Nebuchadnezzar’s Troubling Dream
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him. Dan 4:5Est 6:1Dan 2:3Gen 40:5-8Job 33:15-17Gen 41:1-362Ch 36:5-7Dan 1:1-5 So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers 1to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, Dan 1:20Dan 4:6Exo 7:11Gen 41:8Dan 2:10Dan 5:7Isa 47:12-13Deu 18:10-12 he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.” Gen 40:8Gen 41:15Dan 2:1Dan 4:5
Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, 2 “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” Dan 3:9Dan 5:10Ezr 4:7Isa 36:111Ki 1:31Dan 6:21Dan 6:61Ki 1:25
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. Ezr 6:11Dan 3:292Ki 10:27Psa 50:221Sa 15:33Dan 2:12Deu 13:16Psa 58:7 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.” Dan 5:7Dan 2:48Dan 5:29Dan 5:16-17Num 22:17Num 22:37Num 22:7Num 24:11
They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.” Dan 2:4Dan 2:9Ecc 10:4
The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final. Col 4:5Eph 5:16 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.” Dan 2:21Dan 7:25Est 4:11Isa 41:23Dan 3:15Dan 5:28Ezk 13:6Isa 44:25
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. Dan 2:27 What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.” Dan 5:112Co 6:16Exo 29:45Gen 41:39Isa 57:15Jhn 1:14Jhn 14:17Jhn 14:23
This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. Dan 3:13Dan 3:19Mat 2:16Psa 76:10Dan 2:5Job 5:2Pro 16:14Pro 19:12 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. Dan 1:19-20Dan 6:9-15Est 3:12-15Isa 10:1Pro 28:15-17Psa 94:20
The Dream Revealed to Daniel
When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel replied with discretion and tact. Dan 2:242Sa 20:16-22Ecc 9:13-18Gen 37:36Jer 39:9Jer 52:12Jer 52:14 “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked.
At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation. Dan 1:18-19Dan 2:9-11
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Dan 1:11Dan 1:6-7Dan 3:12 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. Jer 33:3Mat 18:19Mat 18:12Psa 50:15Psa 91:151Sa 17:372Ti 4:17-18Est 4:15-17
During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven Num 12:6Amo 3:7Dan 1:17Dan 7:7Job 33:15-16Psa 25:141Co 2:9-10Dan 2:22 and declared: Psa 113:2Psa 145:1-2Job 12:13Rev 5:12Jer 32:19Psa 147:5Dan 2:21-23Job 12:16-22
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
for wisdom and power belong to Him.
He changes the times and seasons; Psa 75:5-7Psa 31:14-15Psa 113:7-8Dan 4:17Dan 7:25Jas 3:15-17Dan 4:32Job 34:24-29
He removes kings and establishes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals the deep and hidden things; Job 12:221Jn 1:5Jer 23:24Jas 1:17Heb 4:13Psa 139:11-12Psa 25:14Dan 5:11
He knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with Him.
To You, O God of my fathers, Dan 2:18Exo 3:15Amo 3:7Dan 2:20-21Dan 2:29-30Luk 10:21Psa 25:141Ch 29:10
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
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.” Act 27:24Dan 2:12-14
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.” 1Co 1:27-28Dan 1:6Dan 5:13Dan 6:13Ecc 9:10Neh 7:6Pro 24:11
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?” Dan 1:7Dan 4:8Dan 5:12Dan 5:161Sa 17:33Dan 2:3-7Dan 4:18-19Gen 41:15
Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires. Dan 2:10-11Dan 2:2Dan 5:7-8Isa 44:25Isa 47:12-14Isa 19:3Job 5:12-13 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: Gen 40:8Amo 4:13Dan 10:14Dan 2:22Gen 49:1Gen 41:162Pe 3:3Dan 2:18
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. Dan 2:28Amo 4:13Dan 2:47Dan 2:22Ezk 38:10 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. Gen 41:16Act 3:122Co 4:15Dan 2:17-181Co 15:8-121Co 3:21-23Amo 4:13Dan 1:17
As you, O king, were watching, a great statue 3appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. Hab 1:7Dan 7:3-17Ezk 28:7Isa 13:11Isa 25:3-5Luk 4:5Mat 4:8 The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, Dan 11:2-20Dan 2:37-39Dan 4:22Dan 4:30Dan 7:4-6Isa 14:4Jer 51:7Rev 17:4 its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay. Dan 7:19-26Dan 7:7-8Dan 2:40-43
As you watched, a stone was cut out, 4 but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. Dan 2:44-45Dan 8:25Zec 12:3Dan 7:13-14Dan 7:27Isa 60:12Zec 4:61Pe 2:7 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. Isa 2:2-3Psa 37:10Hos 13:3Rev 20:11Isa 11:9Isa 41:15-16Job 6:171Co 15:25
This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. Dan 2:23-24
You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. Ezk 26:7Jer 27:6-7Dan 5:18Ezr 1:2Ezr 7:12Isa 47:5Psa 62:111Ki 4:24 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. Dan 4:21-22Psa 50:10-11Jer 27:5-7
But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Dan 2:32Dan 5:28-31Isa 44:28Dan 10:20Dan 8:20Dan 8:3-14Dan 11:2-20Dan 7:23
Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.
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. Dan 7:7Dan 11:36-45Dan 7:19-26Amo 1:3Dan 2:33Dan 8:24Dan 9:26Jer 15:12 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. Rev 17:12Dan 2:33-35Dan 7:24Dan 7:7Rev 12:3Rev 13:1 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. Dan 7:24Rev 13:1 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples 5will mix with one another, but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. Luk 1:32-33Mat 28:18Dan 6:26Psa 145:13Rev 11:15Mic 4:71Co 15:24-25Eph 1:20-22 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. Isa 28:16Gen 41:322Sa 7:22Deu 10:17Gen 41:28Jer 32:18-19Mal 1:11Psa 48:1
The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel
At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him. Act 10:25Act 14:13Ezr 6:10Lev 26:31Act 28:6Luk 17:16Rev 11:16Rev 19:10 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.” Dan 2:22Dan 2:28Amo 3:7Dan 11:36Deu 10:171Ti 6:15Dan 2:37Dan 4:8-9
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. Dan 2:6Dan 4:9Dan 5:11Dan 5:16Dan 5:29Gen 41:39-431Sa 17:251Sa 25:2 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. Dan 1:7Est 2:19Amo 5:15Dan 3:12-30Est 2:21Dan 1:17Dan 2:17Est 3:2