have courage, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."


And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "{Take care} that you not speak with Jacob, whether good or evil."


He will fly away like a dream, and they will not find him, and he will be chased away like a vision of [the] night.



For with many dreams [come] vanities and numerous words. Therefore, fear God!


And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: a certain Macedonian man was standing there and imploring him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia [and] help us!"


When Gideon came, a man [was] recounting a dream to his friend, and he said, "Behold, {I had a dream}; a round loaf of barley bread [was] tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell."




Now [after] they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."


And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, "Look, you [are] a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she [is] {a married woman}."