Thematic Bible: Dream


Thematic Bible



But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’ Verse ConceptsListeningMediumsFortunetellingOccultismDivinationMisleading DreamsFalse Prophets DenouncedAvoid SorceryDo Not Listen!SorceryDreams And False Prophetsmagic

For the idols speak falsehood,
and the diviners see illusions;
they relate empty dreams
and offer empty comfort.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.
Verse ConceptsAstrologyFutilityencouragement, examples ofdiscouragementGuidance, Need For God'sHousehold GodsPeace, Human Destruction OfRestlessnessSheepSorcery And MagicVisionsDivinationWanderersMisleading DreamsProphesying LiesNo ComfortDreams And False Prophets

For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, Verse Conceptsencouragement, examples ofWarnings Against DeceptionFalse Doctrines, AvoidanceMisleading DreamsAvoiding DeceitWicked ProphetsDeceptionprophetsattention

"If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, 'Let us follow other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us worship them,' do not listen to that prophet's words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. read more.
You must follow the Lord your God and fear Him. You must keep His commands and listen to His voice; you must worship Him and remain faithful to Him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.

"I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said: I had a dream! I had a dream! How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds? Through their dreams that they tell one another, they make plans to cause My people to forget My name as their fathers forgot My name through Baal worship. read more.
The prophet who has [only] a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw [compared] to grain?"-the Lord's declaration. "Is not My word like fire"-the Lord's declaration-"and like a sledgehammer that pulverizes rock? Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who steal My words from each other. I am against the prophets"-the Lord's declaration-"who use their own tongues to deliver an oracle. I am against those who prophesy false dreams"-the Lord's declaration-"telling them and leading My people astray with their falsehoods and their boasting. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people"-[this is] the Lord's declaration.

And it will be in the last days, says God,
that I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
Verse ConceptsdaughtersProphecy, In NtSonsPouringVisionsEnd Of The AgesHope For Old PeopleVisions From GodProphesying In The Churchend times prophecyEnd Of Days

He said:

“Listen to what I say:
If there is a prophet among you from the Lord,
I make Myself known to him in a vision;
I speak with him in a dream.
Verse ConceptsDreamsGod, Revelation OfKnowing God, Nature OfProphets, Role OfRevelation, In OtVisionsInspiration Of The Holy Spirit, Means OfProphetic VisionsVisions From GodRevelation Through Visions And Dreams

The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. Verse ConceptsAbsolute TruthFaithfulness, In Human RelationshipsStrawChaffMisleading DreamsUnrelated ThingsSpeaking As From God

After this
I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity;
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
Verse ConceptsdaughtersGirlsBaptism, significance ofDreamsGuidance, Receiving God'sSonsPouringVisionsInspiration Of The Holy Spirit, Nature OfProphetessHope For Old PeopleVisions From GodChildren BlessedProphesying In The ChurchMan's Relation To God

"This is its interpretation," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer.

"This is its interpretation," Joseph replied. "The three baskets are three days. In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head-from off you-and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh from your body."

Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing. The seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless, scorched heads of grain are seven years of famine. read more.
"It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe. Because the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and He will soon carry it out.

So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, [urging] them to ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon's wise men. read more.
The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven and declared: May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. I offer thanks and praise to You, God of my fathers, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have let me know what we asked of You, for You have let us know the king's mystery.

But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions [that came into] your mind [as you lay] in bed were these: Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came [to your mind] about what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has let you know what will happen. As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

After arranging a day with him, many came to him at his lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and witnessed about the kingdom of God. He persuaded them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets. Some were persuaded by what he said, but others did not believe.

Then he became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing something he went into a visionary state. He saw heaven opened and an object coming down that resembled a large sheet being lowered to the earth by its four corners. In it were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth, and the birds of the sky. read more.
Then a voice said to him, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat!" "No, Lord!" Peter said. "For I have never eaten anything common and unclean!" Again, a second time, a voice said to him, "What God has made clean, you must not call common." This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into heaven.

A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it. Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night, when deep sleep descends on men, fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shake. read more.
A wind passed by me, and I shuddered with fear. [A figure] stood there, but I could not recognize its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes. I heard a quiet voice: "Can a person be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?" If God puts no trust in His servants and He charges His angels with foolishness, how much more those who dwell in clay houses, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth! They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; they perish forever while no one notices. Are their tent cords not pulled up? They die without wisdom.

"When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females. In that dream the Angel of God said to me, 'Jacob!' and I said: Here I am. And He said, 'Look up and see: all the males that are mating with the flocks are streaked, spotted, and speckled, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. read more.
I am the God of Bethel, where you poured oil on the stone marker and made a solemn vow to Me. Get up, leave this land, and return to your native land.' "

Solomon loved the Lord by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there because it was the most famous high place. He offered 1,000 burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, "Ask. What should I give you?" read more.
And Solomon replied, "You have shown great and faithful love to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity. You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today. "Lord my God, You have now made Your servant king in my father David's place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership. Your servant is among Your people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted. So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. So God said to him, "Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to understand justice, I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again. In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no man in any kingdom will be your equal during your entire life. If you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commandments just as your father David did, I will give you a long life." Then Solomon woke up and realized it had been a dream. He went to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the Lord's covenant, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then he held a feast for all his servants.

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Get up! Take the child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, because those who sought the child's life are dead." So he got up, took the child and His mother, and entered the land of Israel. read more.
But when he heard that Archelaus 6 was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee.

"We had dreams," they said to him, "but there is no one to interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Don't interpretations belong to God? Tell me [your dreams]." So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: "In my dream there was a vine in front of me. On the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out and its clusters ripened into grapes. read more.
Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand." "This is its interpretation," Joseph said to him. "The three branches are three days. In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand the way you used to when you were his cupbearer. But when all goes well for you, remember that I was with you. Please show kindness to me by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon." When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was positive, he said to Joseph, "I also had a dream. Three baskets of white bread were on my head. In the top basket were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head." "This is its interpretation," Joseph replied. "The three baskets are three days. In just three days Pharaoh will lift up your head-from off you-and hang you on a tree. Then the birds will eat the flesh from your body." On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he gave a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker: he restored the chief cupbearer to his position as cupbearer, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had explained to them. Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the field. Suddenly my sheaf stood up, and your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf." read more.
"Are you really going to reign over us?" his brothers asked him. "Are you really going to rule us?" So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said. Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said, "I had another dream, and this time the sun, moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me." He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him. "What kind of dream is this that you have had?" he said. "Are your mother and brothers and I going to bow down to the ground before you?"

The multitude of all the nations going out to battle against Ariel- all the attackers, the siege-works against her, and those who oppress her- will then be like a dream, a vision in the night. It will be like a hungry one who dreams he is eating, then wakes and is still hungry; and like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking, then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water. So will be the multitude of all the nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.

Two years later Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile, when seven healthy-looking, well-fed cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, sickly and thin, came up from the Nile and stood beside those cows along the bank of the Nile. read more.
The sickly, thin cows ate the healthy, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, full and good, came up on one stalk. After them, seven heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven full, good ones. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it was only a dream. When morning came, he was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him. Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I remember my faults. Pharaoh had been angry with his servants, and he put me and the chief baker in the custody of the captain of the guard. He and I had dreams on the same night; each dream had its own meaning. Now a young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, he interpreted our dreams for us, and each had its own interpretation. It turned out just the way he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged." Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they quickly brought him from the dungeon. He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it." "I am not able to," Joseph answered Pharaoh. "It is God who will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." So Pharaoh said to Joseph: "In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when seven well-fed, healthy-looking cows came up from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds. After them, seven other cows-ugly, very sickly, and thin-came up. I've never seen such ugly ones as these in all the land of Egypt. Then the thin, ugly cows ate the first seven well-fed cows. When they had devoured them, you could not tell that they had devoured them; their appearance was as bad as it had been before. Then I woke up. In my dream I had also seen seven heads of grain, full and good, coming up on one stalk. After them, seven heads of grain- withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind-sprouted up. The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven full ones. I told this to the magicians, but no one can tell me what it means." Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "Pharaoh's dreams mean the same thing. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing. The seven thin, ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven worthless, scorched heads of grain are seven years of famine. "It is just as I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. After them, seven years of famine will take place, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will devastate the land. The abundance in the land will not be remembered because of the famine that follows it, for the famine will be very severe. Because the dream was given twice to Pharaoh, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and He will soon carry it out. "So now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this: Let him appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth [of the harvest] of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. Let them gather all the [excess] food during these good years that are coming, store the grain under Pharaoh's authority as food in the cities, and preserve [it]. The food will be a reserve for the land during the seven years of famine that will take place in the land of Egypt. Then the country will not be wiped out by the famine."

At about three in the afternoon he distinctly saw in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, "Cornelius!" Looking intently at him, he became afraid and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he told him, "Your prayers and your acts of charity have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, who is also named Peter. read more.
He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea."

While he was sitting on the judge’s bench, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for today I’ve suffered terribly in a dream because of Him!” Verse ConceptsInnocence, Examples OfJudgment SeatJudgesWise CouncelSittingSleeplessnessWivesVisions And Dreams In ScriptureChrist, Names ForJudgement SeatLeave Them AloneWife


The following 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.” Verse Conceptsevangelism, kinds ofempiresGuidance, Results OfMissionaries, Task OfNecessityNightRomeWitnesses, To Jesus ChristVisions At NightWitness To The GospelWitnessingtestimonyfollowing

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” Verse ConceptsDreamsDreams, Examples OfNightSpeech, DivineWarning IndividualsDirect Communication Through Dreams

He will fly away like a dream and never be found;
he will be chased away like a vision in the night.
Verse ConceptsWicked Described AsDisappearanceLike A Dreamflying


For many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God. Verse ConceptsBad DreamsDaydreamingMan's Conduct Towards GodMisleading DreamsPeople Being SilentFear God!

During the night a vision appeared to Paul: A Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” Verse ConceptsGod, Revelation OfInvitationsSleep, PhysicalStandingVisions And Dreams In ScriptureVisions At NightThose Who Saw VisionsPeople Helping

When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling his friend about a dream. He said, “Listen, I had a dream: a loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp, struck a tent, and it fell. The loaf turned the tent upside down so that it collapsed.” Verse ConceptsGrainTentsCakesTurning Upside DownDreams Involving Unusual Imagesgideon

That night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said.

And Jacob replied, “Here I am.” Verse ConceptsRevelation, In OtSpeech, DivineVisions And Dreams In ScriptureDuplicating WordsVisions At NightBehold Me!Revelation Through Visions And Dreams

After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.” Verse ConceptsFutureFugitivesAngel of the LordCommunicationSafetySpeech, DivineSuffering, Of Jesus ChristViolenceHeaven And AngelsVisions And Dreams In ScriptureProvincesStaying PutAttempts To Kill ChristGod AppearingTaking ChristImmigrantsreuniting

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.” Verse ConceptsBad DreamsDreamsDreams, Examples OfNightDeath As PunishmentTransferring WivesDirect Communication Through Dreams

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers.