Daniel 2:24-45 - Daniel Praises God And Interprets The King's Dream
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 show unto the king the interpretation.
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, are you able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers, cannot show unto the king; 28 But there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are these; 29 As for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals secrets makes known to you 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 anyone living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that you might know the thoughts of your heart.
31 You, O king, saw, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its form was frightening. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 Its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 You saw till a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven has he given into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are this head of gold.
39 And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: since iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, just as you saw 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 as you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the descendants of men: but they shall not hold 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 forever. 45 Just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.