Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^hhis spirit was troubled, and ⁱhis sleep left him. 2 Then the king commanded that ^dthe magicians, ^ethe enchanters, the ^jsorcerers, and ^kthe Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and ^lstood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and ^hmy spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then ^kthe Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^{1 m}“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to ^kthe Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ⁿtorn limb from limb, ⁿand your ^ohouses shall be laid in ruins. 6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, ^pyou shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. ^qTherefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to ^rgain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, ^sthere is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till ^tthe times change. ^uTherefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10 ^vThe Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or ^vChaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except ^wthe gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12 Because of this the king was angry and ^xvery furious, and ^ycommanded that all ^zthe wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^aDaniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ^bArioch, the ^ccaptain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared² to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king ^dso urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ^eHananiah, ^eMishael, and ^eAzariah, his companions, 18 ^fand told them to seek mercy from the ^gGod of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ^hbe destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ⁱa vision of the night. Then Daniel ^jblessed the ^gGod of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

24 Therefore Daniel went in to ^vArioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

25 Then ^vArioch brought in Daniel before the king ^win haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^xamong the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, ^ywhose name was Belteshazzar, ^z“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^aenchanters, ^amagicians, or ^bastrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but ^cthere is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^dwhat will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^ethe visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^fand he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But ^gas for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ^hyou may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 ⁱThe head of this image was of fine gold, ^jits chest and arms of silver, its middle and ^jthighs of bronze, 33 ^kits legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out ^lby no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ^mbroke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became ⁿlike the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that ^onot a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became ^pa great mountain ^qand filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, ^rthe king of kings, to whom ^sthe God of heaven ^thas given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, ^uthe beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are ^vthe head of gold. 39 ^wAnother kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom ^vof bronze, ^xwhich shall rule over all the earth. 40 And ^ythere shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron ^zbreaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall ^zbreak and crush all these. 41 And as you saw ^athe feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the ^yfirmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,³ but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings ^bthe God of heaven will set up ^ca kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. ^dIt shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and ^cit shall stand forever, 45 just as ^eyou saw that ^fa stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that ^dit broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A ^ggreat God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar ^hfell upon his face and ⁱpaid homage to Daniel, and commanded that ^jan offering and ^kincense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your ^lGod is God of gods and ^mLord of kings, and ⁿa revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great ^ogifts, and made him ruler over the whole ^pprovince of Babylon and ^qchief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he ^rappointed ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of ^pthe province of Babylon. But Daniel ^tremained at the king’s court.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits¹ and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on ^uthe plain of Dura, in ^vthe province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather ^wthe satraps, the prefects, and ^xthe governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then ^wthe satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald ^yproclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O ^zpeoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the ^asound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you ^bare to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately ^cbe cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all ^zthe peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

The Fiery Furnace

8 Therefore at that time certain ^dChaldeans ^ecame forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared² to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, ^fhave made a decree, that every man who ^ghears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, ^gshall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship ^cshall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have ^happointed over the affairs of ^vthe province of Babylon: ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, ^jpay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar ^kin furious rage commanded that ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when ^lyou hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.³ But if you do not worship, ^cyou shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And ^mwho is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, ⁿour God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.⁴ 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was ^ofilled with fury, and the expression of his face ^pwas changed against ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army ^qto bind ⁱShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were ^qbound in their cloaks, their tunics,⁵ their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was ^rurgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell ^qbound into the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was ^tastonished and rose up ^uin haste. He declared to his ^vcounselors, “Did we not cast three men ^wbound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, ^xwalking in the midst of the fire, and they ^yare not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like ^za son of the gods.”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, ^s“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the ^aMost High God, come out, and come here!” Then ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the ^bsatraps, the prefects, the governors, and ^vthe king’s counselors gathered together and saw that ^cthe fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their ^dcloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who ^ehas sent his angel and ^fdelivered his servants, who ^gtrusted in him, and set aside⁶ the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than ^hserve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore ⁱI make a decree: Any ^jpeople, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ^kshall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted ^sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in ^lthe province of Babylon.

Daniel and the Lions’ Den

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom ^q120 ^rsatraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them ^sthree high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these ^rsatraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became ^tdistinguished above all ^sthe other high officials and ^rsatraps, because ^uan excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned ^vto set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then ^sthe high officials and ^rthe satraps ^wsought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, ^xbut they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, ^xand no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

6 Then these ^shigh officials and ^rsatraps came by agreement¹ to the king and said to him, “O ^yKing Darius, live forever! 7 All the ^shigh officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the ^zcounselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an ^ainjunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish ^athe injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to ^bthe law of ^cthe Medes and the Persians, ^dwhich cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and ^ainjunction.

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where ^ehe had windows in his upper chamber open ^ftoward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees ^gthree times a day and prayed and ^hgave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. 12 Then they ⁱcame near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign ^jan injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of ^cthe Medes and Persians, ^dwhich cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and said before the king, ^k“Daniel, who is one ^lof the exiles ^kfrom Judah, ^mpays no attention to you, O king, or ^jthe injunction you have signed, but makes his petition ^gthree times a day.”

14 Then ⁿthe king, when he heard these words, ⁿwas much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no ^jinjunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared² to Daniel, “May ^oyour God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 ^pAnd a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, ^qand the king sealed it ^rwith his own signet and with the signet of his ^slords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; ^tno diversions were brought to him, and ^usleep fled from him.

19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of ^vthe living God, ^ohas your God, whom you serve continually, ^wbeen able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, ^x“O king, live forever! 22 My God ^ysent his angel ^zand shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless ^abefore him; ^aand also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and ^bno kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and ^cthose men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

25 Then King Darius wrote to all ^dthe peoples, nations, and languages ^ethat dwell in all the earth: ^f“Peace be multiplied to you. 26 ^gI make a decree, that in all my royal dominion ^hpeople are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,

28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and ⁿthe reign of ^oCyrus the Persian.