2One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep.H8147H8141H4438H5019H5019H2492H2472H7307H6470H8142H19612He 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,H4428H559H7121H2748H825H3784H3778H5046H4428H2472H935H5975H6440H44283he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”H4428H559H2492H2472H7307H6470H3045H24724Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”H1696H3778H4428H762H4430H2418H5957H560H5649H2493H2324H65915But 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!H4430H6032H560H3779H4406H230H4481H2006H3809H3046H2493H6591H5648H1917H1005H7761H51226But 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!”H2006H2324H2493H6591H6902H4481H6925H4978H5023H7690H3367H3861H2324H2493H65917They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”H6032H8579H560H4430H560H5649H2493H2324H65918The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say,H4430H6032H560H576H3046H4481H3330H608H2084H5732H6903H3606H2370H4406H230H44819‘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.”H2006H3809H3046H2493H1932H2298H1882H2164H3538H7844H4406H560H6925H5705H5732H8133H3861H560H2493H3046H1768H2324H659110The 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!H3779H6032H6925H4430H560H383H3809H606H5922H3007H3202H2324H4430H4406H6903H1768H3809H4430H7229H7990H7593H1836H4406H3606H2749H826H377911The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”H3358H4406H4430H7593H383H3809H321H2324H6925H4430H3861H426H4070H383H3809H5974H132112The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed.H6903H1836H3606H4430H1149H7690H7108H560H7H3606H2445H89513And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.H1882H5312H2445H6992H1156H1841H2269H699214When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion.H116H1841H8421H5843H2942H746H7229H1768H4430H2877H5312H6992H2445H89515He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened.H6032H560H746H4430H7990H4101H5922H1882H2685H4481H6925H4430H116H746H4406H3046H184116Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.H1841H5954H1156H4481H4430H5415H2166H2324H4430H659117Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened.H116H1841H236H1005H4406H3046H2608H4333H5839H226918He 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.H1156H7359H4481H6925H426H8065H5922H1836H7328H1841H2269H3809H7H5974H7606H2445H89519That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.H116H7328H1541H1841H3916H2376H116H1841H1289H426H806520He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.H1841H6032H560H1289H1934H8036H426H4481H5957H5705H5957H2452H1370H193221He 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.H8133H5732H2166H5709H4430H6966H4430H3052H2452H2445H4486H3046H99922He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.H1541H5994H5642H3046H4101H2816H5094H8271H597423I 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.”H576H3029H7624H426H2H3052H2452H1370H3046H3705H1156H4481H3046H4430H440624Then 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.”H3606H6903H1836H1841H5954H5922H746H4430H4483H7H2445H895H236H560H3652H7H409H2445H895H5954H6925H4430H2324H4430H659125Arioch 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!”H116H746H5954H1841H6925H4430H927H560H3652H7912H1400H1123H1547H4481H3061H3046H4430H659126The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”H4430H6032H560H1841H8036H1096H383H3546H3046H2493H2370H659127Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret.H1841H6032H6925H4430H560H7328H4430H7593H3202H3809H2445H826H2749H1505H2324H443028But 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.H1297H383H426H8065H1541H7328H3046H4430H5020H4101H1934H320H3118H2493H2376H7217H5922H4903H183629“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen.H607H4430H7476H5559H5922H4903H4101H1934H311H1836H1541H7328H3046H4101H193430And 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.H576H1836H7328H3809H1541H2452H383H4481H3606H2417H3861H1701H5922H3046H6591H4430H3046H7476H382531“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight.H607H4430H1934H2370H431H2298H7690H6755H1797H7229H6755H2122H3493H6966H6903H7299H176332The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,H6755H7217H2869H1722H2306H1872H3702H4577H3410H517433its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay.H8243H6523H7271H4481H6523H4481H263534As 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.H2370H1934H5705H69H1505H3809H3028H4223H6755H5922H7271H6523H2635H1855H1994H185535The 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.H116H6523H2635H5174H3702H1722H1855H1751H2298H1934H5784H4481H7007H147H7308H5376H1994H5376H3606H3809H870H7912H69H4223H6755H1934H7229H2906H4391H3606H77236“That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means.H1836H2493H560H6591H6925H443037Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.H607H4430H4430H4430H426H8065H3052H4437H2632H8632H336738He 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.H3606H1123H606H1753H2423H1251H5776H8065H3052H3028H7981H3606H607H7217H172239“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.H870H6966H317H4437H772H4481H317H8523H4437H5174H7981H3606H77240Following 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.H7244H4437H1934H8624H6523H6523H1855H2827H3606H6903H6523H7490H3606H459H1855H749041The 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.H2370H7271H677H4481H6353H2635H4481H6523H4437H1934H6386H4481H1934H4481H5326H6523H3606H6903H2370H6523H6151H2917H263542But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.H677H7271H4481H6523H4481H2635H4437H1934H4481H7118H8624H4481H7118H840643This 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.H1768H2370H6523H6151H2917H2635H1934H6151H2234H606H1934H3809H1693H1836H5974H1836H1888H6523H3809H6151H263544“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.H3118H581H4430H426H8065H6966H4437H5957H3809H2255H4437H3809H7662H321H5972H1855H5487H3606H459H4437H1932H6966H595745That 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.”H3606H6903H2370H69H1505H2906H3809H3028H1855H6523H5174H2635H3702H1722H7229H426H3046H4430H4101H1934H311H1836H2493H3330H6591H54046Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him.H116H4430H5020H5308H5922H600H5457H1841H560H5260H4504H520847The 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.”H4430H6032H1841H560H4481H7187H1768H426H426H426H4756H4430H1541H7328H3202H1541H1836H732848Then 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.H116H4430H7236H1841H7236H3052H7690H7260H4978H7981H5922H3606H4083H895H7229H5460H5922H3606H2445H89549At 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.H1841H1156H4481H4430H4483H7715H4336H5665H5922H5673H4083H895H1841H8651H4430
Dublin, OH
, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep.H8147
