Daniel 2
1. And in the
second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2.
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and
the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to show the king his dreams. So
they came and stood before the king. 3. And the king said to them, I
have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. 4.
Then the Chaldeans to the king in Syrian spoke, O king, live for
ever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
5. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from
me: if you will not make known to me the dream, along with the
interpretation , you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be
made a dunghill. 6. But if you show the dream, and the interpretation of
it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor:
therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation of it. 7. They
answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and
we will show the interpretation of it. 8. The king answered and said, I
know of certainty that you would gain the time, because you see the
thing is gone from me. 9. But if you will not make known to me the
dream, there is but one decree for you: for you have prepared lying and
corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore
tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me the
interpretation of it. 10. The Chaldeans answered before the king, and
said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter:
therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at
any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11. And it is a rare thing
that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it before
the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12. For
this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy
all the wise men of Babylon. 13. And the decree went forth that the wise
men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain
of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of
Babylon: 15. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is
the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to
Daniel. 16. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would
give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. 17.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: 18. That they would desire mercies
of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows
should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19. Then was
the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed
the God of heaven. 20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of
God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: 21. And he changes
the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives
wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: 22.
He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him. 23. I thank you, and praise you, Oh God
of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known to
me now what we desired from you;: for you have now made known to us the
king's matter. 24. Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had
ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said this to
him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king,
and I will show the king the interpretation. 25. Then Arioch
brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said to him, I have
found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known to the king
the interpretation. 26. The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name
was Belteshazzar, Art you able to make known to me the dream which I
have seen, and the 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, the soothsayers, cannot show unto
the king; 28. But there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and
makes known to the 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 in the future: and he that reveals secrets
makes known to your 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 any
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 the form of it was terrible. 32. This image's head
was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his
thighs of brass, 33. His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of
clay. 34. You looked until that a stone was cut out without hands,
which struck the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and
broke them to pieces. 35. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the
silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the
chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away,
that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image
became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36. This is the
dream; and we will tell the interpretation of it 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 where ever 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 brass, which shall bear rule over all
the earth. 40. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: for as
much as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that
breaks all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41. And where as
you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of
the iron, for as much 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 where as you
saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the
seed of men: but they shall not cleave 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 for ever. 45. For as much
as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and
that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, 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 the interpretation of it
sure. 46. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar
fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they
should offer an oblation and sweet odor's unto him. 47. The king
answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God
of Gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you
could reveal this secret. 48. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and
gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of
Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
49. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in
the gate of the king.
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