Daniel 2:1-23 - The King's Troubling Dream
1 During the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him. As a result, he couldn't sleep. 2 So the king gave orders to summon diviners, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to reveal to the king what he had dreamed. When they came and stood before him, 3 the king told them, "I have dreamed a dream and I will remain troubled until I can understand it."
4 The Chaldeans responded to the king in Aramaic: "May the king live forever. Tell the dream to your servants, and we'll reveal its meaning."
5 In reply the king told the Chaldeans, "Here is what I have commanded: If you don't tell me both the dream and its meaning, you'll be destroyed and your houses will be reduced to rubble. 6 But if you do relate the dream to me as well as its meaning, you'll receive gifts, rewards, and great honor from me. Therefore reveal the dream to me, along with its meaning."
7 They replied again, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we'll disclose its meaning."
8 The king responded, "I'm convinced that you're stalling for time because you're aware of what I've commanded. 9 So if you don't disclose the dream to me, there will be only one sentence for all of you. You have conspired together to present lies and corrupt interpretations until the situation changes. Now tell me the dream and I'll know that you can reveal its true meaning."
10 The Chaldeans answered the king directly, "There's not a single man on earth who can do what the king has commanded. No king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing from any diviner, enchanter, or Chaldean. 11 Furthermore, what the king is asking is so difficult that no one can reveal it except the gods and they don't live with human beings." 12 At this point, the king flew into a rage and issued an order to destroy all the advisors of Babylon. 13 When the order went out to kill the advisors, they searched for Daniel and his friends to kill them, too.
14 Daniel responded with wisdom and discretion to Arioch, the king's executioner, who had gone out to execute the advisors of Babylon. 15 He asked him, "Why such a harsh decree from the king?" Then Arioch informed Daniel, 16 so Daniel went to ask Nebuchadnezzar for an appointment to see him, and it was granted him so that he could reveal the meaning to the king.
17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the king's command. 18 Daniel was seeking mercy, in order to ask about this mystery in the presence of the God of heaven, so that Daniel and his friends might not be executed along with the rest of the advisors of Babylon. 19 When the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision later that night, Daniel blessed the God of heaven 20 and said, "May the name of God be blessed forever and ever; wisdom and power are his for evermore. 21 It is God who alters the times and seasons, and he removes kings and promotes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals what is profoundly mysterious and knows what is in the darkness; with him dwells light. 23 To you, God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, because you have given me wisdom and power; you have now revealed to me what we asked of you by making known to us what the king commanded."