Daniel 2:1-23 - The King's Troubling Dream

¹ In the second year (604 b.c.) of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams which troubled and disturbed his spirit and [interfered with] his ability to sleep. ² Then the king gave a command to call the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. ³ The king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled and anxious to know the [content and meaning of the] dream.”

⁴ Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”

⁵ The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish. ⁶ But if you tell [me] the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

⁷ They answered again, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will explain its interpretation [to you].”

⁸ The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, because you have seen that my command [to you] is firm and irrevocable. ⁹ If you will not reveal to me the [content of the] dream, there is but one sentence for you; for you have [already] prepared lying and corrupt words [and you have agreed together] to speak [them] before me [hoping to delay your execution] until the situation is changed. Therefore, tell me the dream [first], and then I will know [with confidence] that you can give me its interpretation.”

¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king this matter, for no king, lord or ruler has ever asked such a thing as this of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. ¹¹ Furthermore, what the king demands is an unusual and difficult thing indeed! No one except the gods can reveal it to the king, and their dwelling is not with [mortal] flesh.” ¹² Because of this the king was indignant and extremely furious and gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree went out that the wise men were to be killed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions to put them to death.

¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with discretion and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; ¹⁵ he said to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh and urgent?” Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel. ¹⁶ So Daniel went in and asked the king to appoint a date and give him time, so that he might reveal to the king the interpretation of the dream.

¹⁷ Then Daniel returned to his house and discussed the matter with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ¹⁸ in order that they might seek compassion from the God of heaven regarding this secret, so that Daniel and his companions would not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel answered,

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
²¹
“It is He who changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and establishes kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
And [greater] knowledge to those who have understanding!
²²
“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
²³
“I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known to us [the solution to] the king’s matter.”