Nebuchadnezzar’s Troubling Dream 1 UDB One night during the second year that Nebuchadnezzar ruled, he had a dream. The dream worried him so much that he could not sleep. BSB BSB: In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
2 UDB The next morning he summoned his men who worked magic, those who claimed to speak with the dead, those who gave advice from watching the stars, and the wise men. To test their skill, he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. 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 UDB The king said, "I had a dream last night that worries me, and I want to know what the dream means." BSB BSB: he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”
5 UDB But the king replied to them, "I have decided that you must tell me the dream and also tell me what it means. If you do not do this, I will cut you into pieces and turn your houses into piles of dung! 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 UDB But if you tell me what I dreamed and what it means, I will reward you. I will give you gifts and a reward and great honor. So tell me what I dreamed and what it means." 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 UDB Again they replied, "Tell us what you dreamed, and we will tell you what it means." BSB BSB: They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”
8 UDB The king replied, "I know that you are just trying to get more time because you know that I will do to you what I said that I would do. BSB BSB: The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time because you see that my word is final.
9 UDB If you do not tell me what I dreamed, you know what I promised to do to you. I think that you have all agreed to tell me lies and other wicked things before your time is up. So then, you have only one choice. Tell me the dream, and I will know you can tell me what it means." 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 UDB The wise men replied to the king, "There is no one on the earth who can do what you ask! There is no king, even a great and mighty king, who has ever asked his astrologers or those who claim to speak with the dead or wise men like ourselves to do something like that! 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 UDB What you are asking us to do is impossible. Only the gods can tell you what you dreamed, and they do not live among us!" 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 UDB The king was very angry when he heard that, so he commanded his soldiers that they execute all men who were known for their wisdom in all 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 UDB According to the king's command, they set out to find Daniel and his friends to execute them. 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 UDB Arioch, the commander of the king's guards, came with soldiers to kill everyone in Babylon who was considered to be wise. So Daniel spoke to him very wisely and tactfully. 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 UDB Daniel asked the captain Arioch, "Why has the king made a decree that must be carried out so quickly?" So Arioch told Daniel all that had happened. BSB BSB: “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.
16 UDB Daniel went to talk with the king and requested an appointment with the king so that he could tell the king what the dream was and what it meant. BSB BSB: So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation.
17 UDB Daniel went to his house and he told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. BSB BSB: Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
18 UDB He urged them to ask God, who lives in heaven, to help them by telling them the secret of the dream of the king so that they and the other men in Babylon known for wisdom would not be put to death. 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 UDB That night God gave Daniel a vision, and in that vision the secret was made known to him. Then Daniel praised God, BSB BSB: During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven
20 UDB saying, "We praise the name of the true God forever because he owns all wisdom and power. BSB BSB: and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.
21 UDB He makes the time move forward, and he owns the seasons. He removes every king when he chooses and gives new kings their kingdom. He gives wisdom to some, and people become wise. He teaches knowledge to those who understand. 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 UDB He reveals to us things that are deep and hidden. He can do this because he knows everything that the darkness hides from us and because the light comes from where he lives. BSB BSB: He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
23 UDB God, whom my ancestors worshiped, I thank you and I praise you because you have caused me to be wise and made me strong. You have told me what my friends and I asked you to tell us, and you have revealed to us what the king demanded to know." 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 UDB Then Daniel went to Arioch, the man whom the king had appointed to execute everyone known to be wise in Babylon. He said to him, "Do not kill those men of wisdom. Take me to the king and I will tell him what his dream means." 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 UDB So Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king. He said to the king, "I have found one of the men whom we brought from Judah who can tell you what your dream means!" 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 UDB The king said to Daniel (whose name was now Belteshazzar), "Can you tell me what I dreamed and what it means?" 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 UDB Daniel replied, "There is no one to help, even those who claim to be wise and those who claim to consult with the dead. No one can help, none of the magicians or astrologers. None of these can discover the secrets of your dream. 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 UDB But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown in your dream what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you what you dreamed and the vision you saw as you were lying on your bed. 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 UDB O king, while you were sleeping, you dreamed about events that will happen in the future. The one who reveals mysteries has shown you what is going to happen. 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 UDB It is not because I am wiser than anyone else on earth that I know the meaning of this mysterious dream. It is because God wanted you to understand your deep thoughts hidden in the vision he gave you. 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 UDB O king, in your vision you saw in front of you a huge and terrifying statue of a man. It was shining very brightly, and it was frightening and awesome. 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 UDB The head of the statue was made of pure gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver. Its belly and thighs were made of bronze. BSB BSB: The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,
33 UDB Its legs were made of iron and its feet were a mixture of clay and iron. BSB BSB: its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.
34 UDB As you watched, someone cut a stone from a mountain, but it was not a human who cut it. The stone tumbled down and smashed the statue's feet that were made of iron and clay. It smashed them to bits. 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 UDB Then the rest of the statue collapsed into a big heap of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. The pieces of the statue were as small as bits of chaff on the ground where it is threshed, and the wind blew away all the tiny pieces. There was nothing left. But the stone that smashed the statue became a large mountain that covered 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 UDB That was what you dreamed. Now we will tell you what it means. BSB BSB: This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.
37 UDB You are a king who rules over other kings. The God who rules in heaven has caused you to rule over them and has given you great power and has honored you. BSB BSB: You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
38 UDB He has caused you to be the ruler over all people so that even the animals and birds belong to you. You are the head of the statue, that head made 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 UDB After your kingdom ends, there will be another great kingdom, but it will not be as great as yours. The silver parts of the statue represent that kingdom. Then there will be a third great kingdom whose king will rule over the whole earth. The bronze parts of the statue represent that third kingdom. 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 UDB After that kingdom ends, there will be a fourth great kingdom. The iron parts of the statue represent that kingdom. The army of that kingdom will smash the previous kingdoms, just like iron smashes everything that it strikes. 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 UDB The feet and toes of the statue that you saw were a mixture of iron and clay, showing that the kingdom they represent will later be divided. 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 UDB Some parts of that kingdom will be as strong as iron, but some parts will not remain together, just as iron and clay do not stay together when mixed. 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 UDB The mixture of iron and clay in the statue also means that this kingdom will come apart because the different peoples will not work together, just as clay does not stick to iron. 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 UDB That is the meaning of the stone that someone cut from the mountain, the stone that will crush to tiny bits the statue that is made of iron, bronze, silver, and gold. God, the great God, has told you what will happen in the future. The dream he gave you will come true. Its meaning is true, as I have told it to you." 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 UDB Then King Nebuchadnezzar lay down on the ground in front of Daniel as an act of great respect. He commanded his people to burn incense and to burn an offering of grain in honor of Daniel. 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 UDB The king said to Daniel, "Your God has enabled you to tell me the meaning of this dream, so now I truly know that your God is greater than all the other gods, and King over all other kings. He reveals secrets; he makes known mysteries no one else could know." 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 UDB Then the king gave many gifts to Daniel, and he also appointed him to rule over the entire province of Babylon. He made him to be the chief governor over all the wisest men in 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 UDB Daniel asked the king to appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to serve in important positions as administrators in the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained in the king's palace and served the king there. 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.