| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. | 1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him. |
| 2He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, | 2So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, |
| 3he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.” | 3he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.” |
| 4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” | 4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” |
| 5But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! | 5The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble. |
| 6But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!” | 6But if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.” |
| 7They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” | 7They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.” |
| 8The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, | 8The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final. |
| 9‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.” | 9If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.” |
| 10The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! | 10The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer. |
| 11The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” | 11What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.” |
| 12The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. | 12This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. |
| 13And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. | 13So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them. |
| 14When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. | 14When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel replied with discretion and tact. |
| 15He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. | 15“Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. |
| 16Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant. | 16So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation. |
| 17Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. | 17Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, |
| 18He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. | 18urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. |
| 19That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. | 19During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven |
| 20He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. | 20and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. |
| 21He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. | 21He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. |
| 22He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. | 22He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. |
| 23I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” Daniel Interprets the Dream | 23To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.” |
| 24Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.” | 24Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.” |
| 25Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!” | 25Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.” |
| 26The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?” | 26The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?” |
| 27Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. | 27Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires. |
| 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed. | 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these: |
| 29“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. | 29As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen. |
| 30And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart. | 30And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind. |
| 31“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. | 31As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. |
| 32The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, | 32The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, |
| 33its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. | 33its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay. |
| 34As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. | 34As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. |
| 35The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. | 35Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. |
| 36“That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. | 36This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. |
| 37Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. | 37You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. |
| 38He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold. | 38Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. |
| 39“But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. | 39But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth. |
| 40Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. | 40Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others. |
| 41The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. | 41And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay. |
| 42But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. | 42And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. |
| 43This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix. | 43As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another, but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay. |
| 44“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. | 44In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. |
| 45That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.” Nebuchadnezzar Rewards Daniel | 45And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.” |
| 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. | 46At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him. |
| 47The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.” | 47The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.” |
| 48Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. | 48Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. |
| 49At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court. | 49And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court. |
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