(1) In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream; his spirit was agitated, yet he was overcome by sleep. (2) The king ordered the magicians, exorcists, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to be summoned in order to tell the king what he had dreamed. They came and stood before the king, (3) and the king said to them, “I have had a dream and I am full of anxiety to know what I have dreamed.” (4) The Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Relate the dream to your servants, and we will tell its meaning.” (5) The king said in reply to the Chaldeans, “I hereby decree: If you will not make the dream and its meaning known to me, you shall be torn limb from limb and your houses confiscated. (6) But if you tell the dream and its meaning, you shall receive from me gifts, presents, and great honor; therefore, tell me the dream and its meaning.” (7) Once again they answered, “Let the king relate the dream to his servants, and we will tell its meaning.” (8) The king said in reply, “It is clear to me that you are playing for time, since you see that I have decreed (9) that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one verdict for you. You have conspired to tell me something false and fraudulent until circumstances change; so relate the dream to me, and I will then know that you can tell its meaning.” (10) The Chaldeans said in reply to the king, “There is no one on earth who can satisfy the king’s demand, for great king or ruler—none has ever asked such a thing of any magician, exorcist, or Chaldean. (11) The thing asked by the king is difficult; there is no one who can tell it to the king except the gods whose abode is not among mortals.” (12) Whereupon the king flew into a violent rage, and gave an order to do away with all the wise men of Babylon. (13) The decree condemning the wise men to death was issued. Daniel and his companions were about to be put to death (14) when Daniel remonstrated with Arioch, the captain of the royal guard who had set out to put the wise men of Babylon to death. (15) He spoke up and said to Arioch, the royal officer, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Thereupon Arioch informed Daniel of the matter. (16) So Daniel went to ask the king for time, that he might tell the meaning to the king. (17) Then Daniel went to his house and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, of the matter, (18) that they might implore the God of Heaven for help regarding this mystery, so that Daniel and his colleagues would not be put to death together with the other wise men of Babylon. (19) The mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision; then Daniel blessed the God of Heaven. (20) Daniel spoke up and said: “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power are His. (21) He changes times and seasons, Removes kings and installs kings; He gives the wise their wisdom And knowledge to those who know. (22) He reveals deep and hidden things, Knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. (23) I acknowledge and praise You, O God of my fathers, You who have given me wisdom and power, For now You have let me know what we asked of You; You have let us know what concerns the king.” (24) Thereupon Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to do away with the wise men of Babylon; he came and said to him as follows, “Do not do away with the wise men of Babylon; bring me to the king and I will tell the king the meaning!” (25) So Arioch rushed Daniel into the king’s presence and said to him, “I have found among the exiles of Judah a man who can make the meaning known to the king!” (26) The king said in reply to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar), “Can you really make known to me the dream that I saw and its meaning?” (27) Daniel answered the king and said, “The mystery about which the king has inquired—wise men, exorcists, magicians, and diviners cannot tell to the king. (28) But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what is to be at the end of days. This is your dream and the vision that entered your mind in bed: (29) O king, the thoughts that came to your mind in your bed are about future events; He who reveals mysteries has let you know what is to happen. (30) Not because my wisdom is greater than that of other creatures has this mystery been revealed to me, but in order that the meaning should be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. (31) “O king, as you looked on, there appeared a great statue. This statue, which was huge and its brightness surpassing, stood before you, and its appearance was awesome. (32) The head of that statue was of fine gold; its breast and arms were of silver; its belly and thighs, of bronze; (33) its legs were of iron, and its feet part iron and part clay. (34) As you looked on, a stone was hewn out, not by hands, and struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. (35) All at once, the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were crushed, and became like chaff of the threshing floors of summer; a wind carried them off until no trace of them was left. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (36) “Such was the dream, and we will now tell the king its meaning. (37) You, O king—king of kings, to whom the God of Heaven has given kingdom, power, might, and glory; (38) into whose hands He has given men, wild beasts, and the fowl of heaven, wherever they may dwell; and to whom He has given dominion over them all—you are the head of gold. (39) But another kingdom will arise after you, inferior to yours; then yet a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule over the whole earth. (40) But the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; just as iron crushes and shatters everything—and like iron that smashes—so will it crush and smash all these. (41) You saw the feet and the toes, part potter’s clay and part iron; that means it will be a divided kingdom; it will have only some of the stability of iron, inasmuch as you saw iron mixed with common clay. (42) And the toes were part iron and part clay; that [means] the kingdom will be in part strong and in part brittle. (43) You saw iron mixed with common clay; that means: they shall intermingle with the offspring of men, but shall not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. (44) And in the time of those kings, the God of Heaven will establish a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, a kingdom that shall not be transferred to another people. It will crush and wipe out all these kingdoms, but shall itself last forever— (45) just as you saw how a stone was hewn from the mountain, not by hands, and crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God has made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is sure and its interpretation reliable.” (46) Then King Nebuchadnezzar prostrated himself and paid homage to Daniel and ordered that a meal offering and pleasing offerings be made to him. (47) The king said in reply to Daniel, “Truly your God must be the God of gods and Lord of kings and the revealer of mysteries to have enabled you to reveal this mystery.” (48) The king then elevated Daniel and gave him very many gifts, and made him governor of the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect of all the wise men of Babylon. (49) At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to administer the province of Babylon; while Daniel himself was at the king’s court.
The Dream and the Fire a deeper look at Daniel
(1) King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue of gold sixty cubits high and six cubits broad. He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. (2) King Nebuchadnezzar then sent word to gather the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, officers, and all the provincial officials to attend the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (3) So the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, officers, and all the provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and stood before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (4) The herald proclaimed in a loud voice, “You are commanded, O peoples and nations of every language, (5) when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, bagpipe, and all other types of instruments, to fall down and worship the statue of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. (6) Whoever will not fall down and worship shall at once be thrown into a burning fiery furnace.” (7) And so, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, and all other types of instruments, all peoples and nations of every language fell down and worshiped the statue of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. (8) Seizing the occasion, certain Chaldeans came forward to slander the Jews. (9) They spoke up and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! (10) You, O king, gave an order that everyone who hears the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, bagpipe, and all types of instruments must fall down and worship the golden statue, (11) and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. (12) There are certain Jews whom you appointed to administer the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; those men pay no heed to you, O king; they do not serve your god or worship the statue of gold that you have set up.” (13) Then Nebuchadnezzar, in raging fury, ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to be brought; so those men were brought before the king. (14) Nebuchadnezzar spoke to them and said, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my god or worship the statue of gold that I have set up? (15) Now if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue that I have made when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, zither, lyre, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all other types of instruments, [well and good]; but if you will not worship, you shall at once be thrown into a burning fiery furnace, and what god is there that can save you from my power?” (16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego said in reply to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter, (17) for if so it must be, our God whom we serve is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will save us from your power, O king. (18) But even if He does not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your god or worship the statue of gold that you have set up.” (19) Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego that his visage was distorted, and he gave an order to heat up the furnace to seven times its usual heat. (20) He commanded some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to throw them into the burning fiery furnace. (21) So these men, in their shirts, trousers, hats, and other garments, were bound and thrown into the burning fiery furnace. (22) Because the king’s order was urgent, and the furnace was heated to excess, a tongue of flame killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. (23) But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, dropped, bound, into the burning fiery furnace. (24) Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and, rising in haste, addressed his companions, saying, “Did we not throw three men, bound, into the fire?” They spoke in reply, “Surely, O king.” (25) He answered, “But I see four men walking about unbound and unharmed in the fire and the fourth looks like a divine being.” (26) Nebuchadnezzar then approached the hatch of the burning fiery furnace and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-nego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came out of the fire. (27) The satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the royal companions gathered around to look at those men, on whose bodies the fire had had no effect, the hair of whose heads had not been singed, whose shirts looked no different, to whom not even the odor of fire clung. (28) Nebuchadnezzar spoke up and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who sent His angel to save His servants who, trusting in Him, flouted the king’s decree at the risk of their lives rather than serve or worship any god but their own God. (29) I hereby give an order that [anyone of] any people or nation of whatever language who blasphemes the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb, and his house confiscated, for there is no other God who is able to save in this way.” (30) Thereupon the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon. (31) “King Nebuchadnezzar to all people and nations of every language that inhabit the whole earth: May your well-being abound! (32) The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to relate. (33) How great are His signs; how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures throughout the generations.”