Nebuchadnezzar’s Troubling Dream 1 AKJV And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, with which his spirit was troubled, and his sleep broke from him. BSB BSB: In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
2 AKJV Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. BSB BSB: So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,
3 AKJV And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. BSB BSB: he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”
5 AKJV The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. BSB BSB: The 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.
6 AKJV But if you show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, you shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. BSB BSB: But 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.”
7 AKJV They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it. BSB BSB: They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”
8 AKJV The king answered and said, I know of certainty that you would gain the time, because you see the thing is gone from me. BSB BSB: The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time because you see that my word is final.
9 AKJV 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 thereof. BSB BSB: If 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.”
10 AKJV The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man on 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. BSB BSB: The 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.
11 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
12 AKJV For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. BSB BSB: This response made the king so angry and furious that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 AKJV And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. BSB BSB: So 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.
The Dream Revealed to Daniel 14 AKJV 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: BSB BSB: When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, went out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel responded with discretion and tact.
15 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.
16 AKJV Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. BSB BSB: So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation.
17 AKJV Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: BSB BSB: Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
18 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: urging 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.
19 AKJV Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. BSB BSB: During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven
20 AKJV Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: BSB BSB: and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.
21 AKJV 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: BSB BSB: He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22 AKJV He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. BSB BSB: He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
23 AKJV I thank you, and praise you, O you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have made known to me now what we desired of you: for you have now made known to us the king’s matter. BSB BSB: To 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.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream 24 AKJV Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation. BSB BSB: Therefore 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.”
25 AKJV Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known to the king the interpretation. BSB BSB: Arioch 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.”
26 AKJV The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? BSB BSB: The 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?”
27 AKJV Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show to the king; BSB BSB: Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.
28 AKJV 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 on your bed, are these; BSB BSB: But 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 AKJV As for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind on your bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals secrets makes known to you what shall come to pass. BSB BSB: As 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.
30 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: And 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 AKJV You, O king, saw, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and the form thereof was terrible. BSB BSB: As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome.
32 AKJV This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, BSB BSB: The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,
33 AKJV His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. BSB BSB: its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.
34 AKJV You saw till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image on his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. BSB BSB: As 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.
35 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: Then 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 AKJV This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. BSB BSB: This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.
37 AKJV You, O king, are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. BSB BSB: You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
38 AKJV And wherever 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. BSB BSB: Wherever 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 AKJV And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. BSB BSB: But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.
40 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: Finally, 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.
41 AKJV And whereas 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. BSB BSB: And 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.
42 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
43 AKJV And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not join one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. BSB BSB: As 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.
45 AKJV 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 thereof sure. BSB BSB: And 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.”
Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel 46 AKJV Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors to him. BSB BSB: At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.
47 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: The 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.”
48 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: Then 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.
49 AKJV 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. BSB BSB: And 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.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.